The top Russian diplomat mentioned that some western countries are trying to challenge globally accepted norms of international law, including the United Nations charter, in "the illusory hope of maintaining elusive dominance."
"Outside the framework of the global organization [the UN] and other universal structures, they create together various situational coalitions of limited composition and arbitrarily assign them the right to speak and act on behalf of the entire world community," Lavrov said in an address to readers of the Russian International Affairs Council think tank.
According to Lavrov, such a "selfish" approach does not contribute to maintaining mutual trust and solving current global issues, including international terrorism, transnational crime, climate change and the shortage of fresh water.
The US is hosting the so-called Summit for Democracy this week. Washington invited over 100 countries but Russia and China are not among the invitees.