ISTANBUL 

Russia's foreign minister claimed Monday that the Group of Seven (G-7) was being used as a "military headquarters" by the US to develop plans to "contain the development of Russia, China, Iran and other competitors." 

Speaking at an event in the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Sergey Lavrov said BRICS countries had exceeded the G-7 in terms of gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity prior to the expansion of the economic bloc in January.

Lavrov, who was speaking on the occasion of the start of Russia's new academic year, accused G-7 countries of trying to maintain their "dominant influence" in the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization by slowing institutional reforms.

The decline of G-7 influence is "unstoppable," he asserted, claiming that the West is trying to "break up" Russia.

"They need a dependent, fading, dying space, where they can do whatever they want," instead of Russia, he added.

"For this, they gathered a coalition of about 50 countries under arms, in order to try to dismember Russia," he said, emphasizing the need for eliminate all dependence from Western mechanisms being used "against everyone who wants to be independent."

"The key principle of the UN Charter is the sovereign equality of the state. If you take the history of any conflict that has taken place since the creation of the UN, in no conflict have either the United States or its allies applied this principle … They have not considered anyone equal to themselves and, unfortunately, do not consider anyone equal,” he added.  

Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization

Lavrov also spoke about the ongoing normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, saying that Russia was worried that trilateral agreements concluded between Moscow, Baku and Yerevan in 2020-2022 have "sagged."

"I mentioned the resumption of transport links and also mentioned the trilateral commission that was engaged in this, but now it is practically no longer meeting. Yerevan believes that this should be done directly with Azerbaijan," Lavrov said, adding that Armenia could do so.

Lavrov further expressed that Russia should be consulted during delimitation talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which he said have stalled.

"No, they (Armenia) do not want to (have Russia involved), and at the same time, they are constantly trying to attract the West, the United States, the European Union, Paris, to provide their auspices to any processes.

"This is their choice, but they need to negotiate, first of all, with their Azerbaijani neighbors. There is no other way," he said.

During a news conference on Sunday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that while trilateral talks with Russia were not out of the question, his country currently preferred to focus on negotiations with Azerbaijan at the bilateral level.