Vladimir Putin accuses West of using Navalny to 'contain' Russia
- by Grant Boone
- in Sports
- — Feb 16, 2021
The point is that we don't want this - we want to develop relations with the European Union, but if the European Union follows this path, indeed, we will be ready. "If you want peace then prepare for war".
Should Europe reimpose sanctions "that pose a risk to our economy, then yes, " the minister responded to Solovyov's question about whether Moscow was heading for a break with Brussels.
In response to a question about Moscow's willingness to rupture links with the EU, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in televised remarks that Russian Federation doesn't want to be isolated but must increase its self-sufficiency to face potential EU sanctions.
German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse described Lavrov's comments as "really disconcerting and completely incomprehensible to us".
Ties between Russian Federation and the West, already at post-Cold War lows, have come under renewed pressure over the fate of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, whose jailing and treatment by Moscow have raised the prospect of further sanctions on Russian Federation.
"If we face a destructive course that will hurt our infrastructure, our interests, Russian Federation must be ready in advance for such unfriendly steps", Peskov said during a call with reporters when asked about Lavrov's comment.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia is prepared to go it alone if necessary
Mr Navalny was arrested on January 17 upon his return from Germany, where he spent five months recuperating after he was poisoned with Novichok nerve agent. Russian authorities have denied the allegations.
Last week a different Moscow court turned Navalny's 2014 suspended sentence into real jail time, ordering him to serve two years and eight months in prison.
Addressing a press conference, Lavrov pointed to inadmissibility of foreign diplomats' participation in the recent unauthorized rallies of Navalny supporters, and noted that most of the European Union diplomats abstained from doing it.
The three European Union countries responded in kind on Monday, with each expelling a Russian diplomat.
There have been large scale protests in Russian Federation after Navalny's arrest as Russia's foreign ministry labelled Navalny's team "traitors".
Lavrov said that economic relations with the European Union have been hurt by sanctions and political contacts have been limited to sporadic exchanges of views on global crises.
