“The theatrical display of unity in sanctions against Russia has little to do with reality because it harms national interests of many European states. And they are ready to defend their rights,” he said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.
Naryshkin noted that when the Western governments were considering the imposition of sanctions against Moscow, the opinions of national voters, businesses and elites were clearly not a deciding factor.
Naryshkin reminded that Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban recently admitted he was against anti-Russia sanctions.
Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated significantly over the Ukrainian conflict, as the European Union, the United States and their allies accused Moscow of meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs and imposed several rounds of sanctions against it. Russia has repeatedly denied Western accusations and continued to act as a mediator for Ukrainian reconciliation.
A number of senior European politicians, including Czech President Milos Zeman and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have called on the EU to lift the anti-Russia sanctions or avoid introducing new ones.
