Lavrov Asserts Russia Is Ready To Respond ‘Strongly and Resolutely’ to Future U.S. ‘Unfriendly Moves’

July 7, 2021 (EIRNS)—Russia’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaking yesterday to Indonesian newspaper Rakyat Merdeka, said “Attempts to engage in a dialogue with us from the position of strength are doomed to failure from the start: We will retaliate strongly and resolutely against any unfriendly moves.” Russia’s most senior diplomat had said earlier that “The Russian leader said clearly, including in public, that results in any area could only be achieved if the two countries found a mutually acceptable balance of interests based strictly on parity.”

Referencing constructive talks between Russian President Putin and U.S. President Biden in Geneva last month, Lavrov pointed out:

“However, almost as soon as they were over, U.S. officials, including participants in the Geneva meeting, redoubled their moralizing rage, saying they told Moscow what was what, sent it a clear warning, outlined U.S. demands, etc. Incidentally, all these ‘warnings’ were later followed with threats: If within a few months Russia failed to accept the ‘rules of the game’ that were presented to it in Geneva, it would be subjected to more pressure.”

He then concluded his response to the newspaper: “Attempts to engage in a dialogue with us from the position of strength are doomed to failure from the start: we will retaliate strongly and resolutely against any unfriendly moves. Cooperation should be honest, if Washington really wants stable and predictable relations, to quote them say so.”

The Biden-Putin Summit was broadly hailed as a success, reports RT. Lavrov reports that:

“The Russian-American summit, in our view, was held in a frank and businesslike atmosphere. The two leaders had an in-depth discussion of the status of bilateral relations and exchanged views on strategic stability issues, arms control and regional conflicts. ... At the same time, we are satisfied that after stating their positions of principle, the parties demonstrated a willingness to understand each other. What can be described as the main result is a step forward, modest as it is, towards restoring normalcy between our countries....”

The complete interview with Rakyat Merdeka is posted to the Foreign Ministry website.

The RT article concluded with a comparison to 2014: As relations between the two nations frayed in the face of Russia’s reunification with the Crimean peninsula, Russia’s President forewarned that “talking to Russia from a position of strength is meaningless,” and slammed sanctions and international condemnation over the development. RT quoted Putin as having said: “Every time somebody believes Russia is becoming too powerful and independent, such instruments are turned on immediately.”

Lavrov is visiting three ASEAN member states. He had just been to Brunei on July 5, which chairs ASEAN this year, and then went to Indonesia on July 6. Today, July 7 he is in Vientiane, Laos.