BAKU, October 27. /TASS/. Apart from Ukraine, the West has been seeking to push Russia out of the Western Balkans, Africa, Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Thursday.

Addressing the 15th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Baku, the senior Russian diplomat said those places were "fronts of geopolitical rivalry." "And our Western partners have not been pursuing the goals of maintaining security and stability, but rather of squeezing Russia out," he stressed.

However, there is an alternative to this destructive course, Grushko said.

According to him, "Russia advocates using more just and universal values as the basis for a new polycentric world order." Among other things, these include the need to respect the equality of sovereigns, non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations and the freedom to choose their own model of development, as well as social, political and economic policy. It would also be necessary to avoid the use of double standards, ensure the indivisibility of global and regional security, refrain from harming the security of other countries and look for compromises for the sake of cooperation based on equality, a balance of interests and mutual benefit, the Russian diplomat added.