Sergey Lavrov slams US-led NATO, says it expects 'unconditional obedience from all states'

NATO summit in Madrid once again indicated that the alliance expects "unconditional obedience to their will" from all the countries, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Speaking alongside his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei, on Thursday, he accused the US of subjugating the 30-member strong North Atlantic Alliance. It is pertinent to note that Lavrov is on a two-day visit to Belarus, a country closely aligned to the Russian Federation. His visit is set conclude on  July 1. 

"I believe that it is obvious to everyone what they expect. They do not shy away from talking about it, and they said it once again yesterday during the NATO summit in Madrid. They expect unconditional obedience from all states to their will, which reflects their egoistic interests - primarily, the US' interests," Lavrov said at the joint press conference.

Europe is losing its freedom: Lavrov 

The top Russian diplomat also lambasted the European Union (EU) for blindly “submitting to the US”, particularly when it comes to imposing sanctions and other punitive measures on Russia. He backed his stance by saying that the whole European continent is losing its independence or signs of independence that it used to have. According to Lavrov, the EU was following America in the "area of economic sanctions, by rejecting Russian imports, and by destroying logistical and financial chains that took decades to establish."   

He said, "If we look at the existing list of sanctions - it’s an interesting analysis, I recommend doing it - if you compare the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus by European states and those imposed by the US, the n the US, basically, try to go easy on themselves and remain not too active in the areas that will seriously damage their economy," the Russian Foreign Minister said.

Notably, Lavrov said that the US was not only seeking to weaken the Russian Federation but also the European Union as its competitor. "Still, they also get a negative effect from their actions, but Europe suffers much more,' he said. Earlier, during their summit NATO adopted the new document called a “Strategic Concept" in which they declared the Russian Federation a direct threat to the military alliance. 

(Image: AP)