HAVANA, April 20. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday said he was satisfied with how the political dialogue between Russia and Cuba was developing as he met with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez in Havana.

"We will continue working together on the international stage in order to galvanize the countries that also reject this diktat to work together to shape a multipolar world order in full compliance with the UN Charter, where one idea stands out: That the UN is based on the principle of respect for the sovereign equality of countries," Lavrov said.

The minister also pointed to the escalation of tensions on the international stage and the West’s increasing attempts to "ignore the legitimate positions" of other countries of the world.

Lavrov mentioned the comment by the Cuban Foreign Minister that the United States still maintains an illegal trade and economic blockade on Havana and stated that Russia has also been "subject to US sanctions" in recent decades.

"Thus, we are on the same page," the minister added.

He also said Russia rejects the idea that the world should live in accordance with US "rules."

"These are the 'rules' they have in mind when they impose a 'rules-based world order' on everyone else. We are all well aware of this. These ‘rules’ reflect the desire to continue the colonial paradigm of living at the expense of others and getting rid of any rivals," he said.

In addition, the minister noted that Russia appreciates the understanding, which was expressed by Cuba from the very beginning of the special military operation, of the reasons "that led to the current situation."

"I mean the reckless expansion of NATO directly to our borders, complete disregard for all our proposals to reach agreements on ensuring each other's security that’s based on the principles of the indivisibility of security. In addition to the buildup of direct military threats to the security of the Russian Federation. We could not ignore the Kiev regime’s gross violation of the basic rights of millions of its citizens, who, in fact, were brought the brink of extermination: not only from the point of view of destroying their language, traditions, culture, religion, but often, from the point of view of physical survival," Lavrov said.