Russia’s China envoy slams ‘irresponsible’ West for ‘blackmailing’, touts Brics bloc

Igor Morgulov tells peace forum that inclusive, multipolar Brics seeks to rebalance the future world order, counter ‘colonial ambitions’

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Russia’s Igor Morgulov speaks during a panel held at a peace forum in Beijing on Sunday. The Russian envoy took aim at the Western-led, unipolar model. Photo: World Peace Forum secretariat

Published: 8:00pm, 9 Jul 2024Updated: 8:26pm, 9 Jul 2024

Russia’s ambassador to China accused the West of “constant blackmailing and pressure” during a peace forum in Beijing on Sunday, and attempted to position the Brics bloc of major emerging economies as an inclusive force that seeks to shape the future world order.

Igor Morgulov told the gathering that a unipolar world order, which he said had long served the interests of the “collective West”, was “receding into the past” and no longer reflected the aspirations of the world. Instead, he suggested a more multipolar system was emerging.

“[The West] is doing everything in its power to preserve its domination including imposing on the rest of the world [its] self-invented rule-based order,” he told a panel at the annual World Peace Forum, an event hosted by Tsinghua University.

“[Their] goal is to make key decisions … on our behalf while making sure that we implement that in a way that suits the West.”

Igor Morgulov told a panel discussion that a world order created by the “collective West” no longer reflected the aspirations of the world. Photo: World Peace Forum secretariat

In an attempt to revive the unipolar model, the West has been dividing the world and “uncompromisingly trying to force countries” of the Global South to take its side, Morgulov added.