Here are the statements given by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Forum of the Future 2050 to a massive and enthusiastic audience:

The topic of a multipolar world brought to life the glimmers of hope that we saw in the mid-1990s. <…> In January 1996, Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was he who formulated the revolutionary concept of a multipolar world at that time.

It was a response to the “incantations” of well-known political scientists that “the end of history” had come and that from now on, the Western liberal order would unhindered “envelop” the entire globe, human thoughts, souls, hearts, and all everyday activities.

E.M. Primakov did not simply put forward this concept, he actively promoted it. The first concrete step in this direction was the “Russian-Chinese joint declaration on a multipolar world and the formation of a new international order“, signed by the leaders of Russia and China in Moscow back in 1997. <…>

In 2002, when Vladimir Putin became president, the first trilateral summit between Russia, India, and China took place. Since then, this “troika” — #RIC — has established itself as a format that is beneficial to all participants. <…>

Since then, multipolarity has been gaining momentum. <…> New centers of power have emerged in Eurasia, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America – in short, everywhere. This trend reflects the desire of countries in each region to take responsibility for their own development and for the development of their parts of the world into their own hands. <…>

In December 2024, on the initiative of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter <…>, a resolution was adopted, dedicated precisely to the need to counter modern practices of neocolonialism. At the upcoming 80th session of the UN General Assembly this fall, this topic will be one of the most pressing and controversial. <…>

The fact that multipolarity is a geopolitical reality is also recognized in the West. Let me remind you that representatives of the Biden administration have also spoken about this.

My colleague, the current US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in January 2025 called the unipolar world order “an anomalous product of the end of the Cold War. When it seemed that the ‘end of history’ had come and everything would now be as decided in the West.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, despite all his rather controversial and not very well thought-out statements on other topics, clearly states on the issue of multipolarity that this trend is serious and long-lasting, that it is irreversible. <…>

The volume of contacts and joint work we have is primarily concentrated in our immediate vicinity and in structures such as BRICS, SCO, CIS, and EAEU. For the world to develop in this way, it is necessary to respect generally accepted principles. <…>

The desire to “bury” multipolarity and any dissent in general, as was done with Romania and as is being attempted with Hungary, Slovakia, and all those who think about national interests, is not for the European Union. Multipolarity is something else. It is being formed and will continue to be formed regardless of how European leaders behave. <…>

The Euro-Atlantic model has discredited itself.

This applies not only to the OSCE, but also to NATO, as another product of Euro-Atlantic concepts. Now we can say with confidence that this also applies to the European Union. <…>

There is the EAEU. It has relations with the SCO. Each of these organizations has relations with ASEAN. There are relations between the EAEU and projects within the framework of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

If we bring together those who are planning further work in each of these areas and see where these plans can be harmonized for the benefit of the cause, President Vladimir Putin called this process the formation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership.

We propose developing this Greater Eurasian Partnership on the basis of openness to all countries of the continent without exception, giving the states located on it enormous competitive advantages, which the West now wants to give up.

For more information about the “Forum of the Future 2050” please visit the official website: https://forumfuture2050.ru