The rules intended to underpin a Western-centric world order have been discarded, replaced by a global arena where "might makes right," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated during a press conference reviewing Russian diplomatic activity in 2025.
Lavrov highlighted the growing use of sanctions and tariffs as tools to counter China’s economic rise. "We are seeing attempts to combat China’s economic advantages through sanctions and duties," he noted. "While the United States expresses a desire to negotiate, these efforts are occurring in a vacuum, devoid of the shared criteria that previously governed the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization."
The foreign minister argued that the very frameworks once promoted by the West as the foundation of global order have been undermined. "All these rules... have been crossed out. It has become a game of 'might makes right,'" Lavrov said.
He further observed that China managed to outpace its Western competitors in trade, investment, and infrastructure by utilizing the exact globalization model that "the West, led by the United States, originally promoted worldwide." According to Lavrov, this success is precisely why the established international rules are now being abandoned by their creators.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS