TERMEZ /Republic of Uzbekistan/, March 30. /TASS/. Western countries are seeking to undermine the open and inclusive architecture of cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said at a Russian-Uzbek conference hosted by the Valdai Discussion Club in partnership with the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

"There is a deepening rupture between the interests of the global majority and the Western minority, which is seeking to prevent the loss of its former domination. Therefore, attempts are being made to impose artificial geopolitical constructions on the world as closed bloc formats are being created, and we can see this happening both in Europe, which has for decades pursued an aggressive policy course toward NATO expansion, and also in the Asia-Pacific, particularly in South Asia, where the West is trying to disrupt the open and inclusive architecture of cooperation," the senior Russian diplomat said. "As a result, we observe an increasing number of conflicts and crises," he added.

For its part, Russia has consistently pushed for the democratization of international affairs as it aims to usher in a more just democratic world order based on respect for the interests of all countries and their right to choose their own development path, according to Galuzin. "We insist that the principle of sovereign equality of states be applied equally to both large and small countries," he explained.