Lavrov Tells Indonesian Daily, a Multipolar World Is Emerging, Not a New Cold War
July 12, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—In an interview yesterday with the Indonesian daily Kompas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the current situation is not that of an emerging new Cold War but an emerging multipolar world.
“We do not define the current phase of international relations as a new Cold War. The issue at hand is different and is about something different, namely, the formation of a multipolar international order. This is an objective process. Everyone can see that new globally meaningful decision-making centers are strengthening their positions in Eurasia, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America,”
Lavrov said.
Lavrov begins his visit today to Indonesia and will participate in the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum on July 14.
Lavrov told Kompas,
“With regard to the U.S.-led collective West, these countries are trying to slow these processes down and turn them around. Their goal is not to strengthen global security or engage in joint development, but to maintain their hegemony in international affairs and to keep on pursuing their neo-colonial agenda, or in simple terms, to continue to address their own problems at the expense of others, as they are accustomed to do.
“Unilateral economic sanctions and our Western colleagues’ overall selfish foreign policy undermine global food and energy security. Their actions have complicated things for the developing countries. Enormous amounts of money that could have been spent on promoting international growth, including on helping the countries that are most in need, are being burned up in the form of thousands of tonnes of military equipment and ammunition supplied to Ukrainian neo-Nazis,”
he said.
“However, this coin has a brighter side. Western egocentrism and disregard for the interests of the Global South and Global East encourage the latter to look for alternative cooperation formats across all areas. The seizure of Russian gold and currency reserves in the United States and Europe have led the international community to realize that no one is immune from expropriation of tangible assets that are kept in Western jurisdictions. Not just Russia, but a number of other countries are consistently reducing their dependence on the U.S. dollar and transitioning to alternative payment systems and payments in national currencies.
“At the same time, the effectiveness of country associations without Western participation is on the rise. The SCO and BRICS are a case of modern multilateral diplomacy without leaders or followers where decisions are made based on consensus. We welcome Indonesia’s interest in strengthening cooperation with these associations, which undoubtedly have a great future,”
Lavrov asserted.
His entire interview is posted in English on the Foreign Ministry website.
