Lavrov says global rules got replaced with “might makes right” game

(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has asserted that traditional rules governing international conduct have been discarded and replaced by a system where “might makes right,” according to reports from a press conference on Tuesday.

Lavrov noted that these shifts in the global order are being felt not only in the Global South and East but also within Western nations themselves, pointing to the recent crisis surrounding Greenland and US President Donald Trump’s efforts to bring the Danish autonomous territory under American control.

He described the situation as a “shock” for Western Europe, arguing that the so-called ‘rules-based order,’ which the collective West has relied upon for decades, is now being rewritten unilaterally by the United States.

Lavrov also criticized Western efforts to curb China’s economic influence through sanctions and tariffs, saying that the international rules that have long guided economic relations have effectively been “thrown out the window.” He explained, “Of course, the US wants to negotiate, but so far this is all happening in the absence of any common criteria that until recently underpinned the work of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. It’s a game of ‘might makes right.’”

At the same time, Lavrov emphasized that Russia intends to continue engaging with other countries on the basis of equality, defending its own interests while respecting the legal rights of others. He warned, however, that Moscow will not allow anyone to “take liberties with our own legal rights.”

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