Lavrov: Our Neighbors Should Respect Russia’s Interests

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, on December 17, that Russia has no “monopoly” over the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); but added that Russia’s neighbors should respect Russia’s interests.

“President of the Russian Federation [Vladimir Putin] made it clear, while addressing the Foreign Ministry staff in July, that Russia does not consider CIS a space where Russia has a monopoly. But we have our interests in the region, including [interests] related to security, economic and humanitarian issues,” Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

“Our neighbors should respect our interests, as we respect their interests,” he added.

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