WASHINGTON, April 4. /TASS/. The West should give up the illusion about the possibility of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia if it wants to regain Moscow’s trust, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told reporters.
"Everything that is happening now is the exclusive choice of the West, which has trampled on the basics of diplomacy, the principle of indivisibility of security and has been abusing the trust of the Russian Federation for many years," the diplomat was quoted as saying by the Russian Embassy’s official Telegram channel.
"In order to restore it, our former partners should abandon illusions about the possibility of inflicting a strategic defeat on us and learn to respect the fundamental interests of other Nations," he continued.
He added that Russia will not accept attempts at dictatorship, interference in its internal affairs, or the United States' desire to impose its values and model of state development.
The statement came as a response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks that Moscow should change its behavior in order to have a chance of improving relations with the United States.
"It's not for the Americans to give us advice," he said, adding that US officials voiced similar ideas even before the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, and they were unwilling to realize that Russia "will not give up on protecting its vital interests and sovereign foreign policy."
He added that the US government should "stop lying to itself and others."
"Let me remind you that it was not our country that moved its war machine to NATO's borders and initiated countless sanctions, betting on Russia's collapse. We were not the ones who started the mass expulsions of diplomats and seized diplomatic property," he said.