Lavrov at UNSC: USA Indeed an Outlaw

A most remarkable performance

No, Lavrov didn’t explicitly call the USA the Outlaw Empire it is, but he alluded to it in such a forceful and unequivocal manner there’s no escaping his validation of my terminology. Lavrov used UN provisions and Russia’s position as UNSC President for July to convene today’s meeting and discussion. The only way the Outlaw US Empire can deny the facts presented is to lie as it always does. RT’s headline, “‘Root causes’ of Ukraine conflict should be eliminated,” made me think that perhaps Lavrov had directly called for the elimination of NATO, but he actually went beyond that to aim at the Empire’s longstanding illegal behavior. But enough from me; here’s Lavrov:

I would like to extend a warm welcome to the distinguished High Representatives in the Security Council Chamber. Their participation in today's meeting confirms the importance of the topic under discussion. In accordance with rule 37 of the Council's provisional legal procedures, I invited the representatives of Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, the Syrian Arab Emirates, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Viet Nam, Chile, Ethiopia, the Arab Republic, the Philippines, South Africa, South Africa, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey and Uganda.

In accordance with the rules 39 of the Council's provisional legal procedures, I invite His Excellency Sauli Lambrinidis, Head of the European Union Delegation to the UN, to take part in this meeting.

The UN Security Council will begin its consideration of agenda item 2. I would like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to document S/2024/537, a letter dated 9 July 2024 from the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations addressed to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, transmitting a concept note on the item under consideration.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Your Excellency,

Today, the very foundations of the international legal order – strategic stability and the UN-centric system of world politics – are being tested for strength. The proliferation of conflicts cannot be resolved unless we understand their root causes and restore confidence in our ability to work together for the common good and justice for all.

Let's be frank: not all the states represented in this hall recognize the key principle of the UN Charter: the sovereign equality of all states. The United States has long declared its own exceptionalism through the mouths of its presidents. This applies to Washington's attitude towards its allies, who are required to obey unquestioningly, even to the detriment of their national interests.

Rule, America! This is the essence of the notorious "rules-based order" – a direct threat to multilateralism and international peace.

The most important components of international law – the UN Charter and the decisions of our Council – are interpreted by the "collective West" in a distorted and selective way, depending on the instructions that came from the White House. And many Security Council resolutions are completely ignored. Among them are Resolution 2202, which approved the Minsk Agreements on Ukraine, Resolution 1031, which approved the Dayton Agreement on peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of the principle of equality of the three state-forming peoples and two entities. We can talk endlessly about the sabotage of resolutions on the Middle East – suffice it to mention Antony Blinken's statement in an interview with CNN in February 2021 in response to a question about what he thinks about the previous US administration's decision to recognise that the Syrian Golan Heights belong to Israel. If anyone does not remember, I will refresh your memory. In response to this question, the Secretary of State said: "Legality aside, from a practical point of view, the Golan is very important for Israel's security." And this is despite the fact that UN Security Council Resolution 497 of 1981, which we all know very well, which no one has canceled, qualifies as Israel's illegal annexation of the Golan Heights. But, according to the "rules," it is necessary – to quote Antony Blinken – "to put aside the question of legality." And, of course, everyone remembers the statement by the US Permanent Representative that Resolution 2728, adopted on March 25 of this year, demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, "is not legally binding." That is, the American "rules" are more important than Article 25 of the UN Charter.

In the last century, George Orwell in his novel "Animal Farm" already foresaw the essence of the "rules-based order": "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." If you carry out the will of the hegemon, you are allowed to do anything. And if you dare and start defending your national interests, you will be declared an outcast and sanctioned.

Washington's hegemonic policy has not changed for decades. Without exception, all Euro-Atlantic security schemes were based on ensuring U.S. dominance, including subordinating Europe to it and "containing" Russia. The main role was assigned to NATO, which eventually "crushed" the European Union, which seemed to be being created for Europeans. The OSCE structures have been shamelessly privatised in flagrant violation of the Helsinki Final Act.

