Russia lambastes US ‘military interference’

In UN speech, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticizes Washington’s ‘unilateral use of force’ to uphold interests

By AFP and ToI Staff 27 September 2014, 8:48 pm 1

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Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Russia, speaks during the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly September 27, 2014 in New York. (photo credit: AFP/Timothy A. CLARY)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday accused the United States of resorting to “military interference” to defend its interests, in a veiled reference to the air campaign in Syria.

“Washington has openly declared its right to unilateral use of force anywhere to uphold its own interests,” Lavrov told the UN General Assembly.

Lavrov attacked the US and its European allies in NATO, which he said “portrays itself as a champion of democracy, rule of law and human rights within individual countries” but who rejects “the democratic principle of sovereign equality of states enshrined the UN Charter and trying to decide for everyone what is good or evil.”

Lavrov’s remarks came amid increasing airstrikes by the United States and a growing international coalition against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.

Concerning the Israeli-Arab conflict, Lavrov called for a Security Council-led “in-depth study on the extremist and terrorist threats” in the Middle East, noting that “the absence of settlement of the Palestinian issue [is] one of the main factors of instability in the region that helps the extremists to recruit more and more new jihadists.”