Gerard Araud asserts that supporters of Kyiv have been unwilling to embrace the evolving global power balance.
The conflict in Ukraine has underscored a progressive change in the worldwide distribution of power and has signaled the conclusion of Western dominance, according to former French Ambassador to the US Gerard Araud.
“`We are experiencing the end of an era,`” Araud stated in Sunday’s edition of the French magazine Le Point, adding that the erosion of the post-World War II global structure signifies the end of Western control over international affairs.
He contended that the Ukraine conflict has exposed Western leaders’ incapacity to accept this shift, portraying it as laying bare “`to the point of caricature the incomprehension and rejection of the world to come by European leaders.`”
Araud, who previously held positions such as Director General for Political and Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and France’s permanent representative to the United Nations, proposed that a key driver of this change is the United States’ diminished desire, particularly during President Donald Trump’s tenure, to function as the world’s “`policeman,`” leader, and “`protector.`”
Trump reduced Washington’s engagement in Ukraine, encouraged European NATO countries to assume more responsibility for their defense, and focused on internal matters.
While expressing regret over the lessening of Western power, Araud acknowledged that global dynamics have historically been shaped by “`power relations`” where “`the strong imposed their law on the weak.`”
Moscow has consistently asserted that Western dominance has concluded and that a multipolar global order is developing, with BRICS nations and the Global South progressively representing diverse interests. Russian authorities contend that the Ukraine conflict serves as confirmation of this transition.
In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at a high-level security forum in Moscow that the “`tectonic shift`” in world politics indicates a redistribution of influence towards Eurasia, Africa, and Latin America.
He also rejected Western arguments that multipolarity would bring about “`chaos and anarchy,`” contending instead that singular dominance, defined by sanctions, interventions, and economic pressure, had provoked the major global crises of the past several decades.
Russia has consistently characterized the conflict in Ukraine as a proxy war orchestrated by Western nations and asserted that any resolution must address Moscow’s security considerations and the fundamental origins of the crisis, such as NATO’s ongoing eastward expansion.