NATO's reckless expansion, despite Moscow's repeated warnings over the years, has also provoked the Ukrainian crisis, starting with the Washington-orchestrated coup d'état in February 2014 to establish full control over Ukraine in order to prepare for an offensive against Russia with the help of the neo-Nazi regime that has come to power. When Petr Poroshenko and then Vladimir Zelensky waged war against their own citizens in Donbass, destroyed Russian education, Russian culture, Russian media and the Russian language in general, banned the UOC, no one in the West noticed this and demanded that their wards in Kiev "observe decency" and not violate international conventions on the rights of ethnic minorities, and the Constitution of Ukraine itself, which requires respect for these rights. It was to eliminate threats to the security of Russia and protect people who felt themselves part of Russian culture and lived on the lands that had been settled by their ancestors for centuries, to save them from legislative and physical extermination, that a special military operation was launched.

It is indicative that even now, when numerous initiatives on the Ukrainian settlement are being put forward, few people remember Kiev's violation of human rights and ethnic minorities. Only recently, the EU documents on the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession formulated a corresponding demand, mainly due to Hungary's principled and persistent position. However, the real capabilities and desire of Brussels to influence the Kyiv regime are questionable.

We call on all those who show a sincere interest in overcoming the crisis in Ukraine to take into account the key issue of the rights of all national minorities without exception in their proposals. Its silence devalues peace initiatives, and Vladimir Zelensky's racist policy is in fact being approved. Characteristically, in 2014 (ten years ago) Vladimir Zelensky said: "If people in eastern Ukraine and Crimea want to speak Russian, get rid of them, leave them behind, and legally let them speak Russian. Language will never divide our native country." Since then, Washington has successfully re-educated him, and already in 2021, Vladimir Zelensky, in an interview, demanded that those who feel involved in Russian culture leave for Russia for the sake of the future of their children and grandchildren.

I appeal to the masters of the Ukrainian regime: make it comply with Article 1.3 of the UN Charter, which guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people "without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion."

Dear Colleagues,

The war that it unleashed against Russia by the hands of the illegal authorities in Kiev is no longer enough for the North Atlantic Alliance, and the entire OSCE space is not enough for it. Having almost completely destroyed the fundamental agreements in the field of arms control, the United States continues to escalate confrontation. The other day, at a summit in Washington, the leaders of the alliance countries confirmed their claims to a leading role not only in the Euro-Atlantic region, but also in the Asia-Pacific region. It is declared that NATO is still guided by the task of protecting the territory of its members, but for this, they say, it is necessary to extend the dominance of the alliance to the entire Eurasian continent and adjacent sea areas. NATO's military infrastructure is being moved into the Pacific with the obvious goal of undermining the ASEAN-centric architecture, which for many decades has been built on the principles of equality, consideration of mutual interests and consensus. To replace the inclusive mechanisms created around ASEAN, the United States and its allies are putting together closed confrontational blocs subordinate to them, such as AUKUS and other various "fours" and "troikas". The other day, Deputy Head of the Pentagon Kevin Hicks said that the United States and its allies "must prepare for protracted wars, and not only in Europe."

For the sake of "containing" Russia, China and other countries whose independent policy is perceived as a challenge to hegemony, the West, with its aggressive actions, is breaking the system of globalization that was originally formed according to its own patterns. Washington has done everything to blow up (including literally by organizing terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines) the foundations of mutually beneficial energy cooperation between Russia and Germany and Europe as a whole. Berlin was silent then. Today we see yet another humiliation of Germany, whose government has unquestioningly complied with the U.S. decision to deploy U.S. ground-based intermediate-range missiles on German soil. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said so ingenuously: "The United States has decided to deploy high-precision strike systems in Germany, and this is a good decision." The United States decided.

At the same time, Mr John Kirby, Media Coordinator in Washington, says on behalf of the US President: "We are not seeking a third world war. This would have dire consequences for the European continent." As they say, a Freudian slip of the tongue: Washington is convinced that it is not the United States that will suffer from a new global war, but its European allies. If the Biden administration's strategy is based on such an analysis, then this is an extremely dangerous misconception. Well, Europeans, of course, must realize what a suicidal role awaits them.

