RUss Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov threatens the European Union. The government in Moscow intends to crack down on Europe if necessary, he said in an interview with the state-run newspaper Argumenty i Fatky published on Tuesday. The reason given by the minister was that Europe was supplying the “criminal regime” in Kiev with weapons and trainers. “In response to hostile moves, if necessary, we will crack down on the basis of Russia’s national interests and the principles of reciprocity accepted in diplomatic practice.”
According to Lavrov, the bad relationship between the European Union and Russia is self-inflicted. “The European Union has lost Russia. But that’s their own fault,” he said. “It is the EU member states and EU leaders who openly state that it is necessary to inflict what they call a strategic defeat on Russia.”
The West is also trying to drive a wedge between Russia and China by talking about an unequal relationship and Moscow’s dependence on Beijing, Lavrov said. The 10-hour talks between Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month pushed the “strategic partnership” between the two countries beyond an “exclusively bilateral context.” “Obviously we feel a bond of comradeship and we are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder in defending each other’s fundamental interests,” he said.
Order for nationalist bloggers
Putin posthumously awarded a medal to Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin, who was killed in a bomb attack in St. Petersburg. The authorities now classify the assassination as an act of terrorism and have directed accusations of guilt towards Kiev, but also towards the suppressed opposition in their own country.
According to a decree published by Putin on Monday, blogger Maxim Fomin, known by the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarski, will be awarded the Order of Bravery for the courage and boldness he has shown in the performance of his professional duties.
The far-right blogger was killed in a bomb explosion at a café in downtown St. Petersburg on Sunday, and more than 30 people were injured. In the café, Fomin, who himself had called for the “total annihilation of Ukraine,” wanted to talk about his experiences as a war reporter in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine. The authorities have now upgraded the original charge of an assassination to terrorism and arrested a suspect. According to media reports, the young woman was transferred to Moscow.