West isolating itself now, says Russian FM Sergey Lavrov on sidelines of G20 Foreign Ministers' meet

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday said that it is high time to reform the United Nations Security Council. Speaking at the G20 Finance Ministers meet in New Delhi, he said that “it is in the UN charter that every state must adhere to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any other state".

“It is high time to reform the United Nations Security Council,” Lavrov said. “We do not feel isolated. The West is isolating itself now. If the West is so democratic then why can't they apply democratic principles internationally?” he added. 

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Lavrov added that the West views the invasion of Ukraine as a reaction to the long-planned war, which is why the West was arming the Ukrainian regime.

According to Sputnik News Agency, Lavrov said that the West declined to include Russia's proposal on the need for an investigation into the Nord Stream blasts in the G20 final declaration.

....We do not feel isolated. The West is isolating itself now. If the West is so democratic then why can't they apply democratic principles internationally?: Russian FM Lavrov in Delhi pic.twitter.com/0VNy8H8qpD

— ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2023

"They [Western countries] also refused to accept another fact in this context, which reflects the events that have taken place since then. I am referring to the terrorist act against the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Our proposal to include in the document the need for an impartial and honest investigation was categorically rejected by our Western partners," the visiting Foreign Minister said.

Lavrov said that Russia has never refused to listen to suggestions. “As for assistance in resolving the (Ukraine) crisis, we have never refused to listen to serious suggestions that are made out of the sincere willingness to find a political resolution in Russian,” he said. 

“We have never stood against any state or any country developing foreign ties with any other state,” he added. 

Lavrov blamed the West for not listening to Russia's side.

"The West insisted on reproducing the text on the situation around Ukraine, which was agreed at the G20 summit last year in Bali, completely ignoring our arguments that a lot of events have happened since then, including the sincere confessions of Mrs. [ex-German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, Mr. [former French President Francois] Hollande, Mr. [ex-Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko, and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky himself that none of them was going to fulfill the Minsk agreements and the purpose of signing the Minsk agreements from the point of view of Western interests was to gain time to pump Ukraine with weapons and prepare it for war against Russia, " Sputnik quoted Lavrov.

The Russian Finance Minister also said that the West insisted on using the same text as last year while mentioning the situation in Ukraine.

He also stated that the final declaration could not be reached due to a disagreement among G20 members over the Ukraine conflict.

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