Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu considered on Friday that the conflict in Ukraine confirms the focus of Washington and its allies on provoking other countries to a military confrontation with Moscow and Beijing.

"Today, Washington and its accomplices are implementing their strategic plan, which consists in provoking other countries into a military confrontation with ... primarily with Russia and China," Shoigu said at a regular defense ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states in New Delhi, India.

"A clear confirmation of such a criminal policy is the conflict in Ukraine. Its true goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, threaten China and maintain its monopoly position in the world," the Russian Defense Minister pointed out.

He indicated that the United States seeks to reformat the system of interstate relations by creating controlled regional alliances, using blackmail and threats.

Read more: Shoigu hails ties with China as pillar of global stability

Shoigu further considered that the actions of the United States and its allies aimed at preserving the US world dominance have eroded the global security architecture.

"In an effort to maintain its world dominance, the United States and its allies have seriously eroded the global security architecture. On their initiative, the process of demolition and dismantling of key agreements on arms control and confidence building has been launched," Shoigu said during the meeting.

He recalled that Washington had first unilaterally terminated the Soviet-US Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, refused to ratify the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, and withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Treaty on Open Skies.

The Russian defense chief noted that the current meeting with colleagues from SCO member states was taking place in "an extremely unstable" international environment.

He said the formation of a new multipolar world is causing drastic, dynamic, and irreversible changes, which are opposed by the collective West.

Read more: World reached 'even more dangerous threshold' than Cold War: Lavrov

Weapons transferred to Ukraine end up with terrorists, threaten European stability

In another context related directly to the war, the Russian Defense Minister pointed out that weapons transferred to Ukraine end up in the hands of terrorists, which affects the stability and security of Europe and the world as a whole.

According to Shoigu, "The weapons that are being supplied [to Ukraine] end up on the black market and later fall into the hands of terrorist organizations, which poses additional risks, especially in view of the allegations of supplies of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine."

He said that "arms deliveries to Kiev only prolong the conflict, lead to new victims and destruction of infrastructure, and eventually boomerang back, affecting the stability in Europe and the world as a whole."

Read more: US admits it had no influence on where weapons ended up in Ukraine

Russia increasing combat readiness of military bases in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan: Shoigu

In a related context, Shoigu announced that Russia is increasing the combat readiness of its bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan amid attempts by the United States and its allies to restore its military presence in Central Asia.

Under the pretext of assistance in the fight against terrorism, the United States and its allies are trying to restore their military presence in Central Asia, the Russian Defense Minister noted.

He indicated that Moscow sees the US and its allies' requests to the countries of the region to deploy military infrastructure as "a direct threat to stability in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) space."