U.S. attempts to use situation in Ukraine to "put Russia in its place" fruitless - Lavrov
MOSCOW. Oct 20 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has spoken of the illusory nature of the attempts to use the situation in Ukraine in order to justify sanctions and restrictive measures against Russia.
"Intentions to force Russia to step back from the truth, from justice, by using threats and pressure, sanctions - these intentions are illusory. The sanctions announced by the Americans, the European Union, a number of other states are unlawful and can neither help de-escalate the conflict, nor protect the rights of the Ukrainian population," Lavrov said in his lecture as part of the United Russia Party's Civil University Project.
"The steps that were undertaken under heavy pressure from the U.S., if talking of the Europeans, run counter the interests of the EU states proper: for them Russia is one of the leading trade and economic partners," he said.
"The damage being inflicted - which, to be more precise, they want to inflict on us, we certainly have experienced certain negative effects - this damage is being inflicted on the EU countries as well. We drew attention to the reports about falling growth rates even in German economy, the largest in the euro zone," he said.
"That the latest wave of sanctions was adopted by the EU already after ceasefire deals were reached, only confirms that the situation around this country (Ukraine) is being used, primarily by Washington, in a bid to impose their leadership on the entire Euro-Atlantic space, in a bid to force the EU to follow a path many in the EU do not share," Lavrov said.
"And this proves that whatever Russia does, these attempts will not stop since their main goal is not to settle Ukraine but to use Ukraine as an irritant in the relations between Russia and Europe, as a pretext for trying to put Russia in its place. I will stress once again that these attempts are merely illusions," the minister said.