UNITED NATIONS. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivered a scathing critique of the United States and Western nations during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday. However, his speech notably omitted any substantial discussion of Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Lavrov accused the United States and its Western allies of perpetuating conflicts that divide the world into hostile factions, obstructing the establishment of a genuine multipolar world order, and imposing their self-centered rules on the international community. Despite the gravity of his accusations, he made only passing references to the 19-month-long war in Ukraine, citing historical grievances dating back to the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991 and the financial support provided by the U.S. and Western nations to Ukraine.
For the second consecutive year, the General Assembly convened with no resolution in sight to the conflict in Ukraine. While Ukrainian seats in the assembly hall remained empty during part of Lavrov’s speech, an American diplomat took notes in her country’s section of the audience.
Lavrov’s address further criticized the U.S. for “whipping up hysteria on the Korean Peninsula,” alluding to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which raised concerns among South Korea and its allies.
In a subsequent press conference, Lavrov asserted that the U.S. was effectively engaged in hostilities with Russia, using Ukrainians as pawns in a hybrid war. He maintained that regardless of terminology, this constituted a direct conflict between the two nations.
Under assembly rules that prioritize presidential speeches before those of cabinet-level officials, Lavrov spoke several days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden had addressed the assembly. Zelenskyy accused Russia of weaponizing various means against Ukraine and the international rules-based order, while Biden called for continued support for Ukraine and emphasized the importance of preserving national independence.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian government has offered various justifications for its actions, including concerns about the rights of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine’s Western alliances, and perceived NATO threats.
While Lavrov reiterated these themes from his previous General Assembly speech, he framed them in a broader context of Western nations’ attempts to maintain disproportionate global influence. He suggested that this effort was futile, emphasizing that the majority of the world no longer wished to be dominated by a select few. Lavrov pointed to the growth of groups like BRICS, a coalition of developing economies, as evidence of this shift.
In conclusion, Lavrov called for the United Nations to adapt to this changing global landscape and strive for a fairer distribution of global benefits and diverse representation of interests.
Lavrov and Zelenskyy had both addressed the UN Security Council earlier in the week but did not engage in direct confrontation. Lavrov also skipped Zelenskyy’s General Assembly speech and dismissed the Ukrainian president’s 10-point peace plan as unfeasible and unrealistic during his subsequent press conference. Lavrov commented that he had more pressing matters to attend to and had already anticipated the content of Zelenskyy’s speech, describing the Ukrainian president’s demeanor as somber.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
