Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov accuses the United States of 'destabilizing' the world

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov has accused the United States of destabilizing the world as he reacts to a list of grievances over the Trump administration's foreign policy.  

Lavrov dedicated the opening of his annual press conference on Monday to castigating the US, which is expected to soon issue a fresh round of sanctions against Russia over its interference in the 2016 US election.

Lavrov criticized the US for issuing regular "threats" in relation to events in North Korea and Iran, saying they had "further destabilized" the global situation. He did not mention President Donald Trump by name, but the US President has issued stern threats to North Korea and Iran, sending a series of fiery Twitter posts attacking the leadership in both nations. 

According to him, "the United States quite plainly says that the military confrontation is inevitable, however, everyone understands the catastrophic consequences of such recklessness".

He also criticized the US for expanding its military exercises around North Korea, "which provoked a new escalation of tensions," while others were working through diplomatic channels to resume talks with Pyongyang.