MOSCOW, September 28. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explains the West’s current attitude towards Russia with a deficit of Western experts on Russia.

Lavrov said on Sunday in an interview with St. Petersburg’s television broadcaster Channel 5 that not everybody like it when Russia after the collapse of the USSR gradually gained economic strength and began speaking in the international arena in an independent voice, not merely nodding recipes from Western capital cities, first of all from Washington.

“Since if this perception of new, self-confident Russia has become the reason for the actions we are witnessing now, then, probably, the West is lacking specialists on this country,” the foreign minister said. “This must be a consequence of the weakening after the collapse of the USSR, where popular were ideas about “end of history,” about no future for development, and the claims the entire world would live on using Western approaches.”

As those forecasts failed, “somebody got angry, they began blaming us for their moods and failures.”

Lavrov explained arrogant responses to Russia’s actions by personal irritations, “which are unacceptable for real politicians.”

“This is how I take it,” the foreign minister said. “Personalised statements regarding Russia and its leaders do not add to the respect of those voicing them.”

He commented on the security in the Euro-Atlantic space in the context of NATO’s activities.

“NATO claims to be for equal security for all Europeans, for search of settlement of security problems on the basis of mutual interests,” he said. “We even remember the promises the alliance would not be expanding.”

“Those claims turned out to be false,” the foreign minister said. “The actions proved the opposite. NATO continued expanding, and the attempts continue now.”

“The alliance’s military infrastructures are approaching our borders,” Lavrov said. “Territories of new members are used for deployment of sufficient armament, of which we have been assured as impossible - that was even fixed in documents.