Russia should create an "anti-Western, anti-American coalition," in a world where Ukraine does "not exist" as a nation, a Russian state television commentator said.
"It's very important for us to get the support of the Global South, to create an anti-Western, anti-American coalition," Alexander Gusev, a contributor to the Russian foreign ministry's magazine, said in a state TV broadcast.
An alliance against Ukraine's Western backers should be on Moscow's "daily agenda," Gusev told Kremlin propagandist Olga Skabeyeva, in a clip posted by the Russian Media Monitor account run by journalist Julia Davis.
Following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, Russia has courted closer relations with many countries in the "Global South," a term used to refer to the world's less industrialized nations, mostly in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
While many Western countries, such as those in North America and across Europe, have vocally supported Ukraine, others have been less eager to throw their weight behind Kyiv. Many don't wish to cut off diplomatic ties with Russia, and are among the countries hit hardest by food and grain crises sparked by the war in Ukraine.
"Russia has rich and long-standing relations with African countries," Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., told Newsweek in late July. "Nowadays we intend to give an additional impetus to these ties and elevate them to a brand-new level."
Russia wants stronger ties with Global South countries as it seeks to reform the "world order," and it has pushed for the expansion of the BRICS group of nations, which currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Almost 20 countries are hoping to join the group, Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, told the state-run Tass news agency in mid-June.
Anil Sooklal, South Africa's ambassador-at-large to BRICS, also told Newsweek in June that more than three dozen countries had applied for BRICS membership.
Moscow has positioned its invasion of Ukraine as a war not just against Kyiv, but against NATO countries and, most often, against the U.S.
"I believe this confrontation between Russia and the collective West will be quite lengthy," Gusev said.
While Moscow has said its "special military operation" – the Kremlin-approved term for the invasion – was designed to "de-nazify" Ukraine, much of the international community has rejected this. Ukraine sees the conflict as a fight for its survival and independence.
In plans for Russia's future, Ukraine "as a nation state should not exist," Gusev repeatedly said in the clip translated by Davis.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign misitry for comment.
