By Alexander Kolyandr 

MOSCOW--Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday accused the West of "seeking regime change" in his country by imposing sanctions against Moscow.

His comment chimed with remarks made by President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that Russia should protect itself from the "color revolutions"--a name Moscow gave to the public protests in former Soviet states, notably Ukraine and Georgia, and Arab countries in recent years that resulted in government changes.

Russia has stepped up its war of words with the West as tensions remain at their highest since the end of the Cold War due to the crisis in Ukraine. Since Moscow annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March, the U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions against dozens of Russian individuals and companies, resulting in an almost complete closure of international financial markets for Russian firms.

Speaking at a meeting of the advisory Foreign and Defence Council in Moscow, Mr. Lavrov said the sanctions against Russia, unlike those against Iran or North Korea, were designed to harm the national economy.

"The public figures in the Western countries say there is need to impose sanctions against Russia that will destroy the economy and provoke public protests," he was quoted by state news agencies as saying.

A series of mass protests erupted in Moscow and some other big Russian cities in the winter of 2011, but opposition activity has since petered out, with opinion polls registering mounting support for Mr. Putin and his policies toward the West and Ukraine.

Mr. Lavrov said that by introducing the sanctions, "the West is making clear that it doesn't want Russia to change its policy, but to achieve a change of the regime."

The West has urged Moscow to pull its forces from eastern Ukraine and stop providing military support to the insurgents. Moscow has said it has no soldiers in the conflict zone, and those Russian citizens who are fighting there are merely "volunteers."

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Friday called Russia's actions in Ukraine "unacceptable" and called Moscow to respect the cease-fire agreement signed in September.

Moscow has repeatedly said isn't part of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has already claimed more than 4,300 lives.