"They wanted to ‘punish’ Russia, so they stole it," Lavrov told the Italian Mediaset broadcaster, explaining that "money was stolen from us (over $300 billion)... most of the amount was received for oil and gas supplies."
"When they want, they will pocket them again. That's the reason," he added, noting that in the West, "no one talks about this."
"...’Gazprom’ was forced to keep the money on its accounts in Western banks (according to your rules)," Lavrov said, adding that "now we proposed that the deliveries be considered paid for not when Gazprombank gets the euros or dollars, but when they are converted into rubles, which can no longer be stolen."
"We have no right before our own people to allow the West to continue its thieving habits."
"Italy is in the forefront of those who not only accept anti-Russian sanctions, but also put forward initiatives in every possible way. It was really strange for me to see it, but now we are already used to the fact that Italy can be like that," he said.
Russia Never Stops Efforts to Prevent Nuclear War
"Russia has never stopped efforts to reach agreements that will guarantee the non-initiation of a nuclear war," he emphasized.
"We were forced to develop hypersonic weapons, because we knew very well that the US missile defense system would be directed not at North Korea and Iran, but against Russia and subsequently China," he said.
"Otherwise, the country possessing missile defense and offensive weapons may be tempted to strike a first blow in the hope that a retaliatory strike will be suppressed by missile defense systems," the minister explained.
"Currently, even NATO does not fit the Americans. They held last meetings not within the framework of NATO (a meeting dedicated to the support of Ukraine), but just convened delegations, because there is a consensus in NATO. But they [the Americans] need to quickly and single-handedly resolve all issues," Lavrov explained.