Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that it “doesn’t make sense” to maintain the country’s current level of diplomatic presence in the West, state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing AFP.

“It makes no sense and we have no desire to maintain the same presence in Western countries. Our people work in conditions that can hardly be called humane. They face constant problems, threats of physical attacks,” Lavrova quotes. state media during a meeting with university graduates accepted to the diplomatic service.

“The main thing is that there is no work there, because Europe has decided to close itself off from us and stop any economic cooperation. You can’t force to be good,” he added.

Lavrov noted that the Russian Foreign Ministry is currently carrying out a “geographic reorientation” of its activities both abroad and in the central office, which implies a potential decrease in Russia’s diplomatic presence in the West.