US wants Western Europe to bear cost of ‘containing Russia’ – Lavrov

The US is trying to shift the burden of “containing Russia” onto European NATO members, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Speaking during a visit to China on Wednesday, Lavrov blamed the EU and UK for “torpedoing” US-Russian talks aimed at normalizing diplomatic ties and criticized large-scale European rearmament programs.

“European elites see militarization as a guarantee of their survival. And Americans encourage this European militarization as it shifts responsibility for security of the Old World,” he said.