Lavrov Says EU Attempts to Push Russia Out of Central Asia Doomed to Failure

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, commenting on EU media reports about Central Asia allegedly being Russia's "backyard," said on Sunday that the European Union was trying to drive Russia out of the region, but such attempts were bound to fail.

"The European Union is not hiding its plans to somehow contain and push us out of Central Asia and the Caucasus. This won't work. History put us here and we aren't going anywhere. Our partners and allies know this very well," Lavrov told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin.

The top Russian diplomat added that not just Western media but Western leaders, too, often made derogatory remarks about Central Asian countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said it was "stupid" to call Kazakhstan Russia's backyard. He argued that Moscow was fostering ties with Astana as a strategic partner and appreciated that relationship.

"It's all part of an information war and so on. Kazakhstan is a sovereign nation that has been developing cooperation in all directions, rather than siding with this or that [country]," Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman said that ties between Russia and Kazakhstan had far from exhausted their potential. He spoke of flourishing trade, investments and cultural exchanges based on mutual respect.