06.02.2024, Moscow.
There is a growing understanding in the countries of the Global South that their economy is not immune to “state-sponsored gangsterism” of the collective West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on February 6 at a meeting of the Foreign Ministry’s Business Council, the broadcast of which was published on the agency’s Rutube account.
“There is a growing belief [among the countries of the Global South – Rossa Primavera News Agency] that nobody can be safe from the state-sponsored gangsterism of the collective West,” Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister noted that the overwhelming majority of states in the Global South does not support actions directed against Russia.
They are not supported “by the overwhelming majority of countries in the Global South, all those countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America that are pursuing an independent foreign policy and are guided primarily by their own national interests,” Lavrov said.
According to the minister, in this situation, many countries in foreign trade actively use currency and payment platforms alternative to Western ones. Lavrov also pointed to the creation of new international transportation corridors and chains connecting production and sales. They are protected “from the unfriendly countries’ unscrupulous attempts to hinder the implementation of mutually beneficial projects.”
Lavrov stated that the collective West, led by the United States, has stopped hiding its desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia and push it “to the periphery of international life.”
“It is clear that a real hybrid war has been unleashed against us. And one of its most important fronts is in the economic sphere,” the minister said.
He listed hostile actions directed against Russia in the economy. Among them are blackmail of traditional foreign partners and a broad information campaign aimed at creating a negative image of Russia’s trade and investment opportunities.
Lavrov also recounted the arguments that Russia’s adversaries present to its partners, “We will undermine the Russian economy, so it will be uncompetitive.”
Russia’s economy was subjected to large-scale sanctions after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine.
Since then, the package of sanctions by the USA, the EU and their allies has been repeatedly updated.
The EU members are preparing to adopt a new package of sanctions by the second anniversary of the start of Russia’s special military operation. One of the possible steps could be the confiscation of part of the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank to be able to finance Ukraine.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
