Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of attempting to dominate the energy markets in pursuits of its own interests and abandoning internationally recognised diplomatic conventions. Sergei Lavrov was speaking in an interview broadcast on Friday, April 24.
Sergei Lavrov said Washington, in its dealings with Latin America and the Middle East, was “taking us back to a world where nothing existed” in international law.
Referring to the , Cilia Flores, in a military operation in Caracas and America’s war on Iran and the in joint US-Israeli strikes at the end of February, Lavrov said that America was ready to defend its well-being by any means such as coups, kidnappings etc.
He said, “The United States has officially declared that no one can dictate to it. It cares only about its own well-being and is ready to defend that well-being by any means – coups, kidnappings or assassinations of leaders of countries that possess natural resources the Americans need.”
The Russian foreign minister also said that America no longer hides that Venezuela and Iran were about oil. “Venezuela, Iran, our American colleagues do not hide that this is about oil. They ,” he said.
The United States, Lavrov said, had “cut off” Europe, urging European states to abandon the now-damaged Nord Stream pipeline carrying Russian gas to Germany and backing European Union calls to discourage Hungary and Slovakia from buying Russian gas.
“This is not an approach to international relations. It is an attempt to return to the colonial era,” Lavrov said, denouncing European policy as being driven by “arrogance and contempt for others.”
The Russian minister further alleged that in its attempt to settle the Russia-Ukraine war, the United States was promoting the benefits of “huge economic opportunities.” Donald Trump had met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska to help Ukraine negotiate the war. The meeting did not bear fruits.
Sergei Lavrov said, “At the same time, everything I just described is happening in parallel. We are being pushed out of all global energy markets.”
“If we are ready to carry out mutually beneficial projects on our territory and provide Americans with what interests them … then our interests must also be respected. So far, we do not see this.”
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