MOSCOW (Sputnik) — "Serious" members of the European Union begin to realize the harmfulness and short-sightedness of Russophobes' attempt to "call the tune" in the bloc, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"Back in 2004, we were saying that the hastiness of accepting new members to the European Union and NATO that did not comply with the criteria of the two changing organizations was motivated by the desire to cover [more] geopolitical space, in a way to take away from Russia what was left after the Soviet Union. We looked at it calmly and told our colleagues: 'Do what you will, but don't fall under their influence because some of them, for example, out Baltic neighbors, have this Russophobic mentality," Lavrov told Russia's REN-TV channel.
"Unfortunately, Russophobes in the European Union are trying to 'call the tune.' Serious countries start to see more and more clearly the harmfulness and short-sightedness of such attempts," Lavrov said.
