The US and the UK strong-arm their own followers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has claimed<\/p>\n\n\n\n
London and Washington run the show in the \u201crules-based world order,\u201d trying to dictate policy to their own allies as well as countries outside the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told RT on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia fully understands that building relations with other countries needs to be based on mutual benefits and equal partnerships, Lavrov said in an interview with RT at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is not what we see in the West these days. The Anglo-Saxons are basically running the show, controlling the rest of the collective West. They are using the current situation, which they created through Ukraine \u2013 this war against Russia \u2013 to remove competition,\u201d Lavrov elaborated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey see us as a competitor, they see China as a competitor. Their doctrinal documents clearly state that. But they are also removing their competition in continental Europe. It\u2019s obvious. The economic and social processes in Germany are grim. Other countries are not much better off,\u201d the Russian foreign minister added.
The only Western state benefiting from the current situation is the US, Lavrov claimed, \u201cand the UK is always somewhere around, helping America reach its selfish goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Lavrov, the \u201cAnglo-Saxons and their allies\u201d are currently trying to pressure countries around the world to side with them against Russia, including the Arab world, using methods he can only describe as \u201crude.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou see, when they talk about these \u2018rules\u2019 on which the international order must be based, what they really mean is their diktat,\u201d Lavrov told RT. \u201cColonial instincts \u2013 live at the expense of others. Nothing else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lavrov took particular exception to Western proclamations that their support for Kiev is \u201cdefending democracy\u201d and that Ukraine is fighting for \u201cWestern values\u201d in the conflict with Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst of all, if they really see it that way, I cannot but be convinced that they are holding on to Nazi views. Because saying that Western values are being protected in Ukraine is the same as saying that Nazism is your mode of existence,\u201d the diplomat told RT. As for democracy, he added, \u201cthey only speak about democracy when they teach others how to live,\u201d but not when it comes to respecting the sovereign equality of other states, per the UN Charter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n