Western leaders believe themselves to be exceptional and are driven by delusions of grandeur and irrational fears, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday in an interview with RT Arabic.
“We know that our Western friends have many phobias, many complexes. They have a superiority complex, the infallibility complex, and I believe they also have some paranoia,” Lavrov said.
“Any process that does not include the West, which the West does not control, they perceive as opposition, a challenge to their dominance,” he explained, referring to various regional economic integration groups and organizations that Russia participates in. “It’s high time for them to kick this habit.”
The remarks came as Lavrov defended Moscow’s opposition to the US and its allies, whom Russia accuses of imposing their will on other nations through unsavory methods. The drive to punish Russia with economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation in response to attacking Ukraine, in which Washington wants to enroll the entire world, is the latest example, Russia’s top diplomat said.