The Americans, having put the entire collective West under arms, are expanding the trade and economic war with undesirables, unleashing an unprecedented campaign of unilateral coercive measures that are boomerang, first of all, on Europe and lead to further fragmentation of the world economy. The countries of the Global South in Asia, Africa and Latin America suffer from the neocolonial practices of Western countries. Illegal sanctions, numerous protectionist measures, restrictions on access to technology directly contradict genuine multilateralism and create serious obstacles to achieving the goals of the UN development agenda.

Where are all the attributes of the free market that the United States and its allies have been accustoming everyone to for so many years? The market economy, fair competition, the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence, the freedom of movement of people, goods, capital and services – all this has been scrapped today. Geopolitics has buried the laws of the market, once sacred to the West. Recently, we heard public demands from US and EU officials for China to reduce "excess production" in high-tech industries, since the West has begun to lose its long-term advantages in them. Now, instead of market principles, there are the same "rules".

Dear Colleagues,

The actions of the United States and its allies impede international cooperation and building a more just world, take entire countries and regions hostage, prevent peoples from exercising their sovereign rights enshrined in the UN Charter, distract them from much-needed joint work to resolve conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and other regions, reduce global inequality, and eliminate the threats of terrorism and drug-related crime. hunger and disease.

I am convinced that this situation can be corrected – of course, if there is goodwill. In order to stop the development of events according to a negative scenario, we would like to propose for discussion a number of steps that are aimed at restoring trust and stabilizing the international situation.

1. The root causes of the crisis in Europe must be addressed once and for all. The conditions for establishing sustainable peace in Ukraine were set out by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, and I will not repeat them.

A political and diplomatic settlement should be accompanied by concrete steps to remove the threats to the Russian Federation emanating from the western, Euro-Atlantic direction. In agreeing on mutual guarantees and agreements, it will be necessary to take into account the new geostrategic realities on the Eurasian continent, where a continent-wide architecture of truly equal and indivisible security is being formed. Europe risks lagging behind this objective historical process. We are ready to search for a balance of interests.

2. The restoration of the regional and global balance of power must be accompanied by active efforts to eliminate injustices in the world economy. In a multipolar world, by definition, there should be no monopolists in monetary and financial regulation, trade, or technology. This point of view is shared by the overwhelming majority of members of the world community. Of particular importance was the early reform of the Bretton Woods institutions and WTO, whose activities should reflect the real weight of non-Western centres of growth and development.

3. Serious, qualitative changes must also take place in other institutions of global governance if they are to work for the benefit of all. First of all, this applies to our Organization, which is still, despite everything, the embodiment of multilateralism, has a unique, universal legitimacy and a universally recognized breadth of competence.

An important step towards restoring the effectiveness of the UN would be for all its members to reaffirm their commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, not selectively, but in their entirety and interrelatedness. We can think together about what form such a reconfirmation could take.

The Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, established at the initiative of Venezuela, is doing a lot of work. We invite all countries that maintain faith in the supremacy of international law to join its work.

A key element of UN reform should be a change in the composition of the Security Council, although this alone will not be productive unless there is a basic agreement among the permanent members on how to operate. This consideration, however, does not negate the imperative of eliminating geographical and geopolitical imbalances in the Security Council, where the countries of the collective West are clearly overrepresented today. It is long overdue to reach the broadest possible agreement on the specific parameters of reform to strengthen the representation of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Changes were also needed in the Secretariat's personnel policy in order to eliminate the dominance of citizens and nationals of Western countries in the administrative structures of the Organization. The Secretary-General and his staff are obliged to strictly observe the principles of impartiality and neutrality, as prescribed by Article 100 of the UN Charter, which we never tire of reminding.

4. In addition to the UN, other multilateral associations are called upon to contribute to the strengthening of the multipolar principles of international life. Among them is the G20, which includes both the world's majority countries and Western states. The mandate of the G20 is strictly limited to economic and development issues, so it is important that the substantive dialogue on this platform be free from opportunistic attempts to throw in geopolitical issues. Otherwise, we will ruin this useful platform.

BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are playing an increasingly important role in building a just multilateral order based on the principles of the UN Charter. They bring together countries representing different regions and civilizations that cooperate on the basis of equality, mutual respect, consensus and mutually acceptable compromises – the "gold standard" of multilateral cooperation with the participation of great powers.

