Russia was surprised that the US imposed sanctions on its largest oil companies "Lukoil" and "Rosneft" after the talks in Anchorage, Alaska, held on August 15 last year, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with RT, quoted by TASS, BTA reported.
"Moscow was surprised that Washington imposed sanctions on Russian companies "Lukoil" and "Rosneft" after the talks in Anchorage. In Anchorage, we parted ways with the fact that Russia supported the US proposal to settle the Ukrainian crisis. Then we expected the US to confirm....But suddenly something else happened - sanctions against "Lukoil" and "Rosneft", Lavrov said.
He also noted that the United States has indicated that Cuba poses a threat to Washington's interests in the Caribbean, including due to Russia's hostile and malicious policy.
In connection with the situation between Iran and the United States, Lavrov indicated that it is "explosive" for the entire Middle East. "There are too many time-delayed mines there, just waiting for someone to step on them," he said. The Russian Foreign Minister noted that Moscow "does not impose itself as an assistant" to the participants in the Middle East process - the United States, Iran and Israel. But he noted that Moscow "is not indifferent to how the situation will develop".
In connection with the war in Ukraine, Lavrov stressed that in his opinion, President Volodymyr Zelensky thinks only about his own "survival": "In my opinion, conscience and Zelensky are things that do not go well together. He thinks about nothing else but his own survival… Any peace [in Ukraine] will mean the end of his political career, and, probably, not only his political one", Lavrov said.
Talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine continue, but Lavrov pointed out that the Europeans are trying to reformulate Washington's proposals for resolving the conflict.