ST. PETERSBURG, June 9. /TASS/. Western countries were plotting intrigues long before the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), but Russia is building relations with the global majority, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on the sidelines of the SPIEF.
"Yes, the West will always plot intrigues. Both here [at the forum] and when we go somewhere. They don't give us visas, flight documents, accreditations, they threaten not to refuel planes, not to let us land. Or now it's gotten to the point where they won't even let us fly through the airspace. But we are engaged in a constructive agenda and building relations with the majority of the world," she said when asked if the West was trying to obstruct the forum.
"Frankly, I think the organizers are well aware of that, and we had a different agenda. We were more focused on constructive things," the diplomat added. Thus, she recalled that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived at the forum right after an African tour, during which he visited Guinea, the Republic of the Congo, as well as Burkina Faso and Chad for the first time ever.
"This is where what we call multipolarity is developing, and everyone is talking about it. And everyone says that without Russia there would be no multipolarity," Zakharova emphasized. According to her, Russia is the driving force behind the formation of this new world order. She pointed out that the RIC (Russia-India-China) and BRICS formats were created on Russia's initiative.
"Everyone notices it and thanks our country for being the driving force of this very multipolarity. Hence the participation of African delegations in the forum, the sending of experts to build relations, that is to make lists of demands in the areas they are interested in developing with our country, and much more," she concluded.