"There is neither point nor desire to maintain the current presence in Western countries. Our people are working under circumstances, which could be hardly considered human. They are faced with constant problems and threatened with physical violence. What is most important is that there is no work to do there since Europe decided to shut off from us and stop any economic cooperation," Lavrov said at the meeting with university graduates admitted to Russia's diplomatic service.
At the same time, more attention should be paid to countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, according to the minister.
Lavrov noted that the Russian Foreign Ministry was shifting its geographical focus from the West to the countries that are willing to cooperate with Russia on mutually beneficial and equal terms and look for promising joint projects.
The minister also noted that although many diplomats were forced to leave Russian diplomatic missions in Western countries ahead of schedule due to sanctions imposed against Russia in response to its military operation in Ukraine, the foreign ministry managed to employ these diplomats elsewhere without prejudice to the employment of university graduates.