GENEVA, January 21. /TASS/. Canada believes that the collective West is a thing of the past that will never come back, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said, commenting on US policies.

"Canada has <…> a recognition of what is happening and a determination to act accordingly. We understand that this rupture calls for more than adaptation. It calls for honesty about the world as it is," he told the World Economic Forum in Davos. "The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy."

In his opinion, up until now Western countries assumed that their geographical position and membership in various alliances automatically guarantees economic prosperity and security, but this assumption is no longer valid.

"[I would] argue that great powers can afford to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, the leverage to dictate terms," he said. "Middle powers do not."

"But when we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered. We compete with each other to be the most accommodating," the Canadian premier continued, adding that "this is not sovereignty, it is the performance of sovereignty while accepting subordination."

In his opinion, "in a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: to compete with each other for favor or to combine to create a third path with impact."

"Middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu," he said.