Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, addressing a meeting of the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund’s Board of Trustees today, endorsed the view of experts who see World War III as already under way as the “Global Minority” tries to hang on to the remnants of its power by force against the rest of the world.
“The year began with an armed invasion of Venezuela by the United States,” Lavrov recalled. “A brutal military aggression by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran has been under way since late February.” The latter has not only destabilized the entire Persian Gulf but threatens global trade, energy security, and international transport, as well. He pointed to the growing international pressure against Cuba, which he called of “serious concern” to Russia, as is the international disinterest in what is happening in the Palestinian territories.
Nor is Russia exempt. “The Western minority, or rather, the elites of Western countries, continue to invest their remaining political and economic capital in the confrontation with Russia, using for this purpose the human resources and military infrastructure of the neo-Nazi Kiev regime….
“The rapid expansion of the conflict space that is sucking in ever more countries and entire regions—as has been the case over the past year—is a cause for serious concern,” Lavrov stressed, giving rise to “analysts specializing in the history of international relations, from Russia and from other countries, describing the ongoing developments as the third world war.”
Seeing what is unfolding, Russia is girding to further defend itself. The Foreign Ministry issued a “Statement on Western Countries’ Unlawful Actions in the World’s Oceans” March 23, which declares that “the recent developments in the world’s oceans have reached the point where they have become outright unacceptable.” Cited are the “acts of piracy on maritime routes” being carried out by European nations under the pretext of the invented concept of a “shadow fleet,” and Ukraine’s March 3 “terrorist attack” on the LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz.
The Foreign Ministry warns that Russia “will employ all available political, legal, and other instruments at its disposal to ensure respect for the principle of freedom of navigation. Those who seek to turn the Baltic Sea and other maritime areas into `internal waters’ of NATO and the EU should know that we will use all necessary means to respond to acts of piracy and lawlessness.” At the same time, it expresses confidence that the world majority will not “yield to neocolonial diktat,” but instead will unite with Russia in defending their lawful interests and legitimate maritime carriers.
Nicolai Patrushev, the former intelligence and security chief who currently chairs Russia’s Maritime Board, told Russia’s Kommersant daily on March 18 that Russia is considering taking military measures to defend the safety of its shipping from the “unprecedented campaign … unleashed against the fleet carrying cargoes from Russian ports, “from tankers to cargo ships and containerships.” Consideration is being given installing “special means of defense on board ships” and “the Navy escorting the merchant fleet,” he reported.
