Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called for a multipolar system where the global governance system will not be dictated by the West.
He said the West must not be allowed to bully countries in the Global South if they disagree with them.
He said the world is changing and the tactics that force countries into a particular system must not be allowed
Lavrov was speaking at the start of the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in Cape Town on Thursday.
He was joined by Vice Foreign Minister of China Ma Zhaoxu. Minister of Foreign Affairs in India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor had opened the meeting.
In his remarks Lavrov said the West was engaged in blackmailing and threatening other countries with sanctions and this cannot be allowed.
“The world is changing, the countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa are strengthening their positions and are showing their readiness to maintain their national interests and to play an equal role in the global processes,” said Lavrov.
He said a more just and multipolar world was taking shape.
“The world order, which was geared toward creating benefits for one country or group of countries, is now a thing of the past. No more imposing of rules and arbitrary standards which did not take into account the principles of international order,” he said.
He said they have seen the emergence of hegemony and this shows itself in the behaviour of Western nations who are trying to bully other countries to back them.
“The West is engaged in blackmail and sanctions trying to influence the choice of the economic model and the trade partners of those countries limiting their opportunities,” said Lavrov.
But BRICS will play an important role in global affairs.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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