The United States and its allies are destabilizing the world by continually attempting to settle global issues through “dictating and putting forward ultimatums,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday.
Lavrov, speaking at an annual news conference on Russian international issues, said an increasing number of nations are strengthening their military power to ensure sovereignty because of a decline in international law. He blamed the situation on bullying from the West.
“The methods they resort to to contain their rivals are, for the most part, rather dubious and unscrupulous,” Lavrov said. “Their range is wide — from deploying a global missile-defense system to unilateral sanctions, extraterritorial use of their legislation and threats to tackle any international issues in accordance with their own scenario exclusively, stopping at nothing, including the use of brute military force.”
Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s commitment to the Iran nuclear deal, dismissing President Trump’s pledge to make changes to the multination agreement. He said Moscow will not support U.S. effort to dictate terms unacceptable for Tehran.
“Unfortunately, our U.S. colleagues and their allies … do not want to listen to the point of view of the other centers of the global politics,” Lavrov said. “They do not want to recognize the realities of the forming multipolar world.”
Lavrov also pressed the U.S. to accept a plan forwarded by Russia and China that would stop U.S.-South Korean military drills in exchange for a halt in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. North Korea and the U.S. have both essentially rejected the plan.
Lavrov said the U.S. and West are losing the dominant global positions they have enjoyed for more than 50 years “as new centers of economic growth, financial power and political influence are emerging in the natural course of history.” He accused the U.S. of failing to adapt to the changing world.
“As … the process of equal dialogue, and the process of creating constructive solutions, satisfying everyone, emerge, the United States, unfortunately, resorts to illegitimate methods,” Lavrov said.
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