Lavrov Brands Today’s World Order as Game of 'Might Makes Right'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference outlines Russia's Diplomatic Course for 2025 (photo: Yuri Kochetkov)
MOSCOW - Sputnik International - 20 January 2026
In today's world, the 'might makes right' game is currently in play, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday. "The rules that should supposedly underpin a world order that suits the West — these rules have all been crossed out. A game of 'might makes right' is being played out... We are all witnessing this. But the consequences of this policy are being felt not only by states in the Global South and the Global East; crisis trends are also building within Western society itself," Lavrov said at a press conference on the results of Russian diplomacy in 2025.
On the Ukrainian crisis
Russia is committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, Sergey Lavrov said.
"We are committed, as President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin has repeatedly stressed, to finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis," Lavrov said.
The EU is trying to undermine the US's efforts on the Ukraine conflict peace settlement and trying to convince US President Donald Trump to change his position on Ukraine, the minister said, adding that they are seriously preparing for a war with Russia.
There has never been lack of goodwill on the part of Russia to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, but the West has tried to undermine all agreements, Lavrov added.
Russia will consistently defend its interests and will not allow its legitimate rights to be abused, Lavrov said.
"Russia will defend its interests consistently, not claiming anyone's legitimate rights, but also not allowing our legitimate rights to be freely treated," Lavrov said.
Russia will hold dialogue with international partners based on mutual respect and equality principles and is ready to work with anyone who is willing to cooperate without blackmail and on the basis of reciprocity, the minister said, adding that all attempts to isolate Russia have failed.
Relations With the West
EU leaders remain committed to the idea of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, Lavrov said.
"The goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on us no longer sounds so often, but nevertheless, by all indications, it remains in the minds and plans of European leaders, first of all," Lavrov said.
European leaders will use meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland to try to change US President Donald Trump's position on Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov said.
"Some meetings have been announced in Davos today or tomorrow, where they will again bring down president Trump on approaches that have already completely discredited themselves and failed," Lavrov said.
The minister expressed confidence that the United States is aware of the need to address the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict, adding that the Trump administration has proposed solutions that take into account this need.
At the same time Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Europe are hysterically trying to impose the idea of a truce in Ukraine on the United States, Lavrov said.
"But of course, we cannot afford to allow the Kiev regime to rearm once again and give it the opportunity to take a deep breath and attack Russia again," Lavrov added.
Ukraine is currently in a very bad situation both at the front and politically, and proposals aimed at preserving the Kiev regime are absolutely unacceptable to Russia, the minister said.
"The security guarantees that European colleagues are honorably talking about, promoting their contribution to ensuring the interests of peace, these security guarantees are provided for the current Kiev Nazi regime, we should not forget about this," Lavrov said.
According to Russia's chief diplomat, the White House's actions with regards to international security were inconsistent and demonstrated a dismissive attitude toward international law.
"We clearly see the inconsistency in the actions of the Donald Trump administration regarding issues of ensuring international security and its attitude towards international law," Lavrov noted.
Russia will continue efforts to establish a greater Eurasian partnership, the top diplomat said.
"We have continued and will continue to promote the key flagship initiatives that President Vladimir Putin has put forward, primarily regarding the formation of a greater Eurasian partnership and, based on this material basis, the creation of a pan-continental architecture of equal and indivisible security," Lavrov said.
US President Donald Trump's administration is pragmatic and understands the need not only to unite countries under its leadership, but also to take into account their interests, Lavrov said.
"The administration of [US President] Donald Trump, amid all the actions currently widely discussed in the world, is an administration of pragmatists, and it recognizes the need not only to unite numerous countries under its leadership, but also to fully consider their legitimate interests," Lavrov said.
Trump’s policy is in line with the rules-based order paradigm, Lavrov added.
Russia is in contact with the United States on the Balkans, and American colleagues are also ready to develop these contacts, but so far they have not led to specific results, Lavrov said.
"We have more opportunities with the United States in the Balkans to contact both Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region. There are such contacts, but they have not yet led to any positive or any other concrete results. But we are open to these contacts, and as far as I can tell, our American colleagues are also ready to develop them," Lavrov said.
Lavrov said that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has fallen so low that it is unclear whether it can be "resuscitated."
"You said that someone was calling for it to be restructured… resuscitated... I do not know how possible resuscitation is in this case. The OSCE has fallen as low as it can possibly go. An organization founded on the principles of equality and consensus has completely degenerated into an instrument that the West, using its majority, sharpens against Russia on a daily basis," Lavrov said.
Russia would nevertheless continue to prevent the OSCE from "burying itself," he added.
"Our position toward the OSCE is that we continue to participate in it. Not because we harbor any hopes or illusions, as in the current situation any hopes are illusions, but simply because we want to support those OSCE participating states that retain common sense. And there are quite a few of them," Lavrov said.
The minister also said he was unsure whether the OSCE would have a place in a future framework of Eurasian security or a broader Eurasian partnership.
"I'm not sure. At least because the OSCE is a Euro-Atlantic structure. When it was created, the Soviet Union insisted that participating states be countries located in the western part of the Eurasian continent. But those very countries of today's collective West insisted that both the United States and Canada be included," the foreign minister explained.
As a result, a Euro-Atlantic configuration emerged, modeled on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), he added.
"NATO and the OSCE are Euro-Atlantic structures, and as such they are experiencing the deepest crisis of that same NATO," Lavrov said.
Russia-China Ties
Relations between Russia and China are unprecedented in their level and depth, as well as in the coincidence of positions regarding the development of the situation in Eurasia and around the world, Lavrov said.
"I have already mentioned our relations with China. They are unprecedented in their level, depth, and convergence of positions regarding the development of the situation in Eurasia and on the world stage in general," Lavrov said.
Russia-Africa Summit
Moscow is getting ready for the third Russia-Africa summit, Lavrov pointed out.
"We are currently preparing the third Russia-Africa meeting on the highest level," Lavrov said.
Situation Around Iran, Venezuela
Russia is interested in helping to reduce tensions in all areas, including around Venezuela and Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"We are interested in helping to reduce tensions in all the areas that have now escalated and which I have listed, be it Venezuela and especially the Iranian situation," Lavorv said.
Board of Peace for Gaza
Russia has received a draft charter for the Board of Peace for the Gaza Strip from the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"We recently received specific proposals, a draft charter for this structure, and so on," Lavrov said.
US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace initiative reflects Washington's understanding of the necessity to gather a group of countries for conflicts' settlement, the foreign minister added.
The Palestinian state establishment remains crucial for the Gaza settlement in light of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative, Lavrov added.
"We are also convinced that, for a long-term settlement in the Middle East, the UN decision to establish a Palestinian state must finally be implemented, and I would like to emphasize that this criterion remains fully relevant in light of president Trump's current sensational initiative to create the Board of Peace," Lavrov said.
Greenland Crisis
Previously, it was difficult to imagine that the Greenland dispute would put NATO unity into question, Sergey Lavrov said.
"Crisis trends are mounting within Western society itself. Greenland is a clear example of what everyone is talking about, and around which discussions are developing that would have been hard to imagine before, including the prospects for preserving NATO as a unified Western military-political bloc," Lavrov noted.
Problems between the United States, Europe and other countries due to tariffs will take quite a long period of time, Lavrov said.
"My feeling is that these rather disparate actions, primarily by the United States, and the problems that have arisen between the United States and Europe, the problems that exist between the United States and a very large number of countries in the world in connection with tariffs, duties, sanctions and other actions that reflect the intensified, and above all, dishonest methods, competition in world markets — all these processes, of course, are taking place and will take, in my opinion, for quite a long period of time," Lavrov said.