Lavrov: Russia wants a multipolar world that includes West

Despite ongoing tensions with the West over the war in Ukraine, Russia's top diplomat has expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told students at Moscow's elite MGIMO university on Monday: "We do not want to build walls."

He said Russia's vision of a multipolar world includes the West and cautioned against attempts to isolate Russia.

"It would be in the Western style to erect 'Berlin Walls' between themselves and our vast Eurasian space, which was the Soviet Union and is now the post-Soviet region," Lavrov said.

Lavrov emphasized that Moscow seeks a dialogue on equal terms and is not looking for revenge. "Anger is a poor adviser," he said, but he warned that any attempts by the West to subdue Russia are doomed to fail.

Relations between Russia and Western countries have plunged to a new low since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine more than three and a half years ago. Moscow has faced unprecedented sanctions, while Kyiv has received extensive financial and military support from the West.