Medvedev warns of ‘total war’

The world needs a “balance of powers” to avoid “extermination,” the former Russian president has said

The US must abandon its ambitions of “world domination” or risk a war which could lead to the “complete extermination” of humanity, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Monday.   

According to Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, Washington’s goal is “domination over the Old World, as well as over the rest of the world.”   

However, this policy is merely leading to the “weakening and humiliation of the West, including Europe” within the framework of the modern multipolar global order, Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.   

The official issued the post in the context of the upcoming BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, which is set to kick off on Tuesday.  

Medvedev argued that the world needs a balance of powers rather than a dominant one, meaning there should be a “full-fledged counterweight” to the US, such as during the time of the USSR.   

READ MORE: A new world order in the making: Here’s why this BRICS summit will be special

The development of BRICS as a global power, as well as the growth of similar regional unions and the comprehensive development of relations with the countries of the Global South, are signs that such a balance is already in the making, Medvedev argued.   

“After all, the alternative to such a balance of power is a total war leading to the complete extermination of humanity,” the senior official warned.  

A world without balance in today’s conditions will not last even a decade. If the West does not realize this simple truth, it is the end for everyone. And this is not a situation where the death of some will mean the victory of others.  

Medvedev was Russian president from 2008 to 2012, before serving as prime minister until 2020. He is well known for his hardline stance on the Ukraine conflict and the West’s sanctions policy against Russia. He has also accused the US of pursuing a “global neocolonialism” agenda.   

READ MORE: Time of colonial powers is over – Medvedev

BRICS, which is widely seen as a rival to the G7 group of countries, is holding its 16th annual summit later this week. Initially founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, it now consists of nine countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE, representing about 46% of the world’s population and over 36% of global GDP, according to estimates by global financial institutions. Many analysts have suggested that the rapid development of the group signals that the Western monopoly over the international system is over, and that the world is firmly headed toward multipolarity.