NEW DELHI: Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday hit out at the West, accusing the US and others of trying to engage India in “anti-China games” through the Indo-Pacific concept and undermining Russia’s ties with India.
Speaking at a meeting of the state-run think tank Russian International Affairs Council via a video link, Lavrov said the West is seeking to reinstate the unipolar world order that would include all states but for Russia and China with which it would deal later.
“Poles” like Russia and China are unlikely to be subordinate to it, said Lavrov. “However, India was currently an object of the Western countries’ persistent, aggressive and devious policy as they are trying to engage it in anti-China games by promoting Indo-Pacific strategies, the ‘Quad’, while at the same time the West is attempting to undermine our close partnership and privileged relations with India,” he said. This is the goal of the US’ very tough pressure on New Delhi in the MTC (military and technical cooperation) area, he added.
Russia has been consistent in its opposition to the Indo-Pacific strategy saying its main aim is to contain China. India, however, maintains that the Indo-Pacific is a free, open, transparent and inclusive concept with Asean at its centre and that it doesn’t exclude any country.
“Rejecting the objective trends towards the formation of a multi-polar world, the US-led West has launched a game. It has postponed Russia and China for later and is trying to draw all others into a unipolar world,” added Lavrov.
He said the G20 is the only mechanism outside the UN Security Council where it is still possible “to come to terms based on a balance of interests”. “It represents the so-called G7, the BRICS countries and states that sooner (sic) share the philosophy of BRICS than that of the G7,” said Lavrov.