Russia has escalated its tone toward the European Union, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Moscow is ready to cut ties with the European Union if it imposes new sanctions that pose a threat to sensitive sectors of the country’s economy.
“We depend on our readiness to do that if we see again that sanctions are imposed in specific areas that pose a threat to our economy, especially its most sensitive sectors,” this is what Lavrov said today, Friday, in an interview with a journalist in response to a question whether Russia is ready to cut ties with Europe due to the expected sanctions.
Lavrov stressed the need for Moscow to be ready for this step, despite its unwillingness to retire from the life of the world, and he repeated the famous saying, “If you want peace, be prepared for war.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had indicated in a press briefing on Thursday that the calls to tighten European sanctions against Moscow in recent days are “not surprising”, pointing out that this has become normal for the European bloc since 2014.
“Officials in Brussels resort to sanctions whenever they face the utter keenness of Russia and other sovereign countries to protect their legitimate interests, prevent blatant interference in their affairs and not be dragged behind the architects of the Western world,” this is what Zakharova said.
This comes at a time when the European Union is preparing to discuss tightening sanctions on Moscow, in light of the case of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who was arrested in early January upon his return from Germany to Russia.
