Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that the protests in Georgia are reminiscent of the Euromaidan in Ukraine, and, comparing them to anti-government protests in the Republic of Moldova, highlights the mixed reaction of Americans, suggesting that they are part of the West’s plan against Russia, a propaganda thesis voiced Vladimir Putin in last year’s speech before the Federal Assembly.

The different reaction of the US to the events in Georgia and Moldova is ridiculous, Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Channel One TV channel, News.ro reports.

“In Georgia, the opposition cannot help but do what it wants. And in Moldova, protests against the current government are condemned. Because the opposition in Georgia reflects the interests of the West, and the opposition in Moldova has other interests, and the Western ones are the government and the president. Two similar situations are unfolding right before our eyes, with protests, but the attitude towards them is fundamentally different,” Lavrov said, quoted by NewsMaker.

“You know, the position of the West, the same State Department, which says in a pathetic tone that such an attitude towards civil society is unacceptable, makes us smile. These are exactly the rules that the West is talking about. We are talking about international law, we are talking about world order,” commented the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

He issued a veiled threat to “countries surrounding Russia” who “must draw conclusions about the dangers” they face if they enter the United States’ “area of ​​responsibility.”

The West, commenting on Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine, directly admitted that its hegemony in world affairs is being called into question, Lavrov claims. “When the United States and its NATO allies comment on the events in Ukraine, our special military operation, they demand the strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield, directly admitting that this is an existential conflict, the outcome of which depends on the prospects of Western hegemony depends on the United States and its prospects dominance in world affairs,” Lavrov said, repeating Vladimir Putin’s theses expressed in his speech on February 21, when he justified the war in Ukraine as one on which the very existence of Russia as a state depends. depends on what the USA and NATO would threaten.

Lavrov: The events in Georgia are organized from outside and resemble the Euromaidan

Lavrov said the events in Georgia were very reminiscent of the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv in 2013-2014, the pro-democracy movement that led to the ouster of the then pro-Russian president of Ukraine, prompting a backlash of anger from Moscow that culminated. in the illegal annexation of Crimea and provocation of the separatist conflict in the east of the country.

According to the head of Russian diplomacy, the events in Georgia are “directed” from the outside. “Events in Georgia are, of course, organized from outside. They have the same nature, the same desire to create an unpleasant situation near the borders of Russia,” he said, as quoted by TASS. “A situation that can cause irritation in a country where the current government, like the government of (former Ukrainian President Viktor) Yanukovych in 2013, thinks first of all about the country’s economic interests and refuses to join the sanctions against the Russians. And this is not because they are pro-Russian politicians, but because there are economic and commercial relations with Russia – gas supplies against wine, cognac supplies,” explained the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Pro-European protests in Ukraine, also called Euromaidan, spontaneously began in Kyiv in November 2013 in response to the decision of the then Ukrainian government to suspend the process of preparing for the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union and free trade. Agree with these. The protests were started by students, who were soon joined by opposition parties and other pro-European groups.

The protests in Georgia, which also include many young intellectuals and have been joined by pro-Western forces including the country’s President Salome Zourabisvili, began in response to a bill they say was inspired by Russia and could lead to an authoritarian drift in the country. country. This is the so-called “foreign agents” law, which obliges the press and organizations that receive more than 20% foreign funding to declare or face severe sanctions. The bill was eventually withdrawn by the ruling party in Tbilisi, but protests continued, with demonstrators accusing the government of not being sufficiently committed to the pro-European path.

The situation surrounding the bill on foreign agents was only a pretext for an attempt to change power by force, Serhii Lavrov said on Channel One on Friday.

Lavrov makes Josep Borrell a hypocrite

Lavrov defended this law, which has also been in place in Russia since 2012 and which has become a pretext for large-scale repression against press freedom and public human rights organizations. He said the law itself “pales in comparison to how nonprofits are regulated in the United States, France, India, Israel. In addition, violation of a similar law in the United States entails a fine of up to $250,000 and up to five years in prison for criminal prosecution, in Georgia the amount is much less – $9 thousand and no criminal prosecution,” Lavrov said.

The head of Russian diplomacy was concerned about the statements of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell regarding the events in Georgia, calling them hypocritical. “And yet, despite the fact that a number of European countries have the same rules, much stricter rules on the same topic, (…) Mr. Borrell, without batting an eye, declared that the law promoted by the Georgians through the resolution of the party “Georgian dream” contradicts European values ​​and puts an obstacle on the path of Georgia’s accession to the European Union. In general, the hypocrisy is, of course, obvious,” Lavrov said.

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