Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. (Photo by Russian Foreign Ministry)

Russia has said that the collective West uses its sanctions against other countries to cling to its fading dominance.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday the collective West is attempting to maintain its "slipping dominance" through unilateral coercive measures; however, in a multipolar world, this just won`t fly.

She stressed that collectively imposing punitive measures against other countries is solely within the authority of the United Nations Security Council.

She said the practice of applying unilateral sanctions encroaches upon its exclusive prerogatives. "Everyone knows that the collective West frequently resorts to this, primarily motivated by geopolitical interests."

Zakharova described unilateral coercive measures by the West as an obstacle to international peace and justice.

"Unilateral coercive measures represent a serious obstacle to establishing a just and equitable multipolar world order," she said.

"They constitute one of the primary instruments of the collective West`s neocolonial policy. Their objective is clear: to cling to slipping dominance, to deprive the global majority of the right to independent political choice, and to hinder their economic, technological, and industrial development," she added.

Zakharova slammed the propaganda spread by the countries trying to frame such coercive measures as a "peaceful means of resolving disputes," asserting that such claims do not withstand scrutiny.

"It is widely acknowledged that unilateral coercive measures, by obstructing the full socio-economic development of countries in the Global South and East, undermine the resolution of crisis situations," Zakharova said.

"Their indiscriminate application violates fundamental human rights and freedoms, disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable populations, as has been repeatedly condemned in resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council," Zakharova added.

Zakharova emphasized that the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, which includes Russia, is at the forefront of the struggle against such unilateral sanctions.

"We are convinced that within the genuinely fair multipolar architecture of international relations to which we all aspire, there is no place for coercion or neocolonial hegemony," she said.

"Together with our partners - responsible members of the global majority - we will continue to combat all vestiges of the shameful colonial era," she added.

US Department of Treasury officials have admitted that the US-led Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war have "failed" till now, and are "unlikely" to knock Russia out in the future.