Russia has stood in the way of the US "crusade"

Western countries, having betted on the "right of the strong", are increasingly trying to sideline universally recognised platforms, including the UN, for solving world problems. Thus, they seek to impose their own rules of the game on the planet, interpreting them exclusively in their own interests. Such a reproach to the "collective West" was issued from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly on September 25 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

According to him, the United States, promoting the so-called "summit of democracies", thereby declared an ideological "crusade" against all dissenters. In addition to the United States, Germany and France are involved in attempts to belittle the importance of everyone who has a different point of view, the head of the Russian foreign Ministry added.

These and other Western powers have divided the entire planet into “our’s” and “their’s”. They impose sanctions and archaic trade embargoes against "strangers", without even bothering to understand their cultural and civilisational specifics. And at the same time, they support the coup in Ukraine, because "their own people" came to power in Kiev, the Foreign Minister stressed.

In general, the West imposes its own rules instead of international law, while Russia firmly stands on the position of the rule of the latter. "Our rules are the UN Charter," said Sergey Lavrov, summing up his speech.

Indeed, the "collective West" has been trying to dilute the legitimacy of the United Nations in recent years, knowing perfectly well that Russia has a strong position in it as a permanent member of the Security Council, including the right of veto. Neither Washington, nor London, nor Berlin and Paris are able to circumvent this immutable fact — and therefore they are coming up with new formats and associations just to replace the UN.

One of these formats is the notorious "summit of democracies", or D-10, which allegedly aims to contain "authoritarian regimes". Of course, it is the Western countries themselves who are going to decide where "democracy" is and where "authoritarianism" is. Including those where a monarch has ruled for hundreds of years or where a state of emergency can operate for many years within the framework of some "Patriotic Act".

The West, seized by bloc thinking, is feverishly creating new blocs. One of them - AUKUS, consisting of the United States, Britain and Australia - is taking shape before our eyes. Its goal is not even hidden — countering China. Where is here the rule of international law, the authority of the UN, and respect for its permanent members? The West, it seems, no longer recognises any of this.

The situation is worsened by the fact that the planet today is more than ever far from harmonious coexistence. The challenges facing the whole world are increasing from year to year, and it is possible to cope with them only together. Russia is offering more and more new ways of such interaction — but the West remains deaf to such initiatives. Moreover, as Sergey Lavrov rightly noted, the West is trying to throw out the global confrontation in all new spheres, including space and cyberspace.

In this regard, our country is taking steps to neutralise these hostile actions. One of them is a firm bet on the UN mechanisms in conflict resolution. Including through the expansion of the Security Council of this organisation, with the involvement of the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America in it. Another one is the promotion of their own alliances, primarily the CSTO, SCO and BRICS, with the involvement of other associations, such as ASEAN.

It is important to understand that our unions do not pursue the goal of infringing on someone's interests, but primarily serve as negotiating platforms for joint counteraction to common challenges and threats. And Russia is not alone in this, we are supported by other centres of power, including such a powerful state as the People's Republic of China.

Once again, Moscow shows that the historical truth is on its side. It's not us who divide the whole world into "right" and "wrong". We don't force it to live by our own rules — or change them at our discretion when "something went wrong". It's not us who dragging the entire planet into a bloc confrontation. But it is in our capabilities to accumulate the efforts of many countries of the world that refuse to live according to other people's patterns.

Elena Panina - Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute