Lavrov accuses the US of using the annexation of Crimea for its own political purposes
Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, said that there are no legal reasons for the West’s non-recognition of the Crimea being part of Russia. This was reported by RIA Novosti.
“There is no political will, but there is a political wish, to use this situation as part of a containment policy against Russia. This policy, led by the US, has been implemented for a long time, long before the Ukrainian issues,” Lavrov said.
According to him, the West has not yet realized that independence is part of Russia's existence.
“Russia has started to gain, excessively according to our Western colleagues, autonomy. They have not realized yet that this is not some temporary state of affairs, but a part of our existence,” Lavrov added.
After Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, Western leaders repeatedly declared that Moscow had violated international rights. Based on this, the US and the EU imposed economic sanctions against Russia until the Crimea’s return to Ukraine.