Russia and China took a strong stance for democracy and against dictatorships this week — but it is unlikely the West will provide an “amen.” In speaking yesterday to an elite high school in Moscow, named after the scholar/statesman Evgeny Primakov, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared: “Now that the West is taking the position of a dictator, our economic ties with China will grow even faster.” The West’s severing itself from trade “will give us the opportunity to implement plans for the development of the Far East and Eastern Siberia. The majority of projects with China are concentrated there. This is an opportunity for us to realize our potential in the field of high technology, including nuclear energy, but also in a number of other areas.”
As related by RT, Lavrov explained that Russia had tried the diplomatic path of the Minsk Protocol, but the West, acting duplicitously, actually “encouraged the arrogant position of the Kiev regime.” Now, the West is “reacting furiously” and invokes nonsense phrases about making Russia “lose on the battlefield.” However, the “West will eventually recognize reality on the ground.” But a major strategic change has occurred: We “must stop in any way being dependent on the supply of anything from the West.” Instead, we must rely upon ourselves and those countries that have “proven their reliability” and act independently.
Today, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was asked by China News Service about Lavrov’s claim, “Now that the West is taking the position of a dictator, our economic ties with China will grow even faster.” The questioner further characterized Lavrov’s remarks, whereby “the two countries jointly advocate more democratic international relations and share broad-based common interests in upholding international fairness and justice and promoting multi-polarity in the world.”
