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\u00a9 Sputnik \/ Russian Foreign Ministry<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
RT.com<\/p>\n
Saber rattling in the West is down to the fact that the US and EU have woken up to the idea of Russia as an independent power, and they don\u2019t appreciate the challenge, according to Moscow\u2019s top diplomat, who spoke frankly to RT.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke out during an interview marking RT\u2019s 15th anniversary, in which he took a look back at the last two decades. He cited the West\u2019s realization that Russia could go its own way as the most significant event in foreign policy in that time, adding that\u00a0\u201cRussia will always put its national interests first, and it will honestly and equally settle those national interests with any other country on the basis of international law, but they won\u2019t be overshadowed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n At the same time, Lavrov observed, this principle causes tensions, adding that\u00a0\u201cour Western colleagues are trying to deprive Russia of the right to independently determine our future. There are attempts to push regime change. They are barely hiding this at all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Moscow\u2019s approach to conflicts around the world has also been a bone of contention, he admitted, arguing that Washington and EU capitals were working to prevent Russia from\u00a0\u201cachieving results\u201d<\/em>\u00a0overseas.\u00a0\u201cRecently, we\u2019ve been accused of interfering in Belarus and intervening in Nagorno-Karabakh just to strengthen our geopolitical position\u2026 This is the only lens that analysts in Europe and the US, and particularly in Britain, look through.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Lavrov was also uncharacteristically blunt in his assessment of Western approaches to global relations, arguing that the political unrest that has paralyzed Belarus in recent months amounts to a\u00a0\u201ccolor revolution.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Commenting on the most recent round of sanctions levelled against Belarusian and Russian officials, he said that there would always be reasons for punitive measures.\u00a0\u201cThe West knows how not only to look for them, but also to invent them out of the blue.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Lavrov is one of Moscow\u2019s longest-serving diplomatic chiefs, having held the role since 2004. In October, a poll of Russians revealed that he was the second most popular politician in the country, ranking second only to President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n