EU 'has lost Russia', Lavrov says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has blamed the European Union's deteriorating relations with Russia on the former's support for Kyiv in the Ukraine conflict, DW reported.

"The European Union has lost Russia. But it is its own fault. It is the EU member countries and EU leaders who openly declare it is necessary to inflict, as they call it, a strategic defeat on Russia," Lavrov told the website Argumenty i Fatky in an interview on Tuesday.

He added that Russia would respond in a reciprocal and "tough manner if necessary" based on its national interests, describing the EU's steps in supplying Ukraine with weapons and instructors as "hostile."

Meanwhile, Lavrov praised Russia's relationship with China, accusing the West of trying to drive a wedge between the two countries.

The top Russian diplomat was specifically referring to Western analysis of Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent trip to Moscow, which was interpreted as a reflection of the unequal relationship between the two countries.

Lavrov stressed that Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a "strategic partnership" between their countries during 10 hours of talks on the backdrop of the visit some two weeks ago.

"Naturally, we have a sense of comradeship and readiness to stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of each other's fundamental interests," Lavrov said.