`Moscow would not negotiate criteria of lifting sanctions with the EU,´ Lavrov said after talks with his visiting Austrian counterpart, Sebastian Kurz.
`This is not our decision and this is not up to us to cancel it. We are not going to deal with that,´ he added. `Russia acts according to the real situation, not hopes and expectations.´
Lavrov noted that the reality requires Russia to become self-reliant and self-sufficient in sectors that used to depend on cooperation with foreign countries.
However, the top diplomat said that Russia would continue cooperation with the EU if the unilateral sanctions are lifted.
He blasted the EU‘s attempts to link the lifting of sanctions with the implementation of the Minsk accord over the Ukraine crisis.