Lavrov warns Europe over risks of abandoning Russian energy supplies

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the administration of US President Donald Trump is maintaining, strengthening, and expanding sanctions introduced against Russia by the previous administration of Joe Biden.

According to TASS, Lavrov made the remarks following his official visit to China, stating that restrictive measures imposed by Washington continue under the current US leadership.

He also warned Europe about the risks of fully abandoning Russian energy resources, using a metaphor to describe what he called a potential shift from dependence on Russian hydrocarbons to reliance on another major power.

“If we speak metaphorically, they are beginning to realise that if Europe gets off what they call the Russian oil and gas needle, it may automatically end up on another ‘energy stake’ being prepared by another great power,” Lavrov said.

The Russian foreign minister also criticised what he described as EU attempts to turn Serbia into a buffer zone against Russia. He said the Serbian people maintain historically friendly relations with Russia and China, and suggested that President Aleksandar Vučić would not accept anti-Russian conditions for EU membership.

Lavrov added that Moscow supports regional connectivity initiatives in the Balkans and respects the choices of the Serbian people.

Sergey Lavrov said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has repeatedly stated that he will not join the European Union on anti-Russian terms. Russia, he noted, respects this position. However, Moscow also hears what Europe is saying.

According to Lavrov, Serbia is being told that the EU accession negotiation process — which is currently, as he said, frozen — could be resumed if two conditions are met: recognition of Kosovo’s independence, which in his view already reveals the “anti-Serbian essence” of Brussels’ position, and full alignment with all sanctions imposed by the European Union against the Russian Federation. “That’s it,” he said, adding that this amounts to turning Serbia into a buffer zone aimed at countering Russia.

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, the minister noted that Persian Gulf states understood that in the event of a US attack, Iran could strike American bases located on their territory. “We not only respect their position, we are in solidarity with them that they should not suffer from this war. But let us be honest — and I speak with all my counterparts — it was impossible not to understand that US military facilities in Arab neighbouring countries of Iran would become targets for retaliation in the event of aggression against Iran itself. Everyone understood this perfectly,” Lavrov stated.

Finally, Lavrov emphasised that Russia insists on continuing negotiations between the United States and Iran in Pakistan, and is ready to work with China to support various formats of external facilitation of these talks, ensuring that the legitimate rights of all parties are taken into account.

“We and China firmly support the continuation of these negotiations so that the parties can advance realistic and fair goals with full respect for the legitimate rights of each side in accordance with international law. We are ready to support various formats of external accompaniment of these talks,” the minister said.