West Hopes to Benefit From 'Reckless' Anti-Russia Stance - Official

The West is trying to reap a benefit from negative rhetoric toward Russia, which is a "reckless" approach, a senior Russian official said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Western countries seek to benefit from their negative rhetoric toward Russia, Russian lower house speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Wednesday.

"The end of this year has shown that the West still hopes to benefit from both anti-Russia rhetoric and anti-Russia policy," Naryshkin said.

He added that such position approach was "reckless."

In 2014, relations between Russia and the West deteriorated when Crimea voted to rejoin with Russia and Moscow was accused of escalating the crisis in southeastern Ukraine. The West imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia's energy, banking and defense sectors.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations, asserting instead its desire for a diplomatic settlement to the conflict.