Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov utilized his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UGNA) on Saturday to issue one of Moscow’s strongest warnings to the West, accusing NATO and the European Union of conducting a “real war” against Russia.
Lavrov began by referencing historical contexts from World War II, positioning Russia as the successor to the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazism and safeguarding global sovereignty. He criticized the U.S. for dismantling those postwar principles through interventions in Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Libya, and warned that the same was occurring today in the Middle East.
While denouncing Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, Lavrov said Israel’s actions in Gaza constituted “collective punishment” of civilians, connecting the conflict to what he depicted as decades of unchecked Western use of force.
Lavrov accused NATO of disregarding decades-old security commitments. He asserted that Russia has “never had and does not have” intentions to attack NATO countries, describing Western warnings of a Russian offensive as “provocations.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a warning of his own to the General Assembly that failing to halt Russia now will lead to “the most destructive arms race ever.” (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Lavrov also criticized U.S. sanctions on Iran, condemning Western attempts to restore or increase restrictions as “illegal” and indicative of what he characterized as Washington’s policy of “blackmail and pressure.”
He said the West had sabotaged diplomatic options to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and rejected what he called manipulations at the U.N. Security Council to isolate Tehran.
Beyond Europe, Lavrov portrayed Russia as aligned with a rising “global majority” against Western dominance, pointing to BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and African and Latin American calls for greater representation at the U.N. Security Council.
He accused Washington of using sanctions and military blocs to preserve hegemony, while claiming Russia was defending sovereignty for nations across the Global South.
