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Author : Sergey Lavrov
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Foreign Affairs
THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY of the UN has become
a major international event of the year. The jubilee
session of the UN General Assembly was attended by
over 150 heads of state and government. This fact
alone testifies to the recognition of the unique role
that the UN, originally designed to prevent a repetition
of the tragedy of World War II, plays in international
relations as their central coordinating mechanism.
Many agree that the current stage of international de-
velopment is characterized by the intensification of
competition during the formation of a new interna-
tional system designed to measure up to the realities of the 21st century.
The world is changing and the global balance is being redistributed towards the centers of force
and influence that are outside the West, which has for centuries been traditionally perceived as
a trend setter in the political and economic sphere. However, the so-called historical West is not
prepared to put up with the relative reduction of its weight in global affairs.
Conversely, when major states, primarily permanent members of the UN Security Council, find
a common language and pool their efforts to achieve coordinated goals, as a general rule, positive
results are in fact achieved. Recent examples include the successful coordinated efforts to elim-
inate Syrian chemical weapons and the agreement on the resolution of Iran's nuclear program,
which was achieved as a result of prolonged and difficult negotiations.
The Ukraine crisis has become a manifestation of the systemic problems that have accumulated
in Europe, as well as the result of the refusal by Western countries to collaborate on the basis
of genuine equality and partnership.
Obviously, international stability is a prerequisite to stable and steady development. An unprece-
dented global development project was launched at the UN.
We hope that the implementation of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which
was adopted in New York City, will make it possible not only to consolidate the results of the
15-year efforts by the international community, but also to take these efforts to a qualitatively
new level.
For many years, Russia has consistently advocated for the return to genuine partnership based
on international law. Today, amid the evolution of a new polycentric world order, it is time to
make major steps towards normalizing the situation in the world and returning to the culture of
the search for compromise in the interest of overcoming global challenges. Aware of its respon-
sibility for the future of humankind, Russia is ready to join collective efforts.
Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
International Affairs: Summary№6, 2015
Making the World Stable and Safe