Russia is not giving up contacts with the West, but will not "make any first steps", Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Saturday after taking part in the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, TASS reported.
Among other Lavrov's main statements were the following.
- "It is clear to any impartial observer that future of the world order is being decided today. The question is whether it will be an order where one hegemon forces everyone else to live according to their notorious ‘rules’ which benefit only itself. Or will it be a democratic, just world – a world without blackmail and intimidation of unwanted peoples, without neo-Nazism and neo-colonialism? Russia has made a firm choice in favor of the latter, and together with our allies, partners and like-minded people are calling for work on its implementation.”
- The policy of the Ukrainian authorities led to referendums in the Donbass and in the liberated territories.
- Russia will unequivocally respect the results of the referendums that are being held in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) as well as in the liberated areas of the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions.
- The West’s reaction shows that they do not recognize "direct expression of citizens’ will has long ceased to be a form of establishing control over this or that territory."
- The entire territory of the Russian Federation is "under the state’s full protection."
- The supply of weapons to Kiev makes Western countries a party to the conflict. "If Western countries do not recognize themselves as parties to the conflict, they must comply with international conventions that describe the duties of neutral states."
- The United States "considers the current situation around Ukraine as a litmus test to measure its ability to remain hegemony."
- Moscow cannot negotiate with Kiev because of the position of the West, which calls for resolving the conflict "on the battlefield": "What kind of negotiations can we talk about?"
- The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen comments on Italy elections was "shocking" when she's mentioned that EU have “the tools” to deal with Italy if things go in a “difficult direction".
- The unipolar model of global development, “which served the interests of the so-called ‘golden billion’,” amassed its wealth using the resources of Asia, Africa and Latin America, "is receding into the past."
Russkiy Mir
