Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the #UNGA77 General Debate:

The address and presser contained much information and both are posted here.    FM Lavrov’s speech was a tour de force and finely balanced.  It flowed rapidly but not too fast and it was beautifully structured.  When the transcript is ready we will of course post it.  In the meantime, Karl Sanchez did a fair machine translation:  https://vk.com/@580896205-lavrovs-2022-unga-debate-speech

What saw with FM Lavrov’s recent visit to Arab countries and a number of African countries, is that he is being treated in much of the world as a rock star.  In diplomatic circles, he truly is the rock star of the day with a sense of presence and panache (and casually in a matter-of-fact tone, absolutely scathing!).

Let’s pull out the most important statements in terms of global importance:

1) The matter of the future world order is being decided today.

This is a statement of positive knowledge.  The UNGA session was seeded and set up as a climate change discussion by the opening address from the Secretary-General, António Guterres.  Although certain delegates did talk about climate change, they talked more about the state that the world is in, and how it should change.  Specifically from some of the Caribbean delegates, the issue of coercion from the hegemony side was discussed.  Mr. Lavrov seems quite positive that a certain threshold has been reached and that he understands what the threshold is.

2) Ukraine – the supply of weapons to Kiev makes Western countries a party to the conflict.  The actions of the West, which supplies Kiev with weapons and intelligence data, is “participation in the war.” If Western countries do not recognize themselves as parties to the conflict, they must comply with international conventions that describe the duties of neutral states.

This is clear as a bell.

3) The notorious Monroe Doctrine is going global.  Washington seeks to turn the whole world into its backyard. To those who disagree the US applies an instrument of coercion – illegal unilateral sanctions.

4) Official Russophobia in the West has taken on grotesque forms, and grown to an unprecedented scale.  They no longer shy away from openly declaring the intention to destroy, to partition Russia.

Numbers 3 and 4 are also self-explanatory and clear.

A sidebar by Maria Zakahrova:

The daily routine of isolation (she says sarcastically). Did the delegates leave the hall when the Russian Foreign Minister was on the rostrum? Oh, yes. To have time to shake his hand after he finished his speech. Remember, what Russia is doing now determines the future of humanity: either we live free, or we recognize ourselves as slaves in the colonies. This is very well understood on every continent.  https://t.me/MariaVladimirovnaZakharova/3805

After his address, it was almost like an honor guard waiting for him, to wave at him, to congratulate him, to possibly shake his hand.

5) Russia is not giving up contact with the United States and NATO.  “We are not refusing to hold contacts. When certain proposals are submitted, we agree”   “It’s always better to talk than not to talk. But in the situation where we are now Russia won’t take any first steps,” “Two countries from the European Union and one country from NATO wanted to hold meetings with me [on the sidelines of the General Assembly. They asked that these meetings be non-public, that they not be reported. I said: well, as you wish”. <.. .> Having received such a reaction, they fell off the radar.”

The description of how Russia will treat unfriendly countries is clear.  They can fall off the radar for all Lavrov cares.

6) The European Union is becoming an authoritarian alliance and a dictatorship. Brussels, in particular, did not allow Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiadis to meet with the Russian delegation in New York: “An hour before we were supposed to meet, the protocol of Mr. Anastasiadis informed our protocol that the European Union did not allow him to go to the meeting with me. Literally.”

7)  NATO is expanding its reach to Asia.

For this part, we will go and see what China had to say in a separate article.