Russia’s ambassador outlines plan to overthrow US-led world order

Russia’s top diplomat in the United States outlined to Newsweek the contents and core tenets of the Kremlin’s bid to reshape the global order in a way that undermines Washington’s international influence.

The remarks came as President Joe Biden‘s administration has sought to further tighten ties abroad in an attempt to isolate Moscow as it continues to wage war in neighboring Ukraine. With divisive debates playing out around the world over Europe’s most devastating conflict in decades, Russian President Vladimir Putin detailed a path to ending the war during a wide-ranging speech last week at a gathering of senior diplomatic officials.

The proposals were roundly rejected by Kyiv and its international backers. But Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov argued that the West missed a key message that focused on upending the post-Cold War balance of power.

“Experts and political scientists [I’m not sure about the officials—they most likely heard everything but prefer to remain silent] seem to have ignored the key points of the president, who called on the international community, primarily on the Eurasian continent, to agree with the need for a new security architecture,” Antonov told Newsweek.

“Meanwhile, ideas and suggestions included in our proposal explain a lot both in terms of opposition to the West and its ‘Ukrainian project,’ and with regard to Moscow’s systemic efforts to deepen normal, mutually respectful cooperation with the Global South.”

And despite dismissals by the U.S. and its European allies, Antonov asserted that, “the accelerating crisis of Euro-Atlanticism has long been obvious to capitals striving to get rid of unipolar dictatorship.”

Long March to War

Putin’s long-standing grievances with the security architecture of the post-Soviet sphere of influence have been a hallmark of the Russian leader’s rhetoric since he assumed power nearly a quarter-century ago. Central to this position has been a consistent opposition to the expansion of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance within regions once dominated by the USSR’s rival Warsaw Pact.

The feud first erupted into conflict in Ukraine in 2014 after an uprising ousted the government in Kyiv in favor of a pro-West administration. The events were quickly followed by Russia seizing the strategic Crimean Peninsula, later annexing it an internationally disputed referendum, and the outbreak of a Moscow-aligned insurgency in the eastern Donbas region.

The situation further deteriorated in 2021 as Russia amassed troops along Ukraine’s borders and began to engage with the U.S. and NATO in negotiations toward reducing NATO presence in Eastern Europe. As discussions faltered, Putin declared a “special military operation” in which Russian troops launched a full-scale war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, that is ongoing to this day.

While Russian troops have claimed new advances in recent months, the conflict has largely fallen into a bloody stalemate. Putin’s proposal to end the war, as previously described to Newsweek by Antonov, called for the total withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from five Russia-annexed territories, Kyiv adopting a neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free stance as well as the lifting of Western sanctions, among several other components.

But the U.S. and fellow supporters of Ukraine have sought to double down on military assistance to Kyiv to support President Volodymyr Zelensky against what they collectively view to be an unjustified war of aggression.

“Let me emphasize that on June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a peaceful plan for ending the Ukrainian conflict. In response, we only saw new supplies of weapons to the Kiev regime,” Antonov said. “Thus, the reaction of Washington is obvious: local politicians do not need peace. They only focus on war with the objective of inflicting strategic defeat on Russia.”

Reasserting Russia’s Position

Meanwhile, Putin embarked on back-to-back visits to North Korea and Vietnam to fortify Russia’s relationships in Asia. Antonov dismissed the portrayal of these trips, however, as “signs of Moscow’s imperial plans, or as a kind of confirmation of weakness and dependence on ‘rogue states’ [of course, as the West understands it].”

Putin also visited China last month to further boost relations with President Xi Jinping, with whom the Russian leader has forged a “no-limits” strategic partnership and has expanded two international organizations, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

“Our country, in local Russophobes’ distorted opinion, basically does not have the right to its own opinion and to protect national interests,” Antonov said, “neither in relation to the crisis around Ukraine, nor regarding the establishment of mutually beneficial relations with friendly capitals.”

Today, however, Antonov saw an opportunity to reintroduce Russia’s push to fundamentally modify the regional security environment that had previously collapsed in the leadup to the war in Ukraine, this time enlisting more international support from other countries whose desires to see a more multipolar world, he argued, had been spurned by the U.S. and its allies.

