We are ours, we will build a new UN

Sergei Lavrov, the head of the Russian diplomatic service, spoke about the "creative struggle" when he spoke in New York on September 23 during a discussion held as part of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly. The minister spoke about the revival of the UN as the central coordinating body of world politics, according to a correspondent for The Moscow Post.

This was Lavrov's final speech as part of a "high-level week." For the Russian delegation, this session of the UN General Assembly was held in the context of sanctions and new relations with the countries of the Global South, under the sign of the ongoing conflict between Moscow and the West, including the crisis in Ukraine.

In total, the Russian Foreign Minister spoke three times, on September 20 - at a meeting of the UN Security Council on international peace and security, on September 22 - at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine, on September 23 - at a general political discussion. On the same day, he gave a press conference following a high-level week. The texts of the speeches are available on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry

The minister's program included more than three dozen meetings with colleagues and leaders of various organizations, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, separate meetings of the foreign ministers of BRICS, SCO, CSTO, CICA.

Lavrov in his speeches said a lot of interesting and such that he had never said before. This reflected Russia's new approaches to how to build relations with the Western world in conditions that the Russian diplomat met in a simple but capacious formula: "They are directly at war with us... and want to win "on the battlefield." " The minister's speech also highlighted the problems at the UN itself.

"Seven" per one

They are the Group of Seven, including Washington, London and Brussels (the European Union), who "imagined themselves to be the masters of the world." Or, as Lavrov called them, "a real empire of lies." It was with this group of countries that for all the post-war decades Moscow tried to build more or less predictable relations, trying to avoid a direct military clash.

Over time, this relationship, in which there were Western plans for aggressive operations "The Unthinkable" and "Dropshot," as well as the Berlin and Caribbean crises, grew into parity in the field of strategic offensive weapons, then relations of detente and dialogue with the West, including the meeting in Helsinki 1975 and the construction of cross-border gas pipelines, and much more. The crown was the unification of Germany with the decisive role of Moscow in this hasty turn, both for the USSR and for Russia and Europe.

As they say, the West "do not put your finger in your mouth, bite your hand." So it happened, "bit off" not only Eastern Europe and the Baltic States adopted in NATO. They tried to forever reject independent post-Soviet Ukraine with all its eastern territories, including Crimea.

Very former allies

In the context of the UN Security Council, the definition of "they" refers to three former allies of Russia in the anti-Hitler coalition - the United States, Great Britain and France. They are the official nuclear states, members of the UN Security Council, united in the NATO alliance. They are the main ill-wishers of Russia

In the context of the SVO in Ukraine, this coalition cannot but cause concern! Moreover, this troika with an incomprehensible obsession "has been declared the task of inflicting a" strategic defeat "on Russia," Lavrov recalled. In Europe, a heated hotbed of geopolitical tensions has arisen to the limit, ready to crawl into Asia, involving Japan and South Korea.

Even during the detente, this "trinity" did not give Moscow a step to set foot without presenting claims and reproaches, using its influence at the UN. Strictly speaking, both the Secretariat of the Organization and its Security Council never became, according to Lavrov, a neutral part of the "architecture of global governance."

At best, we could talk about "discussion" with a selective approach to emerging problems. In the context of Russia's clash with the West on the territory of the former Ukrainian SSR, even this was put to an end, the parties turned to confrontation and accusations.

Secretary General and...

The cornerstone of the world order created by the results of World War II is the democratic principle of sovereign equality of states. Lavrov recalled the need for strict implementation of the UN Charter not only by member states, but also by the UN Secretariat. In particular, the provisions on "the inalienable right of each state to choose a political, economic, social and cultural system for itself without interference with anyone else."

Contrary to the UN Charter, the West divides humanity into "democracies" and "autocracies." And the question that the Russian minister asked seemed to hang in the air: "It would not hurt to answer, to what category do they [in the West] refer to the Ukrainian regime?"

