Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov yesterday attacked the US in an annual press conference, accusing Washington of issuing ultimatums and failing to recognize “the reality of the emerging multipolar world.”
Lavrov said the past year had not been easy from a foreign policy perspective as he took questions on Syria, Ukraine, the Korean Peninsula and other global issues, in a diplomatic round-up of the past year.
“Unfortunately, our American colleagues and their allies still want to do business solely on the basis of issuing ultimatums and do not want to listen to the views of other centers of world politics,” he said when asked about US President Donald Trump’s position on the Iran nuclear deal.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“In fact, they do not want to recognize the reality of the emerging multipolar world,” Lavrov said.
Trump last week said the US would not reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran for now, but would withdraw from the deal this year unless its terms were changed.
“[The Americans] resort to methods that are, largely, questionable and unscrupulous, in order to contain their competitors,” Lavrov said.
“They use a number of these methods, from deploying a global missile defense system to unilateral sanctions, to the extraterritorial use of their own legislation or threats to resolve any international problems solely according to their own scenario,” he said.
Lavrov also said threats coming from Washington in the past year had “seriously aggravated” tensions in different parts of the world, including in North Korea.
He said the actions of the current US administration were in some cases “more assertive” than under former US president Barack Obama, “despite Trump’s line during the election campaign.”
The US was afraid of fair competition in various areas, including energy and the supply of gas to Europe, Lavrov said, adding that Washington was failing to contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Syria.
The formation of a zone controlled by US-backed rebels could lead to the partition of Syria, he said.
Russia started to withdraw its forces from Syria last month, but Moscow has said it would keep its Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province as well as its naval facility at Tartous “on a permanent basis.”
On Iran, he said that US statements to end the deal “do not add optimism or stability.”
He warned that a withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal would have a negative effect on the North Korea crisis.
“If Kim Jong-un is required to stop [North Korea’s] nuclear military program and, in exchange, is promised sanctions will be lifted then this is precisely the essence of the agreements between the world community and Iran,” Lavrov said.
“If this arrangement is taken away and Iran is told: you remain within the framework of your obligations and we will reimpose sanctions — then put yourself in North Korea’s place,” he said, adding that Moscow is ready to support direct talks between parties involved in the North Korean missile crisis.
He also warned that a US-made Aegis missile-defence system that Japan has decided to acquire could be used for offensive purposes because its missile launching system is dual-purpose, adding that Russia doubted assertions that the US would not be involved in the system’s operational control.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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