“The interests of Russia and other states were openly ignored, since there seemed to be no alternative to the dominance of the United States and its immediate satellites,” Antonov said. “Symbolic of Western arrogance was Washington’s refusal to seriously consider our initiatives, introduced at the end of 2021, on mutual guarantees based on the principle of indivisible security.

“Such pretension and expansionism, based on military force, economic sanctions and political pressure, certainly destabilize the situation in Eurasia and in the world as a whole, exacerbating controversies, new and old contradictions between countries in the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Middle East and Asia-Pacific region.”

What Putin’s Plan Looks Like

Antonov listed several key aspects of what the Kremlin’s plan to dull Western power looks like.

“Our proposals involve eliminating the regulatory and institutional vacuum in the sphere of Eurasian security, genuine and sincere recognition of the world’s movement towards multi-polarity,” Antonov said. “At the same time, the future system should be based on the principles of the U.N. Charter and the supremacy of international law.

“It will not be directed against anyone’s interests. It will become a kind of ‘insurance’ against geopolitical upheavals that a model of globalization built on Western principles can lead to. It is important to prevent fragmentation and formation of opposing alliances, and ultimately to prevent the outbreak of a large-scale armed conflict.”

He emphasized, however, that while diluting Western influence was a crucial objective within the framework, the idea was not to form a new coalition against any one nation or alliance.

“We are not talking about creating a new ‘bloc’ or ‘axis’ that should firmly oppose someone,” Antonov said. “The foundation should be dialogue and cooperation, and with all truly interested players. A discussion, on an equal basis, on stockpiled problems and ways to solve them is of paramount importance.”

The Biden administration has expressed deep skepticism toward talk of peace and cooperation from the Kremlin.

“Russia has shown no interest in engaging in good-faith negotiations,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek.  ”The Kremlin launched this brutal and unprovoked war. Russia occupies nearly 20 percent of sovereign Ukrainian territory and continues to attack Ukraine every single day.

“Now, Vladimir Putin is saying the price of peace is to allow Russia to occupy even more Ukrainian territory. There’s not a country in the world that can say with a straight face that this is acceptable under the U.N. Charter, international law, basic morality or common sense.”

The State Department spokesperson also reiterated the Biden administration’s position in supporting Ukraine’s demands to put an end to the conflict, which include a total withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

“You’ve all heard us say repeatedly that when it comes to diplomacy, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” the spokesperson said. “No one wants this war to end more than Ukraine and its people, but any decisions about negotiations are up to President Zelensky.

“Any initiative for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine must be based on full respect for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.”

The spokesperson referred to Russia as “the sole obstacle to peace in Ukraine” and further accused Moscow of building a “disinformation and propaganda ecosystem,” consisting of “official government communications, state-funded global messaging, cultivation of proxy sources, weaponization of social media, and cyber-enabled disinformation” to serve the Kremlin’s narrative.

Future at Stake

While no apparent signs of movement have emerged in the quest to find common ground in the Russia-Ukraine war, casualties continue to mount on both sides amid battlefield clashes as strikes are conducted deeper into one another’s territory.

The Biden administration’s announcement last month that it would greenlight attacks by Ukrainian forces against targets within Russia’s claimed and internationally recognized borders using U.S.-supplied weapons sparked new warnings of potential escalation from the Kremlin.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also threatened “consequences” on Monday after a strike said to be conducted using U.S.-produced Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) munitions reportedly resulted in civilian casualties in Russia-held Crimea. In response, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters the U.S. lamented “any civilian loss of life in this war” but that such operations were authorized as “we provide weapons to Ukraine so it can defend its sovereign territory against armed aggression, that includes in Crimea, which of course is part of Ukraine.”

Amid concerns over further escalations and growing nuclear rhetoric surrounding the war, Antonov portrayed the need to redefine the Eurasian security order as one critical to bringing peace to the region and avoiding future conflicts.

“The initiative outlined by the Russian president will require colossal efforts and political determination,” Antonov said. “Its implementation will take years. Positions on many basic elements still need to be defined and synchronized. But work must begin immediately.

“Humanity is obliged to do this for the sake of peace, stability and economic prosperity, for the sake of future generations, for the sake of a calm sky above our heads.”