Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: Europe should not speak in a 'superior' tone

According to RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin that Europe should not speak to Russia in a language of superiority.

"There is no need to speak to Russia in such a language of superiority. And if this 'coalition of the willing' were led by any more or less enlightened leaders, they would quickly realize this," the Russian Foreign Minister warned.

In a conversation with Zarubin, Lavrov also stressed that Russia will not tolerate manifestations of fascist tendencies in Europe. Moscow will make every effort to ensure that this Nazi ideology “does not rear its ugly head” and is destroyed, and that Europe returns to its values.

The European Union has told EU candidate countries in April that they are not welcome to take part in the May 9 parade in Moscow's Red Square, and it has no plans to take part in the celebrations, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly noted that some Western countries are trying to rewrite history. As Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed, Moscow has an obligation to defend the truth about the Great Patriotic War and counter any attempts to distort its history.

In 2025, the 80th anniversary of Russia's Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the victory over Nazi Germany, will be celebrated.

Several world leaders are planning to travel to Moscow to attend the May 9 Victory Day celebrations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, the presidents of Venezuela, Brazil and Serbia, as well as the prime ministers of India and Slovakia.