He also shrugged off EU concerns about democracy in Russia prompted by last week's clashes between police and protesters in Moscow and St Petersburg.
"I think it was Voltaire who said that freedom is following laws," said Mr Lavrov, who accused protesters of not following a state decree not to march and inviting ultra-radicals into their ranks.
His comments followed concerns expressed by German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier over the detention of 270 protesters at anti-government rallies.
At a meeting with the German presidency and the European Commission in Luxembourg, Mr Lavrov also asked the EU not to unilaterally push UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan for Kosovo at the UN Security Council.
The plan envisages enabling Kosovan Albanians to get effective independence and is being vociferously opposed by Serbia.
This would place a "slow-action mine" under the Kosovo process and risk destabilisation in the region by moving ahead without Russia's backing, he said.
Kosovo is one of several issues causing tension between the EU and Russia and preventing the two blocs from moving ahead with talks on a new partnership agreement. Both sides said yesterday they would continue to work towards opening talks on a new partnership agreement at a summit next month. However there was little sign that Moscow was willing to lift a ban on Polish meat imports. Until this occurs, Poland plans to veto talks on a new wide-ranging partnership agreement.
Mr Lavrov and EU officials also held talks on efforts to halt Iran's enrichment of uranium. This followed EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana's announcement earlier at a full meeting of EU foreign ministers that the EU and Iran would resume talks on this issue tomorrow.
The meeting with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, will be the first between the two men since the UN agreed new sanctions on Iran in March. It will follow a decision yesterday by EU ministers to endorse new UN sanctions against Iran, and to ratchet up the pressure on Tehran by enforcing even tougher unilateral sanctions on individuals and firms.
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, downplayed prospects of a breakthrough yesterday saying: "Iran has entered the nuclear club and [the West] should accept it."
EU ministers also agreed to extend diplomatic and economic sanctions against Burma because of a lack of "tangible progress" on a transition towards a legitimate civilian government by its dictatorship. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said Ireland had pushed hard to get strong language agreed in the EU conclusions. "Ireland has been at the forefront in championing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Today we agreed to maintain these restrictions and renew our common position on extending restrictive measures against the regime," he said.