Russian Foreign Ministry: collective West trying to restrain transition to multipolarity
The collective West is trying to restrain the transition to multipolarity – as stated by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Aleksandr Grushko, speaking at a session on new mechanisms of trade, investment and technological co-operation in a new international context within the framework of the 16th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Samarkand
“Accelerating the transition to multipolarity is not to everyone's liking. The collective West refuses to accept this new reality, tries to restrain the ongoing processes with illegitimate, unilateral restrictive measures. These include blocking access to modern technologies, financial services, displacement from supply chains, confiscation of property, destruction of critical infrastructure of competitors, manipulation of universally agreed norms and procedures,” Mr. Grushko said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister noted that these steps are eventually leading to the fragmentation of world trade, the collapse of market mechanisms, the paralysis of the WTO and many other negative manifestations. As an example, he mentioned how relations between the EU and Russia have evolved in recent years.
“In 2013, the volume of trade between Russia and the EU amounted to $417bn, which is comparable to the volume of the EU trade with the United States and China. After the introduction of sanctions in 2022, this trade amounted to $258.7bn; in H1 2023, it made $49bn. This year, the figure will not exceed $100bn, and it may reach $50bn in 2024 – further simply coming to zero,” Mr. Grushko noted.
