Lavrov Delivers Devastating Picture of the World Situation Today
March 31—Speaking at a meeting of the Russian International Affairs Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, gave a very sobering picture of the world situation today. He pointed to the existence of “such new phenomena of international life as the fragmentation of the global economic space, the crisis of the structures created to manage it, hybrid wars, the introduction of recently unimaginable technologies into military affairs, and a direct challenge to diplomacy as a method of regulating relations between states based on international law and diplomatic norms.”
“We can say that we are in the midst of a restructuring of the global order, leading to the formation, we hope, of a stable and just multipolar world, but for now, this restructuring feels more like a ‘breakdown,’ in every sense of the word. The struggle for leadership in this new world is extremely serious. It’s a life-and-death struggle. We witness this almost daily.” Lavrov said.
“The restraining factors that for decades ensured some relative stability are dwindling. Simply put, some countries have ‘lost their bearings’ and are openly proclaiming their ‘rights’ to certain territories, without bothering to provide any legal basis for their plans,” he warned.
Lavrov compared statements by U.S. Secretary of State Rubio, who complained about the closing of the Hormuz Strait as a violation of international law, with President Trump’s statement that he wasn’t interested in international law. “Some aspects of international life harken back to the distant past,” he said. “Members of the highest military and political leadership of certain countries are being abducted or killed without due process of law. You know this well. Entire city blocks, along with their inhabitants, are being destroyed with Old Testament-like cruelty, along with children’s clinics and schools where two hundred girls suddenly find their deaths.”
“In these situations, no one but us and our allies cares about international law,” he said. “Indeed, a situation is emerging in which the West, with its foolish hegemonic ambitions has entered into a ‘clinch’ with the global majority’s desire to overcome existing challenges on the basis of equality and justice—in other words, the principles of the UN Charter agreed upon following World War II: the sovereign equality of states, non-interference in internal affairs, and the right of nations to self-determination, which must be recognized by all legitimate governments. Returning to them, restoring them at least to their role as a moral compass, if you will, is necessary, but it won’t be easy. What we are currently witnessing shows signs of escalating into an increasingly large-scale conflict, which some scholars have already dubbed a new world war…. In essence, not only Russia and China and other BRICS states, but also all more or less independent centers of power and development are becoming targets of aggressive opposition from those accustomed to living at others’ expense and perceiving themselves as hegemons.”
Lavrov went on to condemn the actions in Iran and rejected the notion that Iran was preparing an attack on Israel or the United States or any other country, which has been used as a pretext for the present U.S.-Israeli war.