MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Countries, which support Russia in view of the ongoing developments in Ukraine, are under unprecedented pressure, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"There are such countries and there is a majority of them," Lavrov said in an interview with Russia’s RBC TV channel. "I would like to refrain from using impolite language, but the pressure they are currently under is way beyond unprecedented and I could have never imagined this."

"I was well aware that the Americans were ready to go all the way to prevent any positive move in the direction of a multipolar world, but I would have never dreamt even in an utterly horrific nightmare that they could be engaged in such dirty work, unbecoming of such a superpower," the Russian foreign minister said.

Lavrov pointed out that Washington ordered its overseas ambassadors to dissuade officials from foreign countries, where they are serving on a diplomatic mission, from cooperating with Russia.

"Every US ambassador in a given country has instructions of going around and threatening the authorities of the country, in which they work: ‘Do not trade with Russia; do not buy anything from Russia, do not sell anything to Russia.’ ‘Do not send any ministers of any rank or delegations there.’ I am not kidding. I know it well and my friends are informing me about it."

Russia’s top diplomat also said he believed it was unbridled arrogance by the United States to dictate to countries such as China, India, Egypt and Turkey what countries they can cooperate with.

"What is striking is that this sort of blackmail is used in regards to such ancient civilizations as China, India, and Egypt. You may remember well what sort of demands the Turks were faced with," Lavrov said, adding that nothing will be forgotten.

Military operation in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years."

The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories and the operation was aimed at demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine.

When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.