Today was the day that Russia’s Foreign Ministry attempted a once-a-year appraisal of the world situation. Minister Sergey Lavrov referenced how much had occurred in 2025 and then, with effective understatement, set the stage by declaring: “The first 20 days of 2026 brought an even more impressive mix of developments, dwarfing what we witnessed throughout 2025.” His presentation included a characterization of the new state of the disease eating away at the so-called “rules-based order.”
Saying that “this year got off to a rocky start,” he cited “a blatant armed intervention by the United States in Venezuela, which left dozens of people killed and wounded,” kidnapping a President, threatening “Cuba and other Latin American and Caribbean countries,” open declarations from the EU’s Kaja Kallas and others for regime change in Iran, German and Japanese plans for militarization, and a brawl over Greenland.
