Foreign ministry: Great mistake to think Russia has no allies on international arena

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. International politics would have been different if Russia had no allies, Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV channel broadcast on Wednesday.

"If we had no allies, partners, if we had no countries to cooperate with, then I think the situation in international affairs would have been completely different at the current stage. It is a great mistake to say that we will have them (allies) or that we don’t have any," Zakharova said.

At this difficult time when "a shift of tectonic plates" in international affairs is underway, "a large number of countries publicly and non-publicly" support Russia’s position "not only at negotiations but also by their actions," she added.

"The basis of our position is clear, logical and, what is very important, it is not only easy to understand but also creates the foundation, platform and framework for moving forward not only for separate, selected countries but also for all countries no matter what they are - large, enormous, strong, not so strong, economically advanced, developing. We propose to take international law as a basis - equal approach to all countries," she noted adding that such approach does not rule out competition between countries that always existed. "It should just be in the coordinate system that does not change to suit one player," the diplomat said.

Despite disagreements and different positions in current international relations, there is understanding of the main guideline of international politics - constructive partnership, Zakharova went on. In this sense, reliance on partners is "absolutely relevant," she added.

"The only thing that was added is pragmatism to protect national interests," she noted. "International politics is precisely about defending your national interests," Zakharova concluded.