Lavrov Castigates US Actions Jeopardizing Future of WTO
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Washington’s attempts to subject everything to its audit endangers the future of the WTO, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
He was addressing students and lecturers at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) on the occasion of the start of the new academic year.
"There is a small group of countries headed by the United States that does not want dialogue, and seeks to use diktat instead of diplomacy, as well as ultimatums, blackmail. We see it every day, everything is audited for review, starting with the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan on Iran's nuclear program, the Paris Climate Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement that they are trying to repair, but have not managed to complete yet, and the future of the WTO, which the US directly labels as unfair and outdated," Lavrov said, TASS news agency reported.
According to the top diplomat, the current methods employed by Washington can be described as nothing other than "the desire for total domination."
"Once something is wrong, diplomacy is thrown aside, and sanctions are imposed, then American laws are extrapolated to the rest of the world," the foreign minister stressed.
"Extraterritoriality in carrying out illegitimate unilateral measures of enforcement is becoming a serious problem for many countries, both for developing nations and for Western countries, which are direct allies of the United States," the diplomat said.
