Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the European Union was trying to "oust" Russia from Central Asia but that it would not "work", in an interview broadcast on Sunday, shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the region.
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The European Union makes no secret of its intention to restrict us in every possible way, to oust us from Central Asia and the South Cause," he said in an interview with Russian state television, an excerpt of which was published on the social networks of the journalist who interviewed him, Pavel Zarubin. "It won't work," Lavrov said, vowing that Russia would not "disappear."
Responding to Emmanuel Macron, who had praised Kazakhstan's refusal of any "vassalization", especially vis-à-vis Russia, the Russian minister judged that these remarks were "quite brazen, for diplomatic language".
Western countries 'tend not to make friends for their own good'
At the beginning of November, the French president visited Kazakhstan and then Uzbekistan, two former Soviet republics in Central Asia, a region where Paris wants to strengthen its presence.
Central Asia, long a Russian backyard, is being eagerly courted by major powers at a time when Russia is preoccupied with its offensive in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also visited Kazakhstan this week, calling the country "a closest ally."
His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the West was developing ties with certain countries to counter Moscow's influence.
Western countries "tend not to make friends for their own good. They are trying to make friends by keeping Russia out of certain regions," he said, also answering questions from Pavel Zarubin.