Russian envoy blasts U.S. attempts to undermine Asia-Pacific security

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The United States and its allies have significantly intensified their destructive actions in the Asia-Pacific region, Russia's permanent representative to the UN said here on Monday.

"The United States and its allies are acting in the same reckless and provocative manner in Asia and Africa (as in the Euro-Atlantic region)," Vassily Nebenzia told a Security Council briefing on promoting common security through dialogue and cooperation.

The United States and its allies are trying to impose "bloc thinking" on the states in the Asia-Pacific region, form aggressive military-political alliances such as AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States), drive a wedge between countries that have effective mechanisms for resolving contentious issues and problems, and force them to abandon the concept of "Asian neutrality," which helped them to protect their own interests during the Cold War, he said.

In the same vein, the United States is advancing its risky campaign in China's Taiwan region. This carefully planned provocation is a clear sign of disrespect for the sovereignty of other countries, he said, referring apparently to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit.

"In general, we have to admit that the Asia-Pacific region is being used as a part of a purposeful, conscious U.S. strategy to destabilize the situation in those regions of the world where states are pursuing an independent and self-sustained political course," said the Russian ambassador.

He also blamed the "collective West" for ignoring Russia's legitimate security concerns for 30 years.

In the late 1980s, the international community had reason to hope that the Cold War, with its arms race and the threat of a major confrontation between the superpowers, was over.

"Back then we were assured that NATO would not use the new situation in Europe in its own interests or create new dividing lines in Europe. We were promised an equal partnership based on trust, transparency and mutual consideration of security concerns, which included a promise not to expand NATO to the east," said Nebenzia.

From the recorded conversations and memoirs of Western politicians, it became clear that the Soviet Union, and subsequently Russia, was trivially and shamelessly deceived, and that neither the United States nor its allies had any intention of fulfilling any of the promises, he said.

Almost immediately (after the disintegration of the Soviet Union), NATO members betrayed their promises not to increase their military presence in Europe and not to move military infrastructure to the Russian borders, he said.

"For 30 years we have been patiently trying to reach an agreement with NATO on the principles of equal and indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic area," Nebenzia said. However, NATO continued to steadily expand, bringing its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders, including by deploying missile defense systems and offensive weapons.

The reason why the collective West has been purposefully destroying the system of European security all these years is that collective security is incompatible with the West's hegemonic aspirations, which seek to undermine any alternative, sovereign paths of development, to keep countries and peoples in the grip of a colonial order, he said.

"In principle, we remain open to cooperation to reduce tensions," said Nebenzia. "However, this requires our Western colleagues to be interested in this as well. So far, we have not seen such interest on their part."

Reducing tension in the world, eliminating threats and risks in the military-political field is possible only through strengthening the multilateral system built on international law, the principles of the UN Charter and the sovereign equality of states. This is the only feasible and effective alternative to hegemony and the "right of the strong," he said.

Russia is ready to actively participate in joint work, together with like-minded parties, to build a truly democratic world in which the rights of all nations will be guaranteed, their security interests ensured, and cultural and civilizational diversity upheld. This is important to do despite the fierce resistance of the United States and its allies, he said.