Russian leadership able to ensure national security if talks with West fail - Lavrov
MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) - The Russian leadership is able to ensure national security and rights of Russian citizens, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.
"Anyway, rest assured that the Russian leadership is able to ensure its interests from the angle of both security and the observance of rights of Russian citizens," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow.
He thus answered Interfax's question whether Russia is prepared to stand up against the West alone if the security guarantee talks fail and whether it would be necessary to deepen the interaction with China for a more efficient deterrence of military threats and consequences of possible additional Western restrictions.