MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov harshly criticized U.S. aggression, and said the United States is uncomfortable with the idea that there could be more than one power in the world, and that Washington's "overblown" role in world affairs was decreasing, while Russia's clout was increasing.

He said Moscow will counterbalance U.S. ambitions by increasing Russia’s global power.

Lavrov said this to members of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, a group of Russian politicians and business leaders who meet regularly to discuss foreign policy matters.

"I don't understand why multi-polarity must be perceived as a confrontational approach. Russia does not claim special rights in international relations, but there is no reason for Russia to be a follower.”

Lavrov addressed Bush’s plan to install missiles in Poland, plus a missile radar system in Hungary. "We don't want to cause a rift in transatlantic relations, but we also don't want transatlantic relations to be strengthened at Russia's expense."

Moscow has warned that it could take countermeasures against the missiles.

Lavrov praised Bush’s lifting of sanctions against North Korea, but complained about continuing aggression toward Iran. "Why not live and let others live?" he said.

He said Russia was willing to help bring peace and stability to Iraq, but all major powers must be involved, plus neighboring Iran.

Source:

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=068ffa9e-b7cc-4a54...

Submitted by Abdul-Alhazred on Sun, 2007-03-18 09:14

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