Russia Withstood Sanctions Thanks to Historical Legacy — Lavrov
/ Go to the mediabankRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
/ Go to the mediabank
MOSCOW, July 29 (Sputnik) — Russia has been able to withstand Western sanctions pressure thanks to its historical legacy and respect for national history, Russian Foreign Minister and head of United Russia’s party list Sergey Lavrov said. «First and foremost, thanks to our ancestors, who founded this country — the richest, largest country in the world, with access to seas and oceans, which allows us to expand trade and ensure our security, including with the support of the navy. Thanks to industrialization, which actually began back in the Russian Empire,» Lavrov said in an interview with the TASS news agency director general, Andrei Kondrashov. The Russia-wide railway network and the foundations of the iron and steel industry were laid during that period, he added. «Then came Soviet-era industrialization, when in an extremely short period — roughly a decade to 15 years before the start of the Great Patriotic War — enormous achievements were made. This greatly helped prevent a catastrophe,» the foreign minister said. Russia’s foreign policy interests are to remain an independent power and to ensure that no one considers interfering in its internal affairs, «that all people in Russia enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Constitution: the right to education, to their culture, traditions and religious beliefs,» the minister said. In that capacity Russia will seek to cooperate on an equal footing with other emerging centers of power, including China and India, he underlined.
WorldMFA Spox Trashes EU’s Sanction Mania: You Have Zero Influence on Russia’s Policy Course 10 June, 09:00 GMT
