He cited as an example the West’s response to the Zapad-2017 Russian-Belarusian exercises, which, according to Lavrov, baffled Moscow. "They [the exercises] were branded as offensive and non-transparent, although Russia invited foreign observers long before these exercises were held, including from the NATO member-countries, including to the field training, and observers came and watched all that with pleasure," he noted. "However, this ideological attack, attempts to hammer into ordinary people’s heads the allegations of Russia’s aggressiveness continue, and virtually none of the media outlets wrote honestly what actually happened to transparency around these exercises."

"Or take the false stories that Russian troops will stay in Belarus after the exercises," Lavrov went on to say. "The funny thing is that after these exercises ended and the Russian troops that took part in them returned to their home bases, [the West] has continued to assert that some troops eventually stayed there. It is sad to see grown up people brainwashing their voters."