The Secretary General of the World Organization also got it. Lavrov said about "serious issues" to Guterres's statements on March 29 that "autocratic rule does not guarantee stability, it is a catalyst for chaos and conflict," but "strong democratic societies are capable of self-correction and self-improvement. They can stimulate change, even radical ones, without bloodshed or violence. "

"Further, the respected Secretary General said," the Russian minister continued: "They (democracies) are centers of broad cooperation rooted in the principles of equality, participation and solidarity." All this was said at the "summit for democracy," the participants of which were selected by the American administration on the principle of loyalty to the ruling Democratic Party in the United States.

… and his team

During a meeting with UN Secretary General Guterres, the Russian minister drew attention to the peculiarities of the formation of the UN Secretariat, called for the use of "fair methods" for this, spoke about the strict observance by the UN leadership and all employees without exception of the principles of impartiality and equidistance.

Lavrov called on the Secretary General and his apparatus "to prevent the involvement of representatives of the structures of the World Organization in" politicized initiatives in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, "drew attention to the assurances of the Secretary General to refrain from participating in undertakings that do not involve inviting all parties.

The UN secretariat should reflect "the real weight of states in world affairs," the minister suggested. The current criteria for personnel selection artificially ensure the exorbitant dominance of citizens of NATO and EU countries, the imbalances are deepened by the system of permanent contracts linking their owners to the position of host countries of headquarters of international organizations. Most of them are located in the capitals of Western countries.

Finally, Lavrov recalled that "the statutory mission of the UN Secretariat is to serve to seek the consent of all member states under the UN roof, and not somewhere on the side."

What sponsors, such is the tameness

Sergey Lavrov spoke definitely about the Ukrainian neo-Nazis who seized power in Kyiv and the Western sponsors of the regime. "National radical forces, outspoken Russophobes and neo-Nazis then came to power as a result of an armed coup with the direct support of Western countries. Immediately after that, they embarked on the path of lawlessness and total disregard of fundamental human rights and freedoms - the right to life, freedom of speech, access to information, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, use of the native language. "

Sergei Lavrov said that the Kyiv authorities declared all those who disagreed with the results of the coup as terrorists, conducted a military operation against civilians for eight years, banned and destroyed books in Russian, and destroyed monuments to writers, as in fascist Germany.

On the territory of the former Ukraine, with state support, the ideology of national intolerance towards ethnic Russians is instilled. The authorities are no longer shy about their Nazi essence, officials openly and with impunity call for the murder of Russian people, the Russian minister said.

The unconditional support of the actions of the criminal Kyiv regime by the Western capitals is "nothing more than a violation of the principle of self-determination following gross interference in internal affairs," Lavrov summed up.

Moreover, EU and NATO members encourage the actions of Latvia and Estonia to defeat the rights of hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking residents, who were called "non-citizens." They are discussing the issue of introducing criminal liability for the use of their native language, the minister added.

Lavrov also spoke about the prospects for permanent membership in the UN Security Council of Germany and Japan, recalling that the World Organization was founded following the results of World War II and any attempts to revise these results undermine the foundations of the UN.

The minister said: "As a representative of a country that made a decisive contribution to the defeat of fascism and Japanese militarism, I would like to draw attention to such an egregious phenomenon as the rehabilitation of Nazis and collaborators in a number of European countries, primarily in Ukraine and the Baltic states.

It is alarming that in 2022 Germany, Italy and Japan voted against the UN General Assembly resolution on the inadmissibility of the glorification of Nazism for the first time. Did they repent for mass crimes against humanity during the Second World War? Were these repentances genuine, if at all?

Lavrov assured that Russia will take an active part in the discussions within the framework of the "Summit of the Future" in September 2024, including in the work on its final document - "Pact for the Future." The question remains, to which Sergei Lavrov has not yet given an answer: Is it realistic to count on the fact that it will be possible to build working relations within the UN with the "real empire of lies"?

Photo: RIA Novosti