US neocolonialist policies are hurting the world as the majority strives for a more just future, the ex-Russian president says
Dmitry Medvedev speaks at an international forum in Moscow on February 16, 2024. © Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich
The “rules-based order” touted by the US is an illusion that Washington and its allies are forcing on other nations, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said at an anti-neocolonialism forum in Moscow on Friday.
The term has been widely used by the administration of US President Joe Biden to describe the global liberal arrangement, in which Western powers have for decades had significant leverage. Critics, including Russia, say the system is antithetical to a codified international law and is being abused by the West for its own benefit.
“Who has ever seen it? Where does it exist? It is not a UN document, not some international convention, not a law,” Medvedev said of the ‘rules-based order’ during the international event called ‘For The Freedom of Nations.’
“Nevertheless, they constantly shove this order in our faces and tell us to follow it,” added the former president, who serves as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council.
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The forum, hosted by the ruling United Russia party, has brought together representatives of some 60 parliamentary political parties from over 50 countries, according to organizers. Medvedev, the chair of the party, said the participants represent the “true global majority” and are united in a wish to create a future free from colonial practices.
“Not long ago, nations of Asia, Middle East and Latin America were arrogantly labeled ‘the Third World,’ or at best ‘developing nations’ at the behest of the collective West. Now these nations are rapidly developing to become the framework, nodes of growth for a multipolar world,” the Russian official said.
Medvedev accused the US and its allies of mismanaging the world economy, including by creating money not backed by real value.
“They take advantage of [controlling] the reserve currencies. Ultimately, it boosts global inflation and makes poverty on the planet worse,” he explained.
Other perceived Western abuses include economic restrictions imposed unilaterally or through certain international organizations.
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“They have de facto control over modern institutions of global management, which they consider their own, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. They shamelessly politicize the activities of those structures,” Medvedev argued.
The damage caused affects not only opponents of the West and neutral nations, but even some of its allies, the Russian politician added.
“The US… cannot win a global fight alone and keeps engaging their satellites in implementing neocolonialist policies. They carry the lion’s share of the relevant costs. They are often not happy about it, but are forced to keep their course,” he said.
