Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to questions at the Primakov Readings International Forum (Moscow, June 26, 2024)
Key talking points:
🌐 We are witnessing the development of a fairer multipolar and polycentric architecture.
• Those whose business is to analyse international developments cannot disregard the fact that more and more countries in Eurasia, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are trying to pursue a more independent foreign policy.
• The principles of “reginal solutions to reginal problems” is becoming increasingly more topical. More and more countries, regions and organisations have accepted it and have joined their voices in calling for more democratic international relations.
• There are now centres of power and development outside of Europe and outside of the Western world. This can be viewed as the positive results of the decolonisation process, which started in mid-20th century. The Soviet Union took part in it.
• Even if the US retains the status as one of the global centres of power in the foreseeable future, which is quite possible, this does not mean preserving the US-led world order.
• The only novelty, perhaps, is the non-independent, servile position of the leaders of big, respected European states with rich traditions of autonomy in international affairs and awareness of their own national dignity. <...> The US is already openly shifting the costs of fighting Russia to its European vassals, enabling its defence companies to make money.
❗️ We are interested in just one thing: threats to Russian security should stop emanating from the West.
• Our neighbours on the western tip of Eurasia could have become a centre of an emerging multipolar world order. Someday, they will change their mind and realise that their line, implemented on orders from Washington, is