Russia says ‘megalomania’ manifesting itself in NATO actions

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia claimed on Thursday that “megalomania” is manifesting itself in the actions of the NATO leadership and its member states.

“Megalomania manifests itself in all the actions of both the leadership of the NATO secretariat and, by and large, the member countries. This is visible to everyone,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

Lavrov claimed that NATO is obsessed with the idea that “Europe is a flowering garden and everything else is a jungle,” as said by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, and added that this needs to be “treated accordingly.”

Borrell said during a speech at the European Diplomatic Academy in November 2022 that “Europe is a garden” and that most of the rest of the world is a “jungle” that could “invade the garden.”

Lavrov commented on statements made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, saying that his comments once again confirm the urgency of “counteracting modern forms of colonialism,” as well as “countering attempts at hegemony in world affairs.”

He further said it confirmed the urgency of “countering direct violation” of the UN Charter on the sovereign equality of all states.

“In general, we (Russia and China) are not even supposed to have relations, at their request,” he added.

- Resumption of Iran nuclear deal not realistic

Lavrov also commented on the Iran nuclear deal, saying that expectations on the resumption of the deal are currently not realistic due to the upcoming US presidential election next year.

“It seems to me that it is not very realistic to expect this now, because in a year there will be elections in the US, and a new administration will come. And who knows what kind of administration it will be, Democrat or Republican? But no one can give any guarantees that this new administration will not repeat the trick of withdrawing from the agreement reached,” Lavrov said.

He further claimed that the nuclear deal was destroyed by the US after it “refused to comply with the resolution adopted by consensus,” saying that Washington has been voicing its readiness to resume its participation in the deal since US President Joe Biden took office.

The Iran nuclear deal – officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – was signed in 2015 by Iran, the US, China, Russia, France, the UK, Germany, and the EU.

Under the agreement, Tehran has committed itself to limit its nuclear activity to civilian purposes, and in return, world powers agreed to drop their economic sanctions against Iran.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to stop complying with the nuclear deal.