Lavrov: Alliance with China pillar of 'triumph of international law'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called Moscow's alliance with Beijing a backstop of international law against the backdrop of Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine.
"Our strategic partnership is one of the pillars of the movement for the triumph of international law," Russia's chief diplomat told the Interfax agency at the ministerial meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Cambodian capital on Friday.
Lavrov presented himself as a protector of the UN Charter, which grants sovereignty to all states on an equal footing.
The 73-year-old criticized the U.S. for constantly violating this principle. "We participate together with the Chinese People's Republic in the recently created Group of Friends for the Protection of the UN Charter," Lavrov said. He expects the group to grow.
Washington's attempts to demonstrate its dominance in ever new places in the world will fail, he added.
The Russian leadership justifies its own war gainst neighbouring Ukraine, which violates international law, on the one hand with the alleged "liberation" of the people there, and on the other as a defence against a planned expansion of NATO which threatens Russia.
China is officially neutral in the conflict, but blames the West for the escalation.
Moscow recently retaliated in the Taiwan crisis with diplomatic support for Beijing's military manoeuvres off the island.