Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, criticized the West’s assessments of the meetings between the leaders of Russia, China, and North Korea in China this week.

Zakharova noted during a press briefing on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday that the West describes the meetings of the leaders of Russia, China, and other countries as a “challenge to the world order,” even when they are dedicated to the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, while it sees no problem with NATO events and their countries arming Ukraine and fueling the conflict there.

She said, “(EU foreign policy chief) Kaja Kallas believes that the meetings of the leaders of Russia, China, and North Korea have become a ‘direct challenge to the world order,’ whereas when NATO and EU summits and various meetings in the Ramstein format, the ‘false peace formula,’ the ‘coalition of the willing,’ and the G7 take place, this is normal. Not only that, but it is considered a duty from their perspective. But when any other parties meet with a peaceful agenda… to celebrate humanity’s greatest victory over evil in the 20th century, and issue peaceful statements in favor of friendship, peace, and cooperation – this is called a ‘challenge to them.’

Zakharova explained that the events taking place in the East indeed represent a kind of challenge to Westerners because they do not conform to their intellectual model.

She added, “They have created within the European Union a reality in which any defiance of their intellectual model is considered an existential threat… And if we talk about the ‘rules-based world order’ that no two agree on, or a world order based on lies and fake news, then perhaps we can truly say that such meetings do not fit the ready-made mold prepared by Western society for all humanity.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded a four-day visit to China on Wednesday, where he participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and the celebratory events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. On the sidelines, Putin held 17 meetings with foreign leaders.

During his participation in the events in China, Putin affirmed that the unipolar world must end for the benefit of all and that the world should be multipolar with equality for everyone.

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a new initiative on global governance during the “Shanghai Cooperation Organization +” summit, which should be based on ensuring sovereign equality of all countries, strict adherence to international law, activating the principle of true multipolarity, adopting a human-centered approach, and enhancing global cooperation to face common challenges.