MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The states of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, including Russia and China, are becoming targets of hostile opposition from those accustomed to viewing themselves as hegemons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.

"In essence, not only Russia and China, but also other BRICS and SCO states, as well as all more or less independent centers of power and development, are becoming objects of aggressive pressure from those who are used to living at others’ expense and perceiving themselves as hegemons," he said at a general meeting of the Russian International Affairs Council.

The top Russian diplomat emphasized that what is currently happening on the world stage "shows signs of developing into an increasingly large-scale conflict, which some have already dubbed a 'new world war.'"