The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that attempts to “expand NATO’s area of ​​responsibility to the entire Eastern Hemisphere under the pernicious slogan of “indivisible security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific region” became a new dangerous manifestation of the bloc’s expansionism. “, reports Sky News.

He added: “To this end, Washington is creating subordinate military-political mini-alliances such as AUKUS, the US-Japan-Korea Trilateral Summit and the Tokyo-Seoul-Canberra-Wellington Quartet, pushing their members to virtually cooperate with NATO.

“It is clear that these efforts are directed against Russia and China, as well as against the collapse of the inclusive regional architecture of ASEAN and risk creating a new focus of geopolitical tension.” , accuses Lavrov.

Russia’s foreign minister also condemned the United States and the West on Saturday as self-serving defenders of a crumbling international power structure, but did not discuss his country’s war in Ukraine in his speech to the UN General Assembly, France 24 reported.

“The USA and the Western collective subordinate to it continue to incite conflicts that artificially divide humanity into hostile blocs and prevent the achievement of common goals. They are doing everything possible to prevent the formation of a true multipolar world order,” said Foreign Minister Serhiy Lavrov.

“They are trying to force the world to play by their self-centered rules,” he added.

Regarding the 19-month war in Ukraine, he referred to some of the historical issues dating back to the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and hinted at the billions of dollars the US and Western allies have spent supporting Ukraine. But he did not delve into the current struggle.

For the second year in a row, the General Assembly is being held without an end to the war. The Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has been going on for three months, is progressing more slowly than Kyiv had hoped, making modest progress but without major breakthroughs.