Russia's Lavrov complains 'friendly' countries refuse plane refueling due to sanctions

The Moscow Times reported the information.

According to Lavrov, in 2023, when he traveled to the Republic of South Africa to represent Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, there was a "whole story" about getting back.

“Because, as it turns out, almost all the companies providing aviation fuel there are not owned by the country," Lavrov said.

He added that a similar problem arose during his visit to another BRICS country—Brazil. At that time, Lavrov had to fly to a meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the plane of his colleague Mauro Vieira.

Lavrov noted that he finds this situation "irritating." In his view, "friendly" countries will for some time be "forced to fear" secondary sanctions, partly because in some of these nations, "neocolonialism still exists."

• In November, Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project reduced gas production at its fields to nearly zero due to Western export sanctions.