Lavrov apologizes to Global South for Western behavior

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in New Delhi, India,  on Thursday, for the G20 Foreign Ministers' summit and held a number of bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event.

Speaking to the G20 ministerial conference in New Delhi, Lavrov expressed concern at the impunity surrounding the Nord Stream sabotage in the NATO and EU's jurisdiction.

"We are witnessing the degradation of international economic relations provoked by the West, their transformation into a weapon, including in the energy sector. [...] We insist on a fair and swift investigation into the terror attack with involvement of Russia and others concerned," he said.

Lavrov emphasized that Russia supports energy security and stressed the significance of providing all nations in need with access to reasonably priced energy supplies.

Grain deal threatened by Western behavior

The Russian FM took a moment during his address "to apologize to the Indian presidency and colleagues from the countries of the global South for the indecent behavior of a number of Western delegations," as he argued that had "turned the work on the G20 agenda into a farce in an attempt to shift responsibility for failures in economic policy on others, primarily on Russia."

The minister went on to point out the abundantly clear barriers to the export of Russian agricultural products around the world, despite the EU's best efforts to persuade everyone to the contrary, and claimed that the West has "shamelessly buried" the grain deal that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres initiated.
 
"Today, the lion's share of grain supplies from Ukraine goes at dumping prices for fodder to the European Union, not to the poorest nations," Lavrov said and further explained that "consignments of free cargo of Russian fertilizers, in particular for Africa, are still blocked at European ports."

The minister also demanded an end to illegal sanctions, any type of restriction on free commerce internationally, market manipulation, the arbitrary imposition of price caps, and other initiatives aimed at appropriating foreign natural resources.

Lavrov nevertheless expressed optimism that the G20 summit, which will take place in New Delhi in September 2023, will help to mitigate some of the threats presented to economic stability by the West's "selfish policy."

"We will continue to make a significant contribution to ensuring economic stability. We are open to an equal dialogue in the G20. We hope that the Delhi summit in September this year will at least partially mitigate the risks posed by the selfish policy of the West," Lavrov said in the address.
 
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