Russia's Lavrov lashes out at US at annual press conference

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attacked the US in an annual press conference today, accusing Washington of issuing ultimatums and failing to recognise "the reality of the emerging multipolar world".
Lavrov said the past year had not been easy from a foreign policy perspective as he took questions on Syria, Ukraine, the Korean peninsula and other global issues, in a diplomatic round-up of 2017.
"Unfortunately, our American colleagues and their allies still want to do business solely on the basis of issuing ultimatums and do not want to listen to the views of other centres of world politics," he said when asked about US President Donald Trump's position on the Iran nuclear deal.

"In fact they do not want to recognise the reality of the emerging multipolar world," Lavrov said.
Trump, a long-term critic of the agreement, last week said the US would not reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran for now, but would withdraw this year unless the terms of the deal are changed.
The Russian foreign minister also said threats coming from Washington in 2017 had "seriously aggravated" tensions in different parts of the world, including in North Korea.
As Trump prepares to mark a year in power, Lavrov said the actions of the current US administration were in some cases "more assertive" than under Barack Obama, "despite Trump's line during the election campaign".

The US was afraid of fair competition in various areas, including energy and the supply of gas to Europe, Lavrov said, adding that Washington was failing to contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Syria.