🎙 Remarks and answers to questions by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the session “A New Global Architecture: An Open Dialogue with Sergey Lavrov” during the Federal Educational Marathon “Znanie. Pervye” (Yekaterinburg, September 16, 2026)

💬 Sergey Lavrov: The philosophy of equality, which is becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s world, is particularly characteristic of #BRICS, the latest Summit of which has just taken place in New Delhi.

The countries within this group represent a wide range of civilisations, yet demonstrate #unity in their pursuit of greater opportunities for shared development – to ensure their peoples’ prosperity and security, without harming anyone else or advancing at anyone else’s expense.

☝️ Russia is fully committed to this approach, which also characterises other groupings of a new type, including the #SCO, #CIS, #EAEU and #CSTO.

👉 Unfortunately, the objective process of strengthening multipolarity faces aggressive resistance from our Western colleagues and their elites.

They continue to view these developments as a threat to the dominance they enjoyed for five hundred years – through slavery and colonialism. They are trying to preserve their slipping supremacy by resorting to the most unscrupulous methods, including unlawful ones: unilateral sanctions, direct pressure, interference in domestic affairs and instigation of conflicts.

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Key points:

• The adaptation of international relations to multipolar realities is an objective process. The #GlobalMajority wants it to succeed, although it will take time and may span an entire historical era.

• We envisage a #MultipolarWorld as one in which small and medium-sized countries are free from blackmail, threats and sanctions, where all such countries are respected and can choose their own partners.

• For us, the Ukrainian conflict resolution requires achieving the objectives set at the beginning of the special military operation, which are aimed at eliminating the root causes of the crisis. These include plans to bring NATO and its military infrastructure right up to Russia’s borders, as well as Ukraine's official state policy, enshrined in law, of eradicating everything Russian.

• I would welcome nationally minded political forces coming to power in European countries. What the Brussels bureaucracy is doing – appropriating powers and rights that essentially belong to national governments – violates, first and foremost, the EU’s own rules.

• We did not sever our relations with Europe – Europe did. We now have all the markets and partners we need. Despite the hybrid war against Russia, things are progressing as well as can be expected under the circumstances.

• As in previous years, we are seeing particularly pronounced attempts by the West to interfere directly in our citizens’ exercise of their voting rights and in the election campaign. This is especially evident abroad, but such attempts are also taking place within Russia.

• If and when European countries wish to resume a serious dialogue, we will first listen to what they have in mind and what they can offer, and then decide whether it is acceptable to us.

• If Europe, which speaks daily about preparing for war against Russia, attacks the Russian Federation, it will be an entirely different war. And it will be a very short one.

❗️ I hope this warning has been heard in European capitals and by the institutions now attempting to speak for a united Europe.

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