MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. Some European and NATO countries cannot turn to Russia for help in the fight against coronavirus, because their "big brothers" are against it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Bolshaya Igra ("Big Game") program on Russia’s Channel One.

"We know from various sources that a number of countries in Europe, the European Union and NATO, would not mind repeating the Italian experience and contacting us for certain types of assistance in which we really have good comparative advantages, but their ‘big brothers’ don’t allow it," Lavrov said.

Moscow does not consider it necessary to create "narrow circles of like-minded people" parallel to international organizations, Lavrov added. The diplomat believes that during the coronavirus pandemic, the role of nation-states has increased dramatically, this is evident throughout the world.

According to him, countries are trying to rely more on themselves in the fight against the spread of coronavirus. In addition, fatigue from an obsessive supranational bureaucracy is revealed, which is now "absolutely obvious" in the European Union. As the minister pointed out, fierce disputes are ongoing inside the association over who will be responsible for overcoming this crisis.