MOSCOW, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Europe continues to try to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday.

"It is difficult to accuse us of driving a wedge," Lavrov said in an interview published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's official website. "It is Europe that has tried and continues to try to sow division between Russia and the United States, seeing in U.S. policies under President (Donald) Trump what it deems a tilt toward Russia at Europe's expense."

"When a country stands up for its own interests, as Russia does, it is treated accordingly," Lavrov said.

However, he argued that most European leaders have traded their own interests for those of Ukraine, using the latter to wage an open war against Russia while openly preparing to join the conflict themselves.

Lavrov also mentioned his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh back in February 2025. He recalled that Rubio had said at the time: "The national interests of major powers like Russia and the United States would by no means align on all issues."

Rubio further stressed that it would be a mistake not to pursue mutually beneficial economic, trade and investment initiatives.

"When they do not align, allowing that divergence to devolve into confrontation would be not just a mistake, but a crime," Lavrov stated. ■