Russia’s Lavrov says UN as relevant as ever in ‘age of multipolarity’

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Widespread violations of the principle of the equality of states are the cause of crises and conflicts, Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, told the General Assembly on Saturday. Mr Lavrov added that the founding principles of the UN are as relevant as ever in today’s “age of multipolarity.”

The veteran politician declared that the principle has repeatedly been flouted by western countries, citing the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the invasion of Iraq by a US-led coalition and NATO’s military operation in Libya.

“The root of the problem lies in the incessant attempts to divide the world into us and them, into democracy and autocracy, into a blooming garden and a jungle, those who are at the table and those who are on the menu.”

West ‘sabotaging the pursuit of constructive solutions’

On Friday, an attempt by Russia and China to extend sanction relief to Iran under a 2015 nuclear deal failed to receive enough votes in the Security Council. Mr. Lavrov argued that the vote showed that the West has a policy of “sabotaging the pursuit of constructive solutions in the UN Security Council” and a desire to “extract unilateral concessions from Tehran through blackmail and pressure.”

Sanctions, continued the minister, are used to “suppress and intimidate competitors in the global economy and politics.” He called for Cuban sanctions to be lifted and expressed Russia’s solidarity with the people of Venezuela in the face of external sanctions.

Security Council resolutions are being flouted in the Balkans, claimed Mr. Lavrov, citing the unilateral recognition of Kosovo which, he said, was contrary to Resolution 1244.

Europe ‘obsessed with the goal of inflicting a defeat on Russia’

As for Ukraine, Mr. Lavrov justified the ongoing war by claiming that the country is run by a regime which “seized power as a result of an anti-constitutional coup organised by the West in 2014,” set out to eliminate the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and eradicated the Russian language in education, culture and the media.

Mr. Lavrov claimed that Russia is open to negotiations on “eliminating the root causes of the conflict,” as long as the country’s interests are guaranteed, and the rights of Russians and Russian-speaking people in Ukraine are restored.

Moscow, said Mr. Lavrov, has no intention of attacking European Union and NATO countries, despite countries in these blocs “telling their voters that war with Russia is inevitable.”

The Russian minister was more positive about the state of US relations, expressing hope that the dialogue begun in Alaska will lead to a resolution of the Ukrainian conflict and develop pragmatic cooperation.

Do not allow a ‘palace coup’ at the UN

The current balance of global power, argued Mr. Lavrov, is not being reflected at the United Nations, which is why Russia supports Brazil and India’s applications for permanent seats on the Security Council, and Secretary-General António Guterres’s proposed reform of the UN.

The Secretariat, he added, must fairly represent the countries of the world and “attempts at a palace coup, its privatisation by a small group of countries, must not be allowed.”

Russia, noted Mr. Lavrov, looks forward to a constructive discussion of the organisation’s development at a special meeting of the Security Council which Russia, as President, plans to organise on United Nations Day on the 24th of October.

‘Nazism is rearing its head’

More and more countries, asserted the Foreign Minister, are becoming involved in “confrontational schemes.” He claimed that NATO is attempting to surround the whole of Eurasia with a “military ring.”

Nazism, he added, is “rearing its head in Europe,” and militarisation is gaining momentum, with politicians in some EU and NATO countries talking about a Third World War as a likely scenario.

He insisted that Russia is not agitating for revolution in any country and is simply calling on Member States and the UN Secretariat’s leadership to “strictly adhere to all of the principles of the UN Charter, without exception, without double standard.”