Russia's Sergey Lavrov says EU is trying to create a security system against Russia

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that the European Union is not trying to create a security system with Russia but a security system against Russia. Sergey Lavrov was speaking ahead of the annual meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The annual meeting of OSCE is being held this year in the Polish city of Lodz. 

Poland has decided that they won't be allowing the Russian foreign minister to take part in OSCE's annual meeting, despite the fact that Russia is a member of the OSCE. Senior Polish diplomat Pawel Jablonski said that it is important to isolate Russia in the international arena, to punish it for invading Ukraine, as per a report from Sputnik. Lavrov said that NATO's policies have dragged Europe back to the Cold War, adding that the era of cooperation has ended. 

Russia-EU cooperation unlikely, says Russian foreign minister

The Russian foreign minister candidly admitted that restoration of cooperation between Russia and the EU appears unlikely. "They want to keep Russians out of Europe, they have the whole of Europe under their control," said Lavrov during the press conference. He quoted the words of NATO's first Secretary General, Lord Hastings Lionel Ismay to highlight how little has changed with the passage of time. Lavrov said that the philosophy of "dominance and unilateral advantages" did end with the Cold War, they continue to this day. "What is happening now means that NATO is returning to those conceptual priorities that were developed 73 years ago. Nothing has changed: they want to keep the Russians outside of Europe, the Americans have already enslaved all of Europe, and not only the Germans, but the entire European Union," he said. 

Lavrov talked about the issues OSCE faces, flagging that Sweden, which presided over OSCE last year, abandoned the principle of balance and aided US and EU in taking over the organisation. Lavrov said that the stance OSCE has taken will make the organisation a "marginalised entity". The Russian foreign minister also criticised the way in which Poland has behaved during its presidency of OSCE, saying that Warsaw's "anti-presidency" is "digging a grave" for the organisation.