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Russia will never beg Europe to lift sanctions — top diplomat

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia has never constructed walls or isolated itself from Europe

VLADIVOSTOK, September 3. /TASS/. Russia will never chase after Europe and plead for sanctions to be lifted, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a lecture organized by the Znanie (Knowledge) Society on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

He said that Russia has never constructed walls or isolated itself from Europe, and it was the European Union’s choice to do this.

"It [Europe] decided that our cooperation in previous years was so vital to Russia that we will come running after them, begging: ‘Come on, fine, forgive us, forget what happened, let’s go back, lift the sanctions,’" Lavrov said. "This is not going to happen."

"We have, if you will, our own national pride in the best sense of the word. We have absolutely no need for anyone’s goodwill," he added.