MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. The coronavirus pandemic did not mitigate, but instead only exacerbated the competition between major powers, which is fraught with global conflicts, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday.

According to the deputy foreign minister, competition for future leadership between global centers of influence escalates as the new world order is being hammered out.

"Unfortunately, the coronavirus [pandemic] not only failed to cushion this process, but instead ramped it up and accelerated it," the diplomat said. "Divisions deepen that pose danger of major international — potentially global — conflicts, of clashes between major powers. The possibility of a nuclear war is still there."

Ideological competition with US

Russia does not seek to win over the US in an ideological competition on the former USSR territory, because it has much deeper ties with the neighboring nations, Sergei Ryabkov stated.

"I believe, we do not aim to win an ideological competition against the US on the post-Soviet territory," he said. "We view the issue in a different light. We believe that the historical, cultural, humanitarian, economic and other ties between Russia and its neighbors, which used to form a single country, are much deeper and richer than anything that the US can offer as a so-called alternative."

According to the senior diplomat, the US often seeks to force Russia’s neighbors to choose between Moscow and Washington.

"Not just we, but also many of our Collective Security Treaty Organization allies and Eurasian Economic Union partners have long been witnessing continuous efforts of the US to create controlled chaos situations in a number of regions around the world to cow certain sovereign countries and whole regions into submission," the senior diplomat commented.

Russia's, US international obligations

Moscow fully complies with its financial obligations to international organizations as part of its contribution to the global fight against the coronavirus, the deputy foreign minister indicated.

"Unlike the United States, Russia fully complies with its financial obligations to all international organizations of which it is part. Russia is making voluntary contributions to a number of international organizations and funds. We are taking these steps at a time when the pandemic is at its peak," he pointed out.

US President Donald Trump announced earlier that he had instructed his administration "to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus." "Reliance on China’s disclosures likely caused a 20-fold increase in cases worldwide," Trump added.