Russia, Iran act as allies now, trying to destroy free world order - American expert Fried

He told this in an interview with Antin Borkovskyi, host of the Studio West program on Espreso TV channel.

“Russia and Iran are now acting as allies. A kind of authoritarian axis has formed. China, Russia, and Iran are cooperating with other countries that hate the concept of the free world and believe that Russia should be supported in its efforts to restore its empire, because these countries believe in empires and spheres of domination. Iran wants to be a great power in the Middle East, Russia wants to dominate the post-Soviet space and the former territories of Central and Eastern Europe, and China wants to re-absorb Taiwan,” he said.

Fried stated that countries which value freedom, such as Ukraine, Poland, the European Union, the UK, the US, and other free nations, believe in an order based on the principles of peace, cooperation, and sovereignty.

“This is not naivety, as it may seem at first glance, but the basis of strategies that have been developed during the second half of the twentieth century and continue to be relevant today.  We share these values with Ukraine, because we understand that the defense of freedom and democracy is key not only for Ukraine, but also for our own national interests. This is what Poland, the United States, Ukraine and many other countries believe in, because we know of no alternative. This vision of a free world order is opposed to the imperial one.

It is a better and more efficient system. But it is the order that Putin hates, and it is the order that his allies, such as Iran, are trying to destroy. Easy to say, but not easy to do. Talking about a free world order is easier than standing up to dictators and aggressors who seek to destroy it. However, we must take the challenges of our time seriously, because much depends on the outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian war. As an American, I can say that there will be fewer problems in the world if Ukraine wins. Helping Ukraine is not charity, it is in our interests, because our values and interests are inextricably linked,” he summarized.

• Earlier this week, the United States announced sanctions against Russia and Iran in response to Tehran's supply of ballistic missiles to Moscow.
• Subsequently, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Robert Woods said at a meeting of the UN Security Council that the transfer of weapons and technology to Russia by Iran and the DPRK makes the countries “complicit in the crime and puts them on the wrong side of history.”
• Satellite imagery captured the Russian-flagged cargo ship Port Olya 3, which is believed to have been transporting ballistic missiles from Iran.
• On September 11, the British Foreign Office summoned Iran's Chargé d'Affaires in connection with the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia.