Russian Foreign Secretary opened his big foreign policy press conference Jan. 14 by defining the current historical period as having reached “the height of the battle” between those who defend a multipolar war, the UN Charter and the sovereign equality of states, and those who believe that with the end of the Cold War, they are above the law and can follow their own rules and impose their will on others: the Western rules-based order.
The world has radically changed in the last 30-35 years, he pointed out. There are new centers in financial power in China, India, ASEAN, and the Arab world; he cited the new associations of nations which now make up the Global Majority, such as the BRICS, the SCO, CELAC, the EAEU, etc., “which want to engage in fair economic, financial and sports competition.”
Lavrov said that what surprises him, and makes him anxious, is that “the West, or at least its present-day elites, proved to be unable to stop following the path of seeking to ensure their total dominance and perorating [haranguing] about what they refer to as the end of history. They are heading down a slippery slope in their attempts to stop their competitors in their tracks, including in terms of economic competition.”
Citing the wild new sanctions package imposed by the U.S. on AI microchips, Lavrov remarked . that he has “a strong feeling that the United States does not want to have any competitors anywhere, starting with the energy sector.
