UNITED NATIONS, April 24. /TASS/. The world has approached perhaps an even more dangerous line than the one it was close to during the Cold War, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN Security Council at a meeting on effective multilateralism through defending the principles of the organization's Charter.

According to Lavrov, the future of international relations depends on the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine.

He called on the United States and Europe to respect other members of the international community and stressed that no one ever granted the "Western minority" the right to speak on behalf of the entire humankind.

Here are Lavrov’s key pronouncements.

About West’s conduct

"No one authorized the Western minority to speak on behalf of all of humanity. They should behave decently and respect all members of the international community," he stressed.

"The West has long been uncomfortable negotiating in universal formats such as the United Nations," he said, adding that to substantiate its course toward undermining multilateralism it introduced the "idea of democracies against autocracy." Along with summits for democracy, whose participants are selected by the "self-proclaimed hegemon, it is establishing other clubs for the chosen, which act as a workaround to the United Nations." They are "devised to undermine talks on relevant topics under the United Nations’ auspices, to impose non-consensus concepts and solutions that serve the West." "First, they negotiate something <…> with a few participants and then present these agreements as the position of the international community."

About Ukraine

The Ukrainian issue cannot be considered in isolation from the geopolitical context. "This is not about Ukraine at all but about how international relations will be built in the future: via a solid consensus based on a balance of interests or via the aggressive and explosive promotion of [the West’s] hegemony. "It is obvious to any impartial person that the Nazi regime in Kiev cannot be seen as representing the residents of the territories that refused to recognize the outcome of the bloody state coup in February 2014 and against whom the coup plotters unleashed a war against."

About the situation in the world

"Once again, as during the Cold War, we have come to a dangerous and perhaps even more dangerous line," Lavrov said. "The situation is exacerbated by the loss of faith in multilateralism, as Western financial and economic aggression destroys the benefits of globalization. The US and its allies abandon diplomacy and demand that relations be clarified on the battlefield."

"While propagating its ‘rules’ on the international stage, it (the West - TASS) has a stranglehold on multilateralism and democracy at home by utilizing ever more repressive tools to suppress any dissent - just as the criminal Kiev regime, with the backing of its teachers: the US and its allies, is doing," the minister said.

About the Asia-Pacific Region

According to Lavrov, a "successful open system of economic and security cooperation has evolved for decades around ASEAN." "This system has produced consensus approaches that satisfy both the ASEAN Ten and its dialogue partners."

But now, "the US and its allies have employed significant resources in an effort to undermine multilateralism in the Asia-Pacific Region." "Bloc-based approaches that undermine ASEAN-centric multilateralism are evident in the creation of the AUKUS military alliance, into which both Tokyo and Seoul and even a number of ASEAN countries are pushed. Under the aegis of the United States, mechanisms are being created to interfere in maritime security issues with the aim of ensuring the unilateral interests of the West in the waters of the South China Sea."

About UN

"There has always been a quantitative and personnel imbalance in favor of the West at the UN, but until recently, the secretariat has tried to remain neutral. Today, however, this imbalance has become chronic and secretariat employees ever more frequently allow themselves politically motivated behavior inappropriate for international officials," he said. ""I am calling on the esteemed Secretary General to see to it that all of his employees observe the requirements of objectivity in accordance with Article 100 of the UN Charter."

About visas for Russian journalists

"The US embassy in Moscow sadistically said that it was ready to issue them [journalists] passports with visas when our plane had already taken off," he said.

Earlier, the delegation accompanying Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on his trip to UN headquarters in New York to attend Security Council events on April 24 and 25 had problems getting US visas. No visas were issued to Russian reporters. The American side provided no explanations for this decision.