Dr. Syed Mehboob
Political and Economic Analyst
http//:www.thenewslark.com
drmehboob.thenewslark@gmail.com
World power is unbalanced and tilted in favor of a single country which has hegemony and does whatever it likes; it could undermine international rules and regulations. In the recent past, we have seen that the international community has given its verdict in favor of a separate and Independent Palestinian state, condemning Israeli genocide of Palestinians, but all the International Institutions, including the United Nations General Assembly ( UNGA), United Nations Human Rights Council ( UNHRC), International Court of Justice ( ICJ), International Criminal Court(ICC), and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have passed resolutions and given verdicts against Israel, but one country undermined all of them.
On September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, marking the latest major escalation in U.S. and Western economic penalties against Moscow. This law adds strict secondary tariffs on major energy buyers, building on years of broad international restrictions. Western nations have levied over 16,500 targeted restrictions on Russia since 2022. These are part of efforts to stop Russia from playing an effective role in global politics and to force it to walk over to Western hegemony. They have frozen Russian foreign reserves worth US$ 350 billion and cut major Russian banks off from SWIFT, banned exports of dual-use military technology, and banned imports of Russian gold and diamonds. G7 and EU oil price caps have been implemented, and the new sanctions will impose 100% tariffs on American imports from countries importing Russian oil and gas and specifically target the top five buyers of Russian crude oil and gas.
In this perspective, the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey V. Lavrov’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly ( UNGA) at its 81st session was a very important one. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of a multipolar world and said that the countries of the Global South and East are asserting themselves as Sovereign Centers of development and are taking responsibility for ensuring security in their own regions.
“ The Western minority ( US 4.2% and EU 9%, together 13.2% of the world, while Asia 58.6% and Africa 19.1%; together they hold 77.7 % of the world), which dominated for about five hundred years thanks to others’ resources, continues to try to maintain its privileges and impose its own rules on everyone,” he stressed. He quoted Russian Federation President Vladimir V. as saying that “ the dictatorship of one hegemon is spiraling out of control-it’s dangerous for everyone else”.
Mr. Lavrov condemned the United States’ invasion of Venezuela with the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and demanded his earliest possible release. Pointing out the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he said it was an unacceptable manifestation of coercive dictate. He stressed, “ The time has also come to address the main issue in the Middle East- ensuring Palestinian statehood based on countless United Nations decisions”. He further said, “To supposedly constrain Russia, the U.S. destroyed the European security system and created a Russophobic regime in Kyiv”. Europe is doing everything it can to thwart peace talks, which the Trump Administration is interested in, he added.
“ The West is pumping the Ukrainian regime full of weapons, helping Kyiv to target drones and missiles at civilians and civilian infrastructure”. He said.
“Our fight for truth and justice will be brought to an end: the objectives of the special military operation will be achieved, and threats to our security will be eliminated,” he warned.
As for the reform of the Security Council, he rejected additional seats for Western countries, especially Germany and Japan, but supported the candidacy of Brazil for permanent seats, as well as meeting the interests of the African continent.
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, accused Western countries of destabilizing the world through “force and double standards” in his address to the UN General Assembly on Saturday, vowing that Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine would be “carried through to the end.”
On Gaza, Mr. Lavrov said the Security Council-endorsed 20-point US peace plan had not delivered peace, with older people, women and children still being killed while the humanitarian situation remains “critical.”
Turning to the West Bank, he warned, “If this continues, it will become impossible to establish a Palestinian state. There will simply be no land left for it.”He called for urgent and “unconventional” international action on Palestine as well as Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and South Sudan – and repeated Russia’s call to lift the tightened US blockade of Cuba.
Marking 80 years since the Nuremberg trials concluded following the defeat of Nazi Germany, he said the lessons had not been learned by all, accusing European Union governments of tolerating what he called “Ukrainian Nazism” while restricting the Russian language.
“Our struggle for truth and justice will be carried through to the end,” he said. “The objectives of the special military operation will be achieved, threats to Russia’s security will be eliminated, and peaceful life will be restored.”
He welcomed the UN Convention against Cybercrime, developed at Russia’s initiative and opened for signature in Hanoi last October, and the new global mechanism set up to implement it. On artificial intelligence, he pointed to the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and a Chinese-led proposal, backed by Russia, for a world AI cooperation body.
Mr. Lavrov said lasting peace required “strict adherence” to the principle of equal and indivisible security, accusing NATO of extending its reach into Southeast and northeast Asia.
He announced that Russia, Belarus and “like-minded partners” had adopted a statement in New York launching work on a Eurasian Charter on Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century, inviting others to help build what he called “a new continent-wide architecture of peace and development.”
This wonderful speech of the Russian Federation Foreign Minister, His Excellency Sergey Lavrov, was delivered on September 26, 2026. This was a historic one, and I advise students of International Relations to listen to and read the whole speech, and this will help them to understand the international power and politics scenario.
Here is the full text of his speech:
Mr President,Excellencies,Ladies and gentlemen,
In recent days, we have heard repeatedly – from this rostrum and in the corridors of the General Assembly – that tectonic shifts are underway in global politics, and that a more just, multipolar world order is emerging before our very eyes. Countries of the Global South and East are asserting themselves as sovereign centres of growth and are assuming responsibility for ensuring security in their respective regions. They demonstrate a commitment to international law, a rejection of external pressure, and an interest in the prosperity of all states – not merely the chosen few. This constructive philosophy also underpins Russian foreign policy; it is shared by our many like-minded partners and forms the foundation of cooperation within the CIS, the SCO, BRICS, and other associations of the Global Majority.
However, this is not to everyone’s liking. The Western minority, which has dominated for five centuries by exploiting the resources of others, persists in its attempts to retain its privileges and impose its “rules” on everyone else. The West increasingly resorts to the use of brute force, acts unpredictably and recklessly, and jeopardizes the lives and well-being of millions – if not billions – of people on our shared planet. As Russian President Vladimir Putin has put it, the dictatorship of a single hegemon “…is getting out of control and is simply dangerous for others.” ( continued)
