Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the West of hegemonic plans and defended his country’s invasion of Ukraine. The “Ukraine issue” cannot be viewed in isolation from geopolitical developments, in which NATO has threatened Russia’s security in the region for years, Lavrov said at a UN Security Council meeting in New York.
“It’s about how international relations will be shaped in the future: by building a solid consensus based on a balance of interests, or by aggressively and erratically pushing Washington’s supremacy.”
The controversial meeting of the most powerful UN body was scheduled by Russia given its presidency of the Council. With regard to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the session entitled “Effective Multilateralism by Defending the Principles of the United Nations Charter” was seen by many countries as a provocation. Moscow, in turn, complained that the US was not issuing visas to Russian journalists to accompany Lavrov.
Lavrov also accused the West of wanting to replace the UN Charter as the basis of the international order with its own rules – against the will of the rest of the world. As an example, he cited the expansion of military cooperation in the Pacific, which is intended to deter China and isolate Russia. Lavrov also called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to ensure that the staff at the United Nations are independent of the influence of other countries.
EU Ambassador Skoog: “It’s cynical”
Harsh criticism of the controversial meeting came from Western countries: “By planning this debate, Russia is trying to present itself as a defender of the UN Charter and multilateralism. Nothing can be further from the truth. It’s cynical,” said the ambassador to the European Union at the United Nations, Olof Skoog. Everyone knows that by waging war in Ukraine, Russia is violating the basic rules of the United Nations, which the West is trying to defend.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Guterres reiterated that Russia’s invasion violated the United Nations Charter and international law. The American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, also stressed that Moscow had violated the basic rules of the UN community: “As we sit here, this aggression continues. As we sit here, Russian forces continue to kill and injure civilians. As we sit here , Russian forces are destroying Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. As we sit here, we prepare for the next Bucha, Mariupol, the next Kherson. The next war crime. The next ruthless atrocity.”
