United Nations
Russia’s foreign minister took aim at the West on Friday, saying its philosophies are out of step with the times and that it is struggling to accept what he called its diminishing dominance in world affairs.
In his speech before the UN General Assembly, Sergei Lavrov blamed the countries that declared themselves winners of the Cold War between the US and the former Soviet Union for the current challenges facing the world, and for the increasing fragmentation of the international community.
He pointedly scorned much of the “West,” a term Russian officials typically use to refer to the United States and its traditional allies in Europe. He accused them of manipulating their citizens, disseminating false information, and preventing journalists from doing their work — all charges that the West has long lobbed at the Russian government and its predecessor, the Soviet Union. “It is hard for the West to accept seeing its centuries-long dominance in world affairs diminishing,” Lavrov said.
“Leading Western countries are trying to impede the development of the polycentric world, to recover their privileged positions, to impose standards of conduct based on the narrow Western interpretation of liberalism on others.”
The relationship between Russia and the US has been deteriorating for years. The two countries are at odds on many issues internationally, from Iran’s nuclear program to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea to the war in Syria.— AP
