Speaking to the meeting of the G20 Foreign Ministers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for inviting more organizations of the Global South to join the G20, but also warned against attempts at “weaponizing the economy.”
“At last year’s Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, we agreed that the strengthening of global institutions should be achieved by raising the voice of the developing countries of the world’s majority. The African Union has joined us. I believe that we should not stop there and equally engage the leading integrational structures of other regions of the Global South in our work,” he said in his conclusion.
Pointing to the need for reforms of the UN Security Council, Lavrov voiced support for India and Brazil to become permanent members.
He then said the G20 should clearly state its refusal to weaponize the economy: “It is unlikely that we will find solutions to the accumulated global security challenges and threats here in the G20. But our forum of the world’s leading economies could make clear its opposition to the use of ‘economy as a weapon’ and ‘war as an investment’ and to demonstrate our desire for open and equitable trade and economic cooperation. It is important for us to reaffirm that global banks and funds should not finance militaristic goals and aggressive regimes, but rather countries in need in the interests of sustainable development,” he said.
Lavrov made other charges against the West, declaring, “Criminal methods are being devised to seize public assets and private property. The bid is placed on extraterritorial sanctions, economic discrimination, unfair competition, “green” barriers, restrictions on the flow of technologies and investments.”
Lavrov also attacked NATO expansion and the collapse of all the efforts since the Cold War to create strategic stability in Europe. “The promised target of 0.7% of GDP for developed countries remains only ‘on paper,’ just like investments, announced by the West for sustainable development and climate, which have been sacrificed to the multi-billion dollar sponsorship flows to militarize Ukraine and inflate NATO members’ military budgets. Energy and food supply chains are being disrupted, leading to hunger, poverty and inequality, which the Brazilian presidency has rightly drawn attention to. There have been attempts to implant “microchips” for external control in national governments. The result is obvious: agricultural land in Ukraine has been appropriated by American companies, and Ukrainians have been turned into expendables sent by the Zelensky regime to die in exchange for Western loans.”
