SVR Chief Naryshkin Criticizes European Elites Over Economic Stagnation and Geopolitical Escalation

ST. PETERSBURG, September 4. /TASS/. European countries are facing growing economic stagnation and an energy crisis, and instead of resolving their domestic problems, European elites are pursuing a path of escalation with sovereign Eurasian powers, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin stated.

"European countries, which were once at the forefront of global development, have been facing economic stagnation, deindustrialization, energy crises, migration crises, and a loss of identity since 2008, not to mention their virtually complete military and political dependence on the US. Instead of addressing these domestic issues, European elites are exacerbating tensions with sovereign Eurasian powers," he said at the 22nd meeting of the Conference of Heads of Security Agencies and Intelligence Services of the CIS member states.

Naryshkin noted that a new so-called "axis of evil" – or, as Western intelligence agencies call it, the "axis of turmoil" – has been invented, including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

The SVR chief also emphasized that the old world order, epitomized by so-called "united Europe," "does not want to give way to multipolarity in the form of Eurasian integration formats," such as the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.