Russia's alleged isolation in the international arena is the wishful thinking of the West, Russian Ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told Sputnik.
"I think Western colleagues are engaged in wishful thinking," Ulyanov said.
The diplomat admitted that contacts with the West have been at a low point, but "there are plenty more fish in the sea."
"Probably, we are isolated by the West a little bit, but this is a small segment," he stated.
The lack of dialogue with the West is not normal, but it will be overcome with time, Ulyanov added.
After the beginning of the Russia's military operation in Ukraine in 2022, the Western nations in an attempt to "isolate" Russia imposed over 15,000 sanctions on the country, targeting Russian exports of energy, food, and fertilizers, and its imports of high-tech products and various manufactured products.
In April, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that West's to isolate Moscow are failing completely, with the global majority being unwilling "to pull the chestnuts out of the fire" for former colonial powers.
Russia continues to coordinate its steps closely with its allies and like-minded allies, including those in the CSTO, EAEC, CIS, BRICS, SCO and other regional associations of the developing world, the minister added.
In addition, Ulyanov said that the European Union deprives its citizens of alternative sources of information, reflecting the bloc's totalitarian tendencies.
"This is a manifestation of totalitarian tendencies in the European Union. In fact, they deprive the population of alternative sources of information," Ulyanov said.
The people living in the European Union are presented only with one-sided news and assessments, especially concerning the situation in Ukraine, Ulyanov said.
"All this, of course, is very worrying. These are anti-democratic trends that persist and can even spread further," Ulyanov said.
Following the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the EU suspended the broadcasting activities of the Russian media Sputnik and RT "in the EU, or directed at the EU."
Earlier this month, the EU launched an investigation into the social media platform X under the authority of its new Digital Services Act. EU officials said they will focus on observing if X follows the bloc’s rules on countering the dissemination and amplification of disinformation and "illegal content."
The move came after a preliminary information-gathering investigation in October, which also looked at "the dissemination of illegal content in the context of Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel."
In addition, the bloc has launched preliminary investigations with respect to TikTok, YouTube and other platforms.