Lonely and Alone: Sergey Lavrov Admits Russia is Fighting the West Alone on the Diplomatic Level

At a time of crisis, the aid provided by North Korea, which has never been part of the Soviet Union, turned out to be more powerful than all the partners of our Collective Security Treaty Organization combined.

Author: Svetlana Gomzykova

Image: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

This article's commentator:

Vadim Trukhachev

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at the 11th All-Russian Youth Education Forum "Land of Meaning" on July 28 that Russia is facing the entire West alone for the first time in its history and therefore must not show "any weakness or hesitation."

He recalled that during World War I and World War II, Russia had allies, but "now on the battlefield, we have no allies, so we can only rely on ourselves." He also said that Russia "has a lot to do," and "the most important thing is to defeat the enemy."

Lavrov emphasized that Russia's demands have always remained unchanged: ensuring its own security, preventing NATO from expanding eastward, and protecting Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine. He pointed out that in this regard, "there was no choice but to launch a special military operation."

"We don't value territory... We have the largest country in the world. What we care about is that those who have lived there for centuries, who carry Russian culture, the Russian language, and Russian education, who want to raise their children in the same culture, are not killed, and their rights are protected. This is a completely legitimate demand. Of course, recognizing the realities enshrined in our constitution is also a non-negotiable demand," the minister said.

Lavrov was absolutely right — it is indeed necessary to remain strong to defend against any threat. When he mentioned "for the first time in history" without allies, people immediately think of a famous saying by Tsar Alexander III a century ago: "Russia has only two allies — its army and navy" (in today's context, perhaps also adding the Russian Aerospace Forces).

Don't forget that even the United States and the United Kingdom opened the long-awaited second front in June 1944. At that time, the Red Army had already started its counter-offensive, and everyone knew that the collapse of Nazi Germany was imminent.

After the common victory, within less than a year, our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition declared war on us, starting the "Cold War." Soon after, NATO was established, initially claiming to be a defensive alliance, but ultimately proving to be just posturing.

Gennadiy Zuyganov, chairman of the Central Committee of the Russian Federation and leader of the Communist faction in the State Duma, said in an interview with "Russia 1" TV that the NATO bloc has now declared its intention to completely destroy the entire Russian world. He believes, "This is a war even more cruel than the Great Patriotic War. Then the fascists came to kill and plunder, but now they are determined to eradicate everything great — this civilization with a thousand-year history."

Certainly, it is not difficult to see that militarization in Europe is intensifying.

The Telegram channel "Secret Cabinet" wrote that the latest (referring to Austria) neutral EU country joining NATO "means that the entire European continent is transforming into an integrated combat zone, forming a unified military command system with the purpose of direct military conflict with Russia." The channel pointed out that this is a signal for Moscow to strategically reassess its entire European policy.

Perhaps, what needs to be reassessed is not just European policy?

Sergey Lavrov said that Russia has no allies in the struggle against the West, but for some reason forgot the Democratic People's Republic of Korea — at a time of crisis, it extended a helping hand, helping to drive the Bandera militants out of the Kursk region.

But where were our partners in the Collective Security Treaty Organization? The organization was founded to protect member states from external armed attacks.

This does not mean they need to participate in the special military operation, but rather that for months, armed militants have been committing crimes on our territory — killing, robbing, and destroying. But none of the allies offered help, not even humanitarian aid. Why is that?

Political scientist Vadim Trukhachev believes, "The Collective Security Treaty Organization is modeled after NATO, but it ended up being a clumsy imitation of it." Because NATO has clear obligations and clear rules, and regardless of internal disputes, it always complies with these regulations.

In the Collective Security Treaty Organization, each country acts independently. Only cooperation with Belarus is relatively smooth, and this is mainly not through the Collective Security Treaty Organization, but through the Russian-Belarusian Union State.

Belarus, although partially involved, has faced significant pressure — half of the sanctions have fallen on it. However, it ultimately provided military transport support through its territory.

As for other countries, let's face reality. None of them can be considered true allies.

Looking at today's news: A citizen of a Central Asian country was arrested in Rostov-on-Don for attempting to assassinate a senior officer at the behest of the Ukrainian Security Service.

Previously, a Uzbek citizen (although his country is no longer a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization) killed General Kirillov. We all know that citizens of Tajikistan, a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, caused a serious massacre at the "Kroton City" concert hall.

"Arguments and Facts" newspaper: So why don't we dissolve this organization?

Trukhachev: I have the same question. It might be the "phantom pain" left over from the dissolution of the USSR, as our leaders are very eager to retain some form of common space.

Perhaps, we can barely maintain relations with Kazakhstan — after all, it is largely a Russian-speaking country and a secular one. But I don't think so for other Central Asian former Soviet republics. Armenia has always been multi-directional, considering the Armenian communities in many countries. But we have always been reluctant to face this fact.

So, to put it bluntly, this organization was never a real alliance from the beginning. Just look at the school history textbooks of these countries.

In these textbooks, Russia is almost always portrayed as a negative figure, a colonial power.

"Arguments and Facts" newspaper: Does this mean it's a miscalculation by our foreign ministry?

Trukhachev: I have made quite sharp comments on this topic on my Telegram channel. Some people even wrote that Lavrov "exposed his incompetence." But I will be more tactful.

Next, let's talk about the capacity of Russia's "soft power," more precisely, its complete absence. There is no place in the world where there are as many negative stereotypes about Russia as in Europe. Therefore, finding allies there is almost impossible.

Take Sweden and Denmark as examples. They are not the most anti-Russian countries, probably ranked outside the top ten, but when it comes to the lack of friendly people towards Russia, they are among the world leaders.

But even for these proud Scandinavians, if we could show them a Russia that is culturally prosperous, technologically advanced, and where people are creative and optimistic, it might be possible to cooperate.

In other words, not propaganda, but showing such a Russia. Even for them, this approach might have an impact, at least weakening the influence of Europe's poor anti-Russian propaganda.

"Arguments and Facts" newspaper: The problem is not just about propaganda, Europe is preparing for a war with Russia, and it's not hiding it...

Trukhachev: Indeed, it's not hiding it. Russia is a suitable "enemy" because it doesn't send immigrants to cause trouble everywhere, nor does it launch a military attack.

Europeans clearly know this. But Russia is too large, so making it a "scapegoat" is convenient. Moreover, for 500 years, Europe has accumulated enough negative stereotypes about us.

Therefore, as people say, it is still possible to criticize Sergey Viktorovich (Lavrov). Yes, it's almost impossible to find allies in the West. But if no one supports us elsewhere in the world either, that's his fault.

However, Russia is now paying the price for the lack of tools to interact with society (including European society).

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7532695054704575012/

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