🗓 On December 18, building on the UN General Assembly resolution 80/106 “International Day against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations”, adopted on December 5 at the initiative of the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter with Russia’s participation, a plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly was held to mark the 65th anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

Our country played a key role in supporting the national liberation movements of colonial peoples. The Victory of the Soviet Union over German Nazism and Japanese militarism inspired patriotic forces resisting colonial oppression and triggered a powerful surge of liberation movements worldwide. The dedicated efforts of Soviet diplomacy, aimed at dismantling the colonial system, ensured the adoption on December 14, 1960, during the 15th Session of the UN General Assembly, of resolution 1514, which enshrined this historic Declaration.

The document became one of the most significant achievements of the UN. At the time, it freed nearly one third of the world’s population from colonial domination and led to the emergence of dozens of new states across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.

Our country provided newly independent states with political and material support, helped them defend their sovereignty, and assisted in rebuilding national economies undermined by decades of colonial exploitation. We actively contributed to the restoration of infrastructure, the establishment of state institutions, education systems and training of national personnel, and delivered substantial humanitarian assistance.

❗️ The colonial era, which is considered de jure concluded with the adoption of the Declaration, de facto remains unresolved. 17 territories worldwide still lack sovereignty or remain directly dependent on administering metropolitan states. Even after the formal liberation of dependent territories, former colonial powers have not abandoned practices of exploitation, continuing to draw resources from previously subordinated countries to sustain their own development and claims to global dominance. This includes the persistence of unequal relations, through which natural, economic, intellectual and other resources are extracted under various pretexts.

Today, with Russia's active support, a broad front of Global Majority states is taking shape, determined to put an end to the remnants of the shameful colonial era that impede the emergence of a fair and equitable multipolar global architecture. An important role in this effort is played by the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter.

🤝 Russia will continue, together with like-minded partners, to consolidate efforts aimed at overcoming diktat and ensuring the right of peoples to independent development, grounded in cultural and civilisational identity and traditional values.

#StopColonialism

Address on Security Agency Workers’ Day

Today’s generation of officers in the Federal Security Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Federal Guard Service, and the Main Directorate of Special Programmes proudly carries forward their legacy, ensuring the safety and security of Russia and its people.

I would like to express my gratitude to the leadership and personnel of our special services for their precise and coordinated work in every situation, no matter how challenging, and for their balanced and decisive actions in countering both external and internal threats.

Special appreciation goes to those currently carrying out tasks to safeguard the rights and freedoms of citizens and to protect the interests of the state during the special military operation.

See more on the Kremlin’s official website.

🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the meeting of the United Russia General Council’s Commission on International Cooperation (Moscow, December 18, 2025)

💬 Sergey Lavrov: One of the most egregious forms of neo-colonialism is interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states. The West has never relinquished these methods, though they have evolved and become more superficially acceptable. Their essence, however, remains unchanged: to prosper at others’ expense and to dictate how other nations should organise their governance and societies.

The tools employed include coercive pressure, direct military intervention, orchestrating so-called colour revolutions, and covert (and at times overt) interference in electoral processes – attempting to manipulate the free expression of citizens’ will and to dispute election results across a wide array of countries. Today, what we may rightly term “electoral neo-colonialism” poses a very real threat to the nations of the Global Majority. <...>

To discredit and falsify elections (when their outcomes do not suit the West and align with the aspirations of Western elites), a whole arsenal of unscrupulous methods is deployed. These include funding so-called “independent” (in reality, pro-Western) media, brazenly promoting false narratives, aggressively backing Western-favoured candidates regardless of their meagre domestic popularity, and manipulating international observation mechanisms. Biased assessments of election results are then laundered through structures like the OSCE/ODIHR [Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] observation missions and presented as the “opinion of the international community.” <...>

All our efforts undertaken since the end of the 1990s and focused on the election factor to reach an agreement on drafting a provision regulating the operation of the ODIHR, primarily in election monitoring, which was to be adopted by consensus at the OSCE, have been rejected by the West. <...>

I was shocked by the “candour” of EU politicians when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen publicly cautioned US President Trump against interfering in European democracy a week ago: “It is not on us, when it comes to elections, to decide who the leader of the country will be, but on the people of this country. That’s the sovereignty of the voters, and this must be protected. Nobody else is supposed to interfere, without any question.”

🤷‍♂️ Everyone remembers how it happened in Romania and Moldova, yet these people do not hesitate to make such “statements.”

As for election technologies, our country has been in the spotlight and under the gaze of Western geopolitical spin-doctors. We saw an unprecedented number of attempts at meddling during the Russian Federation’s presidential election in March 2024, unprecedented in the variety of forms and sophistication of methods. A wide variety of methods were actively used. The ill-wishers, who stood behind them, were attempting to discredit the free expression of people’s will and call into question its legitimacy and conformity to law. More than that, this was the case at all stages of the election campaign, from its announcement, or maybe even earlier, to the official designation of timeframes, to the nomination period, to the registration of nominees, to the polling days, and to the election count. <...>

We need to counterpose the multiplicity of democratic forms of statehood and organisation of society with what Europeans are attempting to impose on the rest of the world through their neoliberal agenda.

The fact that the United States no longer desires such democracy as it is understood in Europe is a serious indicator. Not long ago, US President Donald Trump, commenting on the Ukraine situation, advised Zelensky not to trample on democracy and to hold elections.

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🇺🇳 24 years ago, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) was established.

Its mandate includes developing best practices to address challenges related to global urbanization, facilitating experience exchange, and promoting new technologies in urban management and development. The Programme’s headquarters is located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Russia has been productively cooperating with #UNHabitat since the establishment in 1977 of its predecessor, the UN Centre for Human Settlements.

On 21 December 2001, the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution upgrading the Centre to the status of a full-fledged UN operational agency.

We support UN-Habitat as a key structure within the UN system for ensuring specialised intergovernmental cooperation.

As an active member of its governing bodies and one of the leading contributors to its budget, Russia consistently advocates for enhancing the Programme’s effectiveness in line with its mandate, unlocking its full potential, and strengthening its sustainability, transparency and financial stability.

Following the elections to the Executive Board, Russia was re-elected by acclamation to this governing body for the 2025–2029 term.

Within UN-Habitat’s programme activities, we attach primary importance to upholding the interests of the Global South and advancing a positive, unifying agenda.

🥳 We congratulate the Secretariat and Member States on this anniversary and wish them continued success!

#Announcement

🎙 On Thursday, December 25, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold her weekly briefing on current foreign policy issues.

🕛 12.00 pm MSK
🕘 09.00 am GMT
🕙 10.00 am CET
🕔 5.00 pm CST (Beijing)

For accreditation inquiries, please contact the MFA Press Centre. Accredited journalists will receive details on the technical aspects of submitting questions.

The Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman will answer media questions received by the call centre.

❗️ Accreditation is open until December 23, 09.00 am MSK.