Russia ready to break ties with EU if crippling sanctions imposed, Lavrov warns
- The European Union is working on a proposal to sanction Moscow over the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny
- ‘If you want peace you have to prepare for war,’ Foreign Minister Lavrov says
“We’re ready for that,” Lavrov said in an interview on the Solovyev Live YouTube channel on Friday. “If we see again, as has happened many times before, that sanctions are imposed that pose risks for our economy, including in the most sensitive areas.”
Russia’s top diplomat added: “We don’t want to isolate ourselves from peaceful life but we have to be ready for that. If you want peace you have to prepare for war.”
Russia expels Western diplomats for going to Kremlin critic rallies
Tensions between Moscow and Brussels are rising following EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s visit to the Russian capital last week, when Lavrov used a joint press conference to disparage the bloc as an unreliable partner.
02:05
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny arrested and detained upon return to Russia after near-fatal poisoning
Russia doesn’t want to break off ties but has to be prepared “in case madness prevails and such unfriendly developments take place” on the EU’s side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday. “We must ensure the security of the most sensitive strategic areas and be ready to replace with national infrastructure everything that we may be deprived of.”
Germany’s foreign ministry on Friday described Lavrov’s comments as “disconcerting”.
“These statements are really disconcerting and incomprehensible,” a foreign ministry spokeswoman told a regular government news conference in Berlin. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert added: “I can only underline that.”
Navalny’s allies have urged the EU, UK and US to sanction 35 top Russian officials and business figures close to the Kremlin.
Russia, which denies any role in poisoning Navalny, has rejected Western calls to free the Kremlin critic and accuses him and his aides of working in the interests of foreign governments.
Authorities have cracked down on mass protests over Navalny’s jailing, detaining more than 11,000 people since last month and prosecuting his close colleagues, provoking international condemnation.
Additional reporting by Reuters