Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday he had detected increasing U.S. hostility towards
Moscow and complained about what he said was a series of aggressive U.S. steps
that threatened Russia's national security.
In an interview with Russian
state TV likely to worsen already poor relations with Washington, Lavrov made
it clear he blamed the Obama administration for what he described as a sharp
deterioration in U.S.-Russia ties.
"We have witnessed a
fundamental change of circumstances when it comes to the aggressive Russophobia
that now lies at the heart of U.S. policy towards Russia," Lavrov told
Russian state TV's First Channel.
"It's not just a
rhetorical Russophobia, but aggressive steps that really hurt our national
interests and pose a threat to our security."
With relations between Moscow
and Washington strained over issues from Syria to Ukraine, Lavrov reeled off a
long list of Russian grievances against the United States which he said helped
contribute to an atmosphere of mistrust that was in some ways more dangerous
and unpredictable than the Cold War.
He complained that NATO had
been steadily moving military infrastructure closer to Russia's borders and
lashed out at Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's role in the Ukraine
crisis.
He also said he had heard that
some policy makers in Washington were suggesting that President Barack Obama
sanction the carpet bombing of the Syrian government's military air fields to
ground its air force.
"This is a very dangerous
game given that Russia, being in Syria at the invitation of the legitimate
government of this country and having two bases there, has got air defense
systems there to protect its assets," said Lavrov.
Lavrov said he hoped Obama
would not agree to such a scenario.
Russia suspended a treaty with
Washington on cleaning up weapons grade plutonium earlier this month in
response to what it said were "unfriendly acts" by the United States.
Lavrov said both countries had
the right to pull out of the treaty in the event of "a fundamental change
in circumstances".
"The treaty was concluded
when relations were normal, civilized, when no one ... was trying to interfere
in the (other's) internal affairs. That's the fundamental change of
circumstances," said Lavrov.
(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova;
Editing by Andrew Osborn)
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