OREANDA-NEWS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told why the position of the Baltic countries and the United States reminds him of the behavior of courtyard hooligans.

Speaking at the New Knowledge marathon, he recalled that when NATO expanded to include new members from the Baltic states bordering Russia, Moscow asked why this was being done.

The Russian minister said: "We were told, well, the Balts have such phobias, after your occupation, and in general they were oppressed - who oppressed them and how? If everyone retained their languages, the industry in the Baltic grew by several orders of magnitude in Soviet times, it does not matter in general , they dragged them into NATO and they told us - “just don’t worry, they will calm down from their phobias and it will be calm at your borders”.

Lavrov added that now the Baltic countries are the leaders of the Russophobic minority and are constantly demanding new sanctions against Russia, hoping for the protection of the United States.

Lavrov said that he associates this behavior of the Baltic countries with the behavior of adolescents in the yard: “In the yard, when I was growing up, children came out - some bigger, some smaller, and there was the biggest bully. He sat, nibbled sunflower seeds, smoked a cigarette. And around him they were like shark-sticking fish. And so they ran up to the newcomer: "Give me ten kopecks," and when they were answered negatively, the main hooligan came out, as if already ensuring the sovereignty of his territory. "

At the same time, he stressed that Russia always stands for peace, but will not allow anyone to offend itself.