Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press conference with his Belarusian counterpart following their talks in Moscow on Dec 15, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

MOSCOW — The West has clearly failed in its attempt to undermine Russia's autonomy on the world stage, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

"Many were confident that the stronger and more multifaceted the economic foundation is, the less likely it would be that Russia's relations with the West would ever break out into a military conflict," Lavrov said during an interview, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The West went ahead with this to achieve its main goal, which is now absolutely clear, to destroy Russia as an independent entity on the world stage

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"The West went ahead with this to achieve its main goal, which is now absolutely clear, to destroy Russia as an independent entity on the world stage," Lavrov added.

Western countries have clearly realized "the illusory nature" of such goals, but cannot turn back now because they risk losing their face and tarnishing their reputation ahead of the upcoming election cycles, he said.

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He noted that while Russia has long decided to rely on itself and become more self-sufficient, there was still hope that Western pragmatism would help maintain relations.