MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/: The European Union has given up attempts to play the role of one of the centers in a multipolar system and is entirely US-centered, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a video conference meeting of the Russian International Affairs Council on Tuesday.
"One of the conclusions that I would like to make today - we are still working on the evaluation of this phenomenon - is this: there is every sign the European Union has given up attempts to be one of the poles in a multipolar system, which is emerging objectively, and is entirely oriented toward the United States," he said.
Lavrov stressed that Germany had been following precisely that policy in many respects lately, while laying claim to the position of the European Union’s indisputable leader. "France’s policy is somewhat different, but the main trend is that of the European Union giving up attempts at taking the position of a pole in a multipolar world system," Lavrov said.
He remarked that the West put forward a concept of a world order based on rules as "intellectual justification" of its policy. "Rules are being invented on the fly, at various get-togethers. Just recently the EU heard words of praise from [US Secretary of State Michael] Pompeo for approving the generic mechanism of the introduction of sanctions for human rights abuse following the adoption of the mechanism of sanctions for alleged chemical and cyber hacking violations, which [the sanctions] the EU creates within its narrow circle without taking the trouble to address universal bodies established under the UN auspices," he said.
Lavrov said that the West was trying hard to discredit international organizations or subjugate them by means of "privatizing secretariats," the way it happened to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
"Or, when such attempts fail, it takes the discussion outside the UN framework and the level of universal conventions and then dictates decisions it finds most convenient as the ultimate truth and the sole correct version of multipolarity," Lavrov said.
"This is the gist of the rules-based concept of a world order and a concept of effective multilateralism, which the Germans and the French thought up and which they keep advancing. They argue that this position and initiative of the European Union is not subject to any analysis, let alone doubt, but must be used as an example for all others to follow," he said.