Such regional associations as the CIS, the CSTO, the EAEU, ASEAN, THE GCC, LAS, the African Union, and CELAC are of practical importance for the establishment of multipolarity. We see an important task in establishing multifaceted ties between them, including with the involvement of the UN potential. Russia's presidency of the Council will devote one of its upcoming meetings to cooperation between the UN and Eurasian regional organisations.

Dear Colleagues,

Speaking at the BRICS parliamentary forum in St Petersburg on July 9, President of Russia Vladimir Putin said: "The formation of a world order that reflects the real balance of power is a complex and in many ways even painful process." We believe that discussions on this topic should be built without slipping into fruitless polemics, on the basis of a sober analysis of the entire set of facts. First of all, it is necessary to restore professional diplomacy, a culture of dialogue, the ability to listen and hear, and to preserve crisis communication channels. The lives of millions of people depend on whether politicians and diplomats are able to formulate something like a unified vision of the future. Whether our world will be diverse and equitable depends only on the member states. I would like to emphasise once again that there is a foothold – this is the Charter of our Organisation. If everyone without exception follows its spirit and letter, then the United Nations will be able to overcome current differences and come to a common denominator on most issues. The "end of history" did not take place. Let us work together to begin a history of true multilateralism, reflecting the richness of the cultural and civilisational diversity of the peoples of the world. We invite you to a discussion, of course, it should only be honest. [My Emphasis]

I’ve yet to hunt down other reactions to see how honest they are, or to dig up a transcript of the entire meeting which is probably still ongoing as it’s only 2pm Eastern as I write. Lavrov picked the correct Orwellian construct, Animal Farm, for his analogy for it’s obvious to those with eyes to see that the Outlaw US Empire is today’s totalitarian hegemon in a manner the USSR—Orwell’s intended target—never was. Lavrov’s making certain all attending heard Blinken’s words again that Europe’s the designated place to be destroyed by NATO, not the US mainland, although we know Blinken is blinded by his exceptionalism and believes the Empire invulnerable when it will be a primary target if the current conflict escalates in the direction it appears the Neocons desire.

Relative to Lavrov’s talk is the recent essay published in English by Sergei Karaganov, “Decades of Wars?”; the most recent Geopolitical Economic Hour where it was a considerable part of the discussion, “NATO Focus: From Defensive to Offensive;” and professor Hudson’s most recent chat with Nima, “All Of Our Wealth Has Been Coming From You;” which is very frank and provocative.

IMO, it’s clear the Multipolar leaders want to avoid the looming nuclear conflagration by hoping there remain some sensible people in the West, of which Hungary’s Orban has emerged as the potential leader. The SCO at its recent Summit clearly discussed this problem as its reflected in the leading paragraph of its Joint Declaration to which I add its second paragraph:

Tectonic shifts are taking place in world politics, economics, and other areas of international relations. A fairer and more multipolar world order is emerging, and opportunities for developing States and implementing mutually beneficial and equitable international cooperation are expanding. At the same time, the use of force is increasing, the norms of international law are being systematically violated, geopolitical confrontations and conflicts are growing, and risks to stability in the world and the SCO region are multiplying.

The Member States consider it necessary to enhance the role of the SCO in creating conditions for strengthening global peace, security and stability, as well as building a new democratic, just, political and economic international order. To this end, they accept the SCO Initiative "On World Unity for Just Peace, Harmony and Development" and invite the world community to join it.

And of course, the BRICS are well aware of this also and will announce their own response at its October Summit in Kazan.

IMO, Lavrov’s address was also aimed at Donald Trump, and if he ignores what Lavrov has said then he’s an even greater fool than I imagined. Indeed, it’s beyond psycho that the only person seemingly capable of preventing what appears to be a certain Global Rupture is Donald Trump. But he cannot merely neuter NATO only to turn his sights on China for that will still cause a Rupture, although it might not be as catastrophic. IMO, there’s zero possibility of Team Biden altering its direction as it’s incapable of thinking outside the box it’s in.

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