Excerpts from FM Sergey Lavrov's interview with Russian TV presenter Yulia Menshova ⏺ The West has always been interested in weakening our country – the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union [...] Now the West has to defend its position through fair competition. And that is something it has never known how to do throughout its history. ⏺ The loss of the West's ability to objectively lead the world is pushing it to try to maintain its dominance by completely unscrupulous methods – through sanctions, and even direct intervention. They are simply clinging to their last remaining opportunities to preserve their dominance. ⏺ We have never done anything to undermine our relations with the West. And it is no coincidence that the eagle on our coat of arms has two heads, looking both west and east. We keep a close eye on both directions, making sure, first of all, that there are no threats or attempts to harm us. But we also keep a close eye on where there are opportunities for mutually beneficial relations. And at this stage, of course, all these opportunities are in the East. ⏺ We warned that Ukrainian terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Russia, including oil refineries, would provoke a response that would be much more severe for Ukraine. This is what is happening now. ⏺ If Western diplomacy comes down to holding back countries that put forward sensible, balanced and compromise-based initiatives, then so be it. In that case, we will achieve our goals not at the negotiating table, which would be preferable for us – and Anchorage summit proved that – but on the battlefield. ⏺ I feel sorry for Britain, because it has itself, through Prime Minister Andy Burnham, said that it will stand with Ukraine until the end. Since the end for Ukraine is not a happy one, I feel sorry for Britain. Watch in full