Zakharova: it would be delusional to assume that Russia has no allies

International politics would be different if Russia had no allies, so it would be a delusion to believe that the Russian Federation has no allies, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"If we had no allies or partners, if we had no countries to cooperate with, then I think the situation in international affairs would be completely different," Zakharova said in an interview on a Rossiya 24 TV channel broadcast.

According to the diplomat, at this difficult time when "a shift of tectonic plates" in international affairs is under way, "a large number of countries publicly and non-publicly" support Russia’s position "not only at negotiations but also by their actions."

"The basis of our position is clear, logical and, what is very important, it is not only easy to understand but also creates the foundation, platform and framework for moving forward not only for separate, selected countries but also for all countries no matter what they are – large, enormous, strong, not so strong, economically advanced, developing," Zakharova stressed. "We propose taking international law as a basis – an equal approach to all countries," she said.

At the same time, she noted that such an approach does not rule out competition between countries that always existed. "It just needs to be in a certain frame of reference that does not change because any one player wants it to," the diplomat added.

According to her, despite disagreements and different positions, there is understanding of the main guideline of international politics – constructive partnership. And in this sense, the reliance on partners is "absolutely relevant".

"The only thing that was added is pragmatism to protect national interests. International politics is precisely about defending your national interests," TASS cited her as saying.