Relations between China and Russia are at their “highest level in history,” and Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are in “Russia’s inner circle,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in his annual foreign policy speech on January 18.

The veteran diplomat went on to lambast the US, saying “Now we know that the West cannot be trusted.”

Relations between Russia and the West have been deteriorating since Lavrov’s “new rules of the game” speech in February 2020 until they collapsed completely with the invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago. That speech marked the start of Russia’s turn to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Moscow in March in 2021 in a sign of solidarity and as a overt challenge to Washington’s claim to lead the free world.

The current relationship between Russia and China is “far more durable and reliable when compared to any Cold War-era military alliance,” Lavrov opined at his annual news conference devoted to reviewing Moscow’s main foreign policy achievements in 2023.

China plays a central role in Russia’s last foreign policy concept  update and the two have an overlapping interest in developing Eurasia through the Eurasia Economic Union (EUU) led by Russia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) led by China.

"The Russia-China relationship, as our leaders have repeatedly stressed, is going through its best period ever. <…> These relations are more durable, reliable and advanced than any military alliance within the old framework of the Cold War era," the top diplomat said.

Last year’s bilateral trade between Russia and China easily topped the $200bn mark.

"And this trend will keep evolving," Lavrov said, pledging efforts to boost trade and investment with China " will not be subject to any Western influence," with the share of the ruble and the yuan in bilateral trade settlements already hovering around 90%.

Lavrov went on to named Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as members of Russia's “inner circle.” In parallel with Russia turn to the east, the Kremlin has invested heavily in deepening ties in the Middle East with great success. This relationship has been aided by the growing commercial rivalry after the US became a net export of oil and gas that has soured long standing relations with countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in particular has chosen to play the middle ground and refused to join in Western sanctions on Russia, making Turkey one of Russia’s major trading partners.

"As for our inner circle, then, of course, I should mention countries in the Middle East - Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar," Lavrov told a news conference devoted to the achievements of Russian diplomacy in 2023.

Lavrov said Russia’s wants to develop relations not only through bilateral channels, but also with regional organizations, established by many of Russia's partners.

"I mean the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, I mean the League of Arab States, ASEAN, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and others," he explained.

Since Russia broke with the West and made itself an international pariah, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy has focused on building up a non-aligned alliance of allies in the Global South, where many countries share Russia’s reservations about the US-led international order. Expanding the BRICS+ group has been a central goal and Russia is due to host this year’s BRICS summit later this year.

There are 30 aspirants to join the BRICS Lavrov claimed, highlighting the promising future of the integration with global members.

"Considering that more than 20, even closer to 30 countries are interested in approaching the BRICS, we see very bright future of this integration with global members," he said.

Being a supra-national global structure, BRICS "encapsulates the richness of multipolar world," the minister added.

There new relationships with other emerging world countries are cemented with Russian oil and arms deals.

In November 2023 Russia was once again the leading oil supplier to China and India, according to the January report of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Russia supplied 21% of China's total oil imports in November, up from 17% in October, over 16% for Saudi Arabia, Iraq - 10%, and Malaysia - 9%. According to OPEC, China's total oil imports reached a record 11.7mn bpd in 2023.

The decision taken at last year’s BRICS summit in South Africa to extend the number of participants of the integration has become a particularly important step to bolster the BRICS' position.

Russia that assumed BRICS chairmanship from January 1, will pay special attention newcomers joining the BRICS+ group, although the list of candidate countries has not been made public.

Lavrov also took time out to roast the US. Russia has finally dropped
“any possible illusions about the West after the start of the special operation and now knows that it cannot be trusted,” Lavrov said.

"Any illusions, if some still remained since the 1990s, that the West has now opened its arms to us and that democracy will unite us all - all these illusions have finally vanished. The West is not trustworthy," Lavrov said.

He said that the Western countries had demonstrated that they only want to "live at the expense of others and be smarter than everyone else."