"We have entered a phase of acute confrontation with an aggressive bloc composed of the United States, the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance," Lavrov said at an assembly of Russian think tank Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, adding "Look at the decisions being discussed and taken today in Hiroshima at G7 Summit which are aimed at the dual containment of Russia and the People's Republic of China."
Earlier in the day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that with many developing countries being allegedly disappointed with China and Russia, G7 should seize the window of opportunity and strengthen ties with them.
Speaking about the situation in Ukraine, the Russian foreign minister said that the US has used the Ukrainian crisis to consolidate its Western allies in a manner appearing as their subjugation to Washington's will.
"Washington used the Ukrainian crisis to consolidate its camp, we can see that. But this consolidation is more like a total subjugation of everyone else to its will," Lavrov noted.
At the same time, there is a "fault line" emerging between the collective West on one hand and the countries of the Global South and the East, comprising the global majority, on the other hand, Lavrov said, adding that the countries of the Global South were ready to "resist the diktat" of the West.
Western countries stepped up sanctions pressure on Moscow after the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The EU has since imposed ten packages of sanctions against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the policy of containing and weakening Russia is the West's long-term strategy, and the restrictions have affected the entire global economy.