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Updated May 30th, 2022 at 09:15 IST

Russia's Sergey Lavrov believes western sanctions against Moscow 'unlikely' to be lifted

Sergey Lavrov said that he believes the West prepared sanctions against Russia for "quite a while" and it's highly "unlikely" that they remove them anytime soon

Reported by: Dipaneeta Das
Russia
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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As the ravaging war in Ukraine entered day 96, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he believes the West prepared sanctions against Russia for "quite a while" and it is highly "unlikely" that they will be revoked anytime soon. Speaking with TF1 on Sunday, Lavrov noted that the speed with which the West introduced the measures, in addition to the volume "indicated that the sanctions were not created overnight."

"They were being prepared for quite a while. It is unlikely that these sanctions will be lifted," Lavrov remarked.

The foreign minister also slammed the West over the lack of clarity on the extension of the sanctions imposed on Russia. The Russian FM highlighted that the West has indicated that the sanctions could remain even after the "crisis" in Ukraine subsides. "At least, the US, not publicly but during contacts with its allies, says that when all this (the war in Ukraine) is over, the sanctions will remain anyway," he said.

The remarks come as the Russian war has now lasted for four months, causing  huge devastation in Ukraine. The invading forces have now focused on what Russia defines as "liberation" of the Ukraine-occupied regions of Donbass. In a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the authorities quoted Lavrov, saying that the freedom of the Donetsk and Luhansk region is now an "unconditional priority" for Moscow. As Russian troops have ground the city of Severodonetsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday flagged that "capturing the city now is a fundamental task for the invaders as they don't care how many lives they will have to pay for this." Russian shelling and arbitrary airstrike have "completely destroyed" at least 90% of the infrastructure in the region, he said.

Lavrov claims the West 'quadrupling attempts to restrict' Russia

On May 27, Lavrov claimed that the Western nations were "quadrupling its attempts to restrict" Russia by "declaring a total war against the entire Russian world," RIA Novosti reported. "Now no one hides this, it has reached the point of absurdity, to the very culture of the abolition of Russia and everything connected with our country. Workers of national culture and art, who today represent culture, are also being persecuted," Lavrov stated. He went on to defend Russian President Vladimir Putin's initiatives on "wide public support" as well as "import political forces" and major corporations.

(Image: AP)

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Published May 30th, 2022 at 09:15 IST

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