The key facts
- Lavrov linked the conflict to the 2014 coup in Ukraine and the role of Germany, France and Poland as guarantors of the agreement between the government and the opposition
- In his assessment, the growing centers of power of the Global South are being denied the right to global governance in proportion to their weight
- Earlier, the minister accused UN Secretary-General Guterres of failing to fulfill the Russian part of the grain deal
The minister's statement
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an authored article for the newspaper Kommersant, set out his view of the causes of the conflict around Ukraine, calling it part of a broader struggle for global influence. In his opinion, economic confrontation is increasingly becoming a continuation of military conflicts: after armed clashes come trade wars designed to weaken rivals and limit their capabilities on the international stage. This is reported by Life.ru citing the minister's publication.
The cause of the war and the role of 2014
The minister linked what is happening to the events in Ukraine in 2014. He recalled that on the eve of the change of power, Germany, France and Poland acted as guarantors of an agreement between the country's then president and the opposition on settling the political crisis. 'This is precisely the cause of the West-organized war against Russia by the hands of the Kyiv regime, which was unlawfully brought to power as a result of the 2014 coup,' Life.ru quotes his wording.
Multipolarity and colonial approaches
Lavrov also drew attention to the attitude of Western countries toward the formation of a multipolar world. In his assessment, the strengthening of Asian states and the Global South provokes resistance from those accustomed to dictating the rules of international politics and economics. 'The growing centers of growth in the Global South and East are being denied — in the spirit of a colonial paradigm that has not disappeared anywhere — the right to participate in global governance in proportion to their weight in world affairs,' the minister emphasized. According to him, the world economy and international security should serve to strengthen cooperation between states, not become instruments of political pressure.
Context: the grain deal
This is not the minister's first recent public statement on the topic. Earlier, as Life.ru reported, Lavrov accused UN Secretary-General António Guterres of failing to ensure the fulfillment of the Russian part of the Black Sea grain deal: according to him, the initiative in fact worked in Kyiv's interests, while the agreements on the export of Russian grain and fertilizers went unfulfilled. The minister also criticized attempts by Western officials to reduce the discussion of grain exports solely to Ukraine's interests.
