Western Sanctions’ Goal is to Change Russia, Not to Settle Ukrainian Crisis, Says Lavrov

 MOSCOW – The goal of Western sanctions is to force to change the position of the Russian Federation on the key and fundamental issues, and not to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“Our partners, who actually imposed the sanctions, do not hide the fact that the goal of these measures is not Ukraine. Essentially, in their statements and actions the true purpose of the restrictions are seen – to make over Russia, to change its position on the key issues of fundamental importance to us and to get [Russia] to take the position of the West,” Lavrov said in a show on Russia’s NTV channel.

 

According to Lavrov, Western politicians are not talking about a change of regime in Russia, “although some of the outcasts in Europe say such phrases.”

“By and large, they tell us to change our policies and approaches. It would be one thing if we were offered to look for something together. But we are told – we know how to act, and you must do it,” he added.

Lavrov stressed that Russia does more than anyone else for the crisis in Ukraine to be settled.

“We were at the origin of the April initiative in Geneva, subsequent Berlin initiatives. The Minsk agreements, as recorded in the protocol of September 5 this year, is the result of initiatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko. Now using all our contacts, we are making good faith on implementation of these agreements. But our Western colleagues do not really use their influence on Kiev authorities to convince them there is no alternative to moving towards the path, which was agreed between them and the militias,” he added.

Lavrov Speaks Against Unilateral Concessions to Lift Western Sanctions

Russia should not make one-way concessions to appease the West into lifting economic sanctions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The minister noted that “no one wants to suffer damage, especially economic damage that our Western partners are trying to inflict.”

 “We want to cooperate, but only reciprocally, to separate ideology from foreign policy and prevent any attempts of trading off economy for ambiguous and unilateral geopolitical goals,” Lavrov said.

 “Perhaps, there is a ‘school of thought’ (I don’t belong to it) that wants Russia to make certain concessions, including unilateral ones, to secure economic gains and avoid loss (let’s be straight about the damage that comes from sanctions). I am not part of this ‘school’ not because I don’t love my country, or wish it well, or want its economy to grow and become more and more successful in solving social problems, but because apart from certain rights the foreign policy of countries like Russia should also be based on the duty to protect fairness, equality and democratic nature of international relations,” Lavrov added.

He said that Washington “goes out of its way to teach all countries how to set their record straight, establish the rule of law and respect democratic principles.” “But they lose enthusiasm as soon as these very principles – respecting international laws and democratic decision-making – are applied to international relations,” the Russian foreign minister emphasized.

Lavrov believes that “the recipe for success is to combine responsibility for making the world a fairer place with a non-confrontational but persistent promotion of our interests, and also readiness to make reasonable compromises based on the balance of interests, rather than on one-way concessions.”

Moscow Brushes Off Poroshenko’s Election Rhetoric

Moscow does not attach much importance to anti-Russian remarks made by President Petro Poroshenko ahead of the forthcoming snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

 “As for [Poroshenko’s] public comments, Ukraine is amid an election campaign, tempers are flying high and some people resort to ‘cheap-shot’ attacks,” Lavrov said in an interview.

He said some political parties in the Ukrainian parliament, known as the VerkhovnaRada, tried to play the “nationalist” card to capitalize on the sentiment and rally grassroots voters.

 “That’s why I prefer not to pay much attention to public remarks. Let’s wait for the elections and see who the Ukrainian parliament will be composed of, although I hope that the wisdom of the Ukrainian people will prevail,” the Russian foreign policy chief said.

He added Moscow regarded Poroshenko as a lawfully-elected Ukrainian president.

 “He has gained full recognition in that capacity. He is in regular talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, they have repeatedly met face-to-face on various occasions, and they keep in touch over the phone,” Lavrov said.

RIA Novosti

R.S