MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. The West’s attitude towards Ukraine and other ideological vassals in an effort to exert pressure on Russia should be more taxing, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reported on Friday.
"Western governments need to be more demanding towards the Ukrainian authorities and all those who the West patronizes critically for ideological reasons. The desire to press Russia plays a key role," the top diplomat said.
In this regard, Russia’s foreign ministry chief referred to the events in 2009, 2011 and 2015, when "Ukraine began to siphon off transit gas from the line free-of-charge, essentially robbing European consumers, and as a result Gazprom was accused of allegedly cutting off the gas supply for political reasons and making Europe freeze. "This is not very fair, as far as we are concerned, the fulfillment of agreements is sacred," he emphasized.
When touching upon the basic principles of Russian energy policy for the foreseeable future, Lavrov focused primarily on the importance "of negotiating with partners who are interested in energy cooperation with Russia, and negotiating on the basis of a balance of interests and in strict compliance with achieved agreements." The top diplomat said that the agreements cover "all types of energy carriers, as well as the development of new energy sources and hydrogen projects."
"If we are talking about stability, given the experience of unfolding crisis development as well as what happened before, perhaps, it is possible to coordinate mechanisms in case of emergencies on a mutually beneficial and honest basis. Then options will be settled and fixed if the temperature suddenly drops sharply or on the contrary, it will be necessary to air-condition much more powerfully than in the past," Lavrov concluded.