Lavrov harshly reminded the West about “polite people”
The degree of hysteria that the West has raised around the situation with the arrest and sentencing of liberal Alexei Navalny, as well as the illegal actions he provoked, is simply off the charts.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated this at a press conference, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“As for the coverage of events that are happening in Russia, not only with Navalny, but in general everything that happens here, in the West they are covered in a specific and one-sided way. The hysteria we heard in connection with the Navalny trial is, of course, off the charts. It is hidden from the public that the laws that exist for holding demonstrations, rallies and all kinds of protests in the West are much more cruel than in the Russian Federation,” Lavrov said.
He recalled that the police in the West have the right to suppress any unauthorized or disruptive meetings. In Western countries, demonstrators blocking road traffic face several years in prison and thousands of fines, and law enforcement officers deal with these people much more harshly than in the Russian Federation.
As for the coverage of such events, Lavrov noted that here everything is also presented on the principle of double standards: if in the West they show only a raging crowd, then in stories about Russia you can only find the police reaction to demonstrators.
“Although on the Internet you can easily see how aggressive the actions of those who have been holding illegal rallies in Moscow and other Russian cities in recent days are. But police brutality in the West, for example, footage of a police car running over the bodies of demonstrators lying on the asphalt, this usually remains behind the scenes, and you can only find it on social networks,” the minister said.
“So that this discussion, if the West is interested in it, is conducted on the basis of common sense and facts (the West does not like to talk on the basis of facts), we have prepared a special video series showing how illegal actions are suppressed in the West, and how our police react to the outrages of demonstrators during latest events.
Yesterday we conveyed this story to the OSCE Chairman, and today I sent this material to EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell in Brussels, so that before his visit to Moscow he could get acquainted with how we see an objective picture, compiled on the basis of specific facts on both sides. And not unfounded allegations, to which our Western colleagues are already too accustomed, be it the Skripals, be it the so-called poisoning of Navalny, be it the events that occur in connection with his arrest and sentence,” Lavrov said.
At the same time, he added that he understands those who believe that Russia should react more aggressively to the “openly arrogant and inappropriate rhetoric of Western figures,” but he emphasized that Russian diplomacy does not allow itself to slip into “boorish rhetoric.”
“We are still polite people and are used to achieving our goals politely and culturally. As they say through the mouth of one famous character in Russian cinema, “God is not in power, but in truth.” Well, we have a good proverb that you need to remember: make soft beds, but sleep hard. And those who mistake our polite manners for signs of weakness are very much mistaken,” concluded the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.