Russia used its annual appearance at the UN General Assembly on Saturday to accuse the United States and its Western allies of bossing the world around, complaining they were attempting to dictate to everyone “what is good and evil.”
“The US-led Western alliance that portrays itself as a champion of democracy, rule of law and human rights within individual countries ... (is) rejecting the democratic principle of sovereign equality of states enshrined in the UN Charter and trying to decide for everyone what is good or evil,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in his address to the 193-nation assembly, as reported by Reuters.
Lavrov elaborated that there was an “increasingly obvious contradiction between the need for collective action by partners to produce proper responses to common challenges and some countries’ drive for dominance and revival of the archaic bloc mentality based on barrack-like discipline and flawed ‘us and them’ logic”.
He accused the West of being unable to change its Cold War “genetic code” saying the United States must abandon its claims to “eternal uniqueness.”
According to the minister the “policy of ultimatums, the philosophy of superiority and domination” run counter to the needs of the 21st century, including the formation of a “polycentric and democratic world order”.
Lavrov stressed that the creation of new dividing lines is unacceptable in Europe saying that “no one has a monopoly on the truth” and no one can customize global and regional processes to “suit their needs.”
Unilateral Use of Force
“Washington has openly declared its right to unilateral use of force anywhere to uphold its own interests,” Lavrov added. “Military interference has become a norm - even despite the dismal outcome of all power operations that the US has carried out over the recent years.”
Lavrov cited the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo war, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya as examples of US failures.
Russia, on Friday, questioned the legality of US-led airstrikes in Syria to target IS militants because the action was taken without the approval and cooperation of the Syrian government.
Supporting Ukraine’s Coup
He reiterated Moscow’s view that the United States and European Union “supported the coup d’etat in Ukraine” and that they were therefore responsible for the current conflict there.
Lavrov was referring to the swift developments in Ukraine early this year when former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych’s refused to sign an association agreement with the EU and instead signed a treaty with Russia. The decision was followed by a series of violent protests in the capital Kiev which ultimately led to the ouster of Yanukovych and the establishment of the present pro-Western government in Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly accused the United States and the EU of funding and directing Ukraine’s protests.
The Russian foreign minister accused the US and its European allies of seeking to pull Kiev out of its “organic role as a binding link” between East and West, denying it the opportunity for “neutral and non-bloc status.”
Lavrov rejected that Western economic sanctions would cause Russia to reverse course on the issue of the current crisis in Ukraine.
Libya Chemical Weapons
Separately, Lavrov demanded information about the state of Libya’s chemical weapons arsenals after the Libyan government asked the global chemical weapons watchdog to draw up plans to ship a stockpile of 850 metric tons of chemicals overseas because of deteriorating security.
“We understand that our NATO colleagues after they bombed out this country in violation of (UN Security Council) resolution would not like to stir up the mayhem they created,” Lavrov said. “However, the problem of uncontrolled Libyan chemical arsenals is too serious to turn a blind eye.”
