Russian FM Lavrov blames the West for global chaos

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at the 69th UN General Assembly on Saturday, September 27, cracked down on the United States for its foreign policy and spoke very strongly about the actions of the Ukrainian authorities in connection with the events in the Donbass.

Photo: AP photo

In particular, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the Western alliance led by the United States was acting on the international arena contrary to the principle of sovereign equality of all member states of the UN.

"Contradiction between the need for collective action in the interests of elaborating appropriate responses to common challenges and the wish of a number of states to dominate and revive the archaic bloc-like thinking based on the barrack discipline and flawed "friend or foe" logic has been manifesting itself stronger and stronger. The Western alliance led by the United States, while advocating democracy, the rule of law and human rights in individual countries, acts with directly opposite positions on the international arena, rejecting the democratic principle of the UN Charter for sovereign equality of states and trying to decide for all what is good, and  what is evil," said Lavrov.

According to him, many actions of the West in international politics are motivated by the wish to create chaos in the world. "Highly powerful blows have been struck on the stability of the international system: the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the invasion of Iraq, the attack on Libya, the failure in Afghanistan. It was only intensive diplomatic efforts that prevented the aggression against Syria in 2013. Involuntarily, it brings up an impression that the only purpose of various "color revolutions" and other projects to change undesirable regimes is to provoke chaos and instability."

"Washington has openly declared its right to use military force unilaterally and anywhere - to defend its own interests. Military intervention has become a norm, even though all military operations that the United States has conducted during the recent years, ended deplorably," Lavrov said, Interfax reports.

"Today, Ukraine has become a victim of such arrogant policy. The state of affairs in the country bared deep, systemic flaws in the existing architecture of the Euro-Atlantic alliance," the Russian minister said.

"The West aims to vertically structure mankind to its own standards that are far from being harmless. Having proclaimed victory in the "cold war" and "the end of history," the United States and the EU are committed to expanding their geopolitical space, without taking account of the balance of legitimate interests of all peoples of Europe," said Lavrov.

"Western partners ignored many of our warnings about the inadmissibility of violating the principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. They repeatedly evaded serious work together to create common space of equal and indivisible security and cooperation in the area from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Russia's proposal to develop the European Security Treaty was rejected," he said.

Lavrov also commented on the deterioration of relations between Russia and NATO.

"NATO's instant switch to hostile rhetoric, to curtailing cooperation with Russia, even to the detriment of interests of the West, to building up military infrastructure at the Russian border has exposed the incapability of the alliance to change its genetic code that had been programmed during the "Cold War" era," he said.

The Russian Foreign Minister called for the UN to proclaim, in a special declaration, the principle of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states and non-recognition of coup d'etat as a method of change of power.

"Why not adopting a declaration of the General Assembly about non-interference in internal affairs of sovereign states, about non-recognition of coup d'etat as a method of change of power? It's about time one should completely exclude attempts of illegal pressure of one state on another in the field of international communication. The pointless and counterproductive nature of unilateral sanctions became evident on the example of the American embargo against Cuba," Lavrov said.

The struggle against terrorists in Syria must be conducted only in cooperation with the government of the Arab republic, Lavrov said.

"The struggle against terrorists on the territory of Syria must be built in cooperation with the Syrian government that clearly stated its readiness for it," said the Russian minister.

He noted that a key challenge of the world community was "solid opposition to the terrorists, who are trying to gain control of increasingly vast areas in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan."

"This objective can not be sacrificed to ideological schemes or an aspiration to settle personal scores. Terrorists, whatever slogans they use to cover themselves up, must remain outside the law," said the minister.

"The threat of terrorism requires a comprehensive approach, if we want to eradicate its causes, rather than be doomed to reacting to symptoms. ISIS is only a part of the problem," said the Minister.

"We offer, under the auspices of the UN Security Council, to arrange an in-depth study of the threats of extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and Central Asia in their entirety. A comprehensive approach involves the consideration of long-standing conflicts and above all - the Arab-Israeli conflict," Lavrov said.

The Minister noted that the unresolved Palestinian issue remains one of the main factors of instability in the region for decades, helping extremists recruit more and more new jihadists," said the Minister.

The perpetrators of all crimes in Ukraine must be identified and brought to justice, otherwise it is difficult to rely on reconciliation, Lavrov said, speaking at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.

"Attempts to distort the truth, hide facts behind  the unfounded allegations were made at all stages of the Ukrainian crisis," said the Minister.

"Nothing is being done to identify and punish those responsible for the bloody events on the Maidan in February, for massive killings in Odessa, Mariupol and other regions of Ukraine - Lavrov said. - The extent of the terrible humanitarian disaster caused by the actions of the Ukrainian army in the south-east of the country is being diminished deliberately. New horrifying facts have been recently revealed, when mass graves near Donetsk were discovered. Contrary to Resolution 2166 of the UN Security Council, independent investigation into the collapse of the Malaysian airliner over Ukraine is being protracted. The perpetrators of all these crimes must be identified and brought to justice, otherwise it is difficult to rely on national reconciliation in Ukraine."

Lavrov said that Russia was interested in restoring peace in Ukraine. The minister believes that a military solution can not resolve the conflict.

"We are convinced that with goodwill and refusal to support the "party of war" in Kiev that tries to push the Ukrainian people into the abyss of a national catastrophe, a way out of the crisis is within reach," said Lavrov.

According to him, "a way to the political settlement is known: in April, the Kiev authorities undertook to immediately start a national dialogue involving all regions and political forces in Ukraine to implement the constitutional reform."

"Implementing this commitment would let all Ukrainians agree on how to live in accordance with their traditions and culture. It would let Ukraine return to its role of a link between different parts of European space, which, of course, implies the preservation and respect for its non-aligned neutral status by all," said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Lavrov also said that the choice of the Crimean population in favor of self-determination was absolutely free. "The United States and the European Union supported the coup in Ukraine, started to blindly justify any act of the self-proclaimed Kiev authorities to violently suppress the part of the Ukrainian people, who rejected attempts to impose anti-constitutional orders and wanted to defend rights for their native language, culture and history," noted the minister.

"It was an aggressive attack on the rights that pushed those living in the Crimea to take their destiny into their own hands and make a choice in favor of self-determination - Lavrov said. - It was a completely free choice, whatever those primarily responsible for the internal conflict in Ukraine may invent."

Russia is ready to find a compromise in the resolution of any complex problem in an equal conversation, Lavrov said.

"We have always been and will be open to discuss most difficult questions, no matter how insolvable they may seem at first," said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"One needs to be honest: no one has a monopoly on truth, and no one is capable of adjusting global and regional processes to their needs," said the minister.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the deteriorating situation in Iraq and Syria in connection with the growth of the terrorist threat of the Islamic State group, ITAR-TASS reports.

"Sergei Lavrov stressed out the need for unconditional and full implementation of the whole complex of agreements reached by the tripartite Contact Group in Minsk on September 5. The UN Secretary-General reiterated the readiness of contribute to the regulation of the Ukrainian crisis," officials at the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

In turn, Ban Ki-moon called on Moscow to ensure sustainable cease-fire regime in the east of Ukraine, as well as strengthen cooperation with partners on the Syrian issue.

Pravda.Ru