MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. The collective West is attempting to maintain its "slipping dominance" through unilateral coercive measures, but in a multipolar world, this just won’t fly, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Zakharova emphasized that the authority to impose such measures rests solely with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and the practice of applying unilateral sanctions encroaches upon its exclusive prerogatives. "Everyone knows that the collective West frequently resorts to this, primarily motivated by geopolitical interests," she said.
"Unilateral coercive measures represent a serious obstacle to establishing a just and equitable multipolar world order. They constitute one of the primary instruments of the collective West's neocolonial policy. Their objective is clear: to cling to slipping dominance, to deprive the global majority of the right to independent political choice, and to hinder their economic, technological, and industrial development," Zakharova stressed.
She further criticized the efforts by the states that initiate such measures to portray them as a "peaceful means of resolving disputes," asserting that such claims do not withstand scrutiny.
"It is widely acknowledged that unilateral coercive measures, by obstructing the full socio-economic development of countries in the Global South and East, undermine the resolution of crisis situations.
Their indiscriminate application violates fundamental human rights and freedoms, disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable populations, as has been repeatedly condemned in resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council," Zakharova added.
The diplomat also highlighted that the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, which includes Russia, is at the forefront of the struggle against such unilateral sanctions.
"We are convinced that within the genuinely fair multipolar architecture of international relations to which we all aspire, there is no place for coercion or neocolonial hegemony. Together with our partners - responsible members of the global majority - we will
continue to combat all vestiges of the shameful colonial era," Zakharova concluded.