Sergey Lavrov criticized Russia’s “special operation” based on the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, ignored the fact that the UN’s founding document also “imposes the obligation to respect the principles of equality and self-determination of peoples,” he said, arguing that this had been the basis for the continued decolonization efforts.
“The rights of Russians and those who feel they are part of Russian culture after the coup in Kiev have been methodically eradicated,” he stated, and this poses a threat to Russian and broader European security.
Mr Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin had a “realistic settlement plan” and was ready to negotiate, blaming the West for sabotaging previous efforts.
He said the Washington-London-Brussels axis’ attempt to defeat Russia was undoing UN efforts to strengthen global cooperation through agreements such as Sunday’s Pact for the Future – which Russia refused to support – and “blocked the operation of the entire system. of global governance, including the Security Council.”
“That is not something we chose and we are not responsible for the consequences of this dangerous course,” he added.
He accused the West of “steadily destroying the globalization model that they themselves have created,” warning that other regions of the world were forging their own alliances and inviting all of Europe and Asia to join a “single Eurasian space” of Washington’s influence.
Addressing the crisis in the Middle East, Mr Lavrov said there was no justification for the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas and others, but that the “massive collective punishment” of Palestinians since then had caused an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” causes.
He deplored the rise of “the now almost commonplace practice of political assassinations” and noted the reported killing of a Hezbollah leader Friday in Beirut.
“Security can be equal and indivisible for all, or it will not be for anyone,” he told delegates, returning to the theme of NATO’s “exceptionalism and impunity.”
Russia’s foreign minister said the UN itself must be more balanced in investigating “terrorist methods” used by Israel, the US and others, such as during the attacks on wireless devices in Lebanon last week.
Moreover, the UN had to “avoid the temptation to play into the hands of individual states, especially those states that actively call not for cooperation, but for dividing the world into the flowering garden and the jungle – or for those who sit around the table of democracy.” , and those on the menu.”