Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia “sees no point” in maintaining the same diplomatic presence in the West, declaring that Moscow will now focus on Asia and Africa.
Useless
“There is no point and no desire, of course, to maintain the same presence in Western countries,” Lavrov said during a meeting with young graduates recently appointed by the Russian Foreign Ministry, adding that “the developing countries of Asia and Africa, on the contrary, need more attention.” “.
He added that Russian diplomats work there “in conditions that are difficult to describe as humanitarian, problems are constantly created for them through threats.”
“What do we do?”
“But the most important thing is that there is no business there since Europe decided to close to us and suspend any economic cooperation” with Moscow, he added.
“What do we do? We can’t force others to be friendly to us,” he asked, stressing that “the developing countries in Asia and Africa, on the contrary, need more attention,” noting that Russia has a lot of projects there, especially commercial ones. “It requires diplomatic escort.”
The center of gravity in these countries
While Lavrov concluded that “under these conditions, we will, of course, place the center of gravity in those countries that are ready to act on the basis of equality and cooperate with us on the basis of mutual benefit.”
It is noteworthy that several Western countries, such as the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Austria, have expelled a large number of Russian diplomats since the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine on February 24.