Russia's phlegmatic foreign minister chooses his words carefully, rarely fumbles when challenged and occasionally makes remarks that appear to go against the diplomatic version of his country.
Nothing could be farther from actuality. His ability to assimilate politics and diplomacy can be summed up in one sentence.
One doesn't simply hold the foreign minister's portfolio for nineteen years, negotiating the twists and turns of Kremlin intrigues.
All that is evident in his personage contrasts with United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, whose greying demeanour and furrows on the brow are giveaways as to what pressure at that level can do to a man. Lavrov's statements and more crucially, choice of stage to drive home points are deliberate.
With the Turkish Foreign Minister by his side he elevated the rumours about a new world order that Russia is seeking; one that is different and probably at odds with that so far kept under wraps by Western democracies.
In a major departure from the stated reasons of the special military operation in Ukraine, he has made it clear that they too are part of his country's view of the new order.
The stranglehold Russia has on bumpy economic turf was broadly elaborated. The special grain expiry out of Ukraine brokered by Turkey and the United Nations could come to grief if Russia's own grain and energy exports are choked.
The world order, carefully crafted in the hills of Bretton Woods after World War II, was neither inclusive of the indigenous nor the growing population of the third world. The new one, never propagated in public, but eagerly awaited by organizations such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization, may be more sinister.
Jeremy Corbyn, the much maligned former Labour Party chief in the United Kingdom wasn't relegated to back bench positioning just because of the brouhaha over semitism. He had spoken, out of turn, so to speak, about a new order that was more lopsided in protecting country and population interests.
Some of what Donald Trump had so openly proposed did provide some indications. The world was to become more militarily engaged. Most of his predictions and crystal ball gazing is coming to light.
Japan and Germany have finally changed from pacifist defence. China, India, and Germany have put Climate Change on the backburner by inking new agreements on long term fossil fuel supplies. NATO countries are having to fork out their committed budgets to fund the defence alliance costs while the Ukraine-war drains them dry. The United States is nearly $50 billion poorer. Former British Chancellor Nigel Lawson, who passed away recently, had just as recently painted most of Europe as “basket cases.”
None of these are lost on Vladimir Putin or Mr Lavrov. There are major changes in the Middle East, brokered by China, swiftly after the US gloated over diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE. Suddenly, Saudi Arabia and Iran are burying the hatchet, neutralizing each other's support for the US and Russia.
Increasingly, China is stepping ahead with two broad initiatives; enveloping Hong Kong and Taiwan. To an extent it is similar to Russia's move into Ukraine.
Finland's joining NATO makes more sense of the proposed deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Russia had wanted a buffer zone. Now that is up in smoke, they had to make their move, leaving the US and NATO in startled panic.
Brexit had forced the European Union into long-term trade agreements with Japan. Ursula van der Lyon and Emmanuel Macron‘a talks with Xi Jin Peng is doubly pregnant. Trade may be the banner, but it smells suspiciously of politics. Macron, the one European leader that hasn't openly criticized Russia's ventures is willing to leave the French streets burning as he pushes credentials for Europe's leadership.
Europe's role in the new order is the likely moot point. Their position on the announced change in trading currency away from the greenback could well tip the balance.
It leaves the rest of the world with smaller economies and large populations in a state of limbo that their leaders must grapple with.
Sheikh Hasina has put her finger on it. It's just that no one is really listening. India is being given a virtual free-hand at autocracy, including revisiting the historical narrative and externally dominating Bangladesh's economy with Nepal and Bhutan under wraps. That includes inter-country trading with local currencies.
There are no whistle blowers in sight; those that are there will be limited in their exposé. Russia has played its hand, in the territory of a country supplying equipment to Ukraine. The US has chosen differently, at least for now.
Mahmudur Rahman is a writer, columnist, broadcaster, and communications specialist.
