U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a recent speech accused Moscow of wreaking chaos, conflict and discord in Mediterranean countries and threatening regional stability.

In addition, the politician recalled some “rich Russians, many of whom are linked to the Kremlin,” who laundered billions of dollars in Cyprus and Malta, thereby helping to spread corruption and imbalances in the domestic markets of those countries.

Pompeo’s statements were probably inspired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s speech at the Mediterranean Dialogues conference earlier this month. Then Lavrov reproached the U.S. for political games in the region and blamed it for the failure to appoint a new special envoy of the UN Secretary General to Libya.