Some fringe elements in West still plotting to tear Russia down — Lavrov

MOSCOW, September 8. /TASS/. Certain groups in the West have not been given up on their plans to break Russia into separate regions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"Recently, evidence was presented showing that some fringe elements in the West are still working on schemes to divide Russia into different regions," the top diplomat stated during a meeting with students and faculty at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

The foreign minister pointed out that the fugitive Russian "foreign agent opposition" is also spreading this narrative, albeit without much success. "But the relevant structures of Western countries are not leaving them alone and are keeping this topic alive," he added. "From time to time, statements are made revealing the desire of leaders in the current Western world, primarily in Europe, to weaken Russia and eliminate competitors," Lavrov noted.

"The Union collapsed largely because of our own Soviet misguided, utopian illusions that, once we had eliminated all cultural contradictions, the West would grant us an equal place in international relations," the top diplomat mentioned. "But the West was never intended to do so," he emphasized. According to the foreign minister, the West did not perceive the collapse of the USSR as a human tragedy but rather as "an opportunity to continue its policy of weakening Russia."

"After the Russian Federation rediscovered its identity and returned to the foundations of our self-awareness and values ​​in the 2000s, we began to pursue a policy that reflected our national interests. We never tried to weaken or harm anyone, but were always ready for honest cooperation," the top diplomat stressed. "While the West tried to fragment the former socialist camp and then the Russian Federation, we tried to unite so as not to remain isolated and weakened," he noted. This line formed the basis for creating the CIS and other integration structures in the post-Soviet space – “a line of unification based on consensus, rather than autocracy and strict discipline,” as in NATO or the European Union, Lavrov explained.