UNITED NATIONS — The Russian foreign minister issued a blistering attack Saturday on the West and NATO, accusing them of being unable to change their Cold War “genetic code” and saying the United States must abandon its claims to “eternal uniqueness.”
Sergey Lavrov’s assault appeared to be an extension of the increasingly anti-Western stance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is riding a wave of popularity at home with his neo-nationalist rhetoric and policies.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Lavrov said the crisis in Ukraine was the result of a coup d’etat in that country backed by the United States and the European Union for the purpose of pulling Kiev out of its “organic role as a binding link between” East and West.
Lavrov also said the Russian annexation of Crimea earlier this year was the choice of the largely Russian-speaking population there. Former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred control over the strategic Black Sea region to Ukraine from Moscow in the 1950s.
Immediately before Lavrov spoke, the German foreign minister said Russia’s actions to retake Crimea were a crime.
“Russia has, with its annexation of Crimea, unilaterally changed existing borders in Europe and thus broke international law,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in his address to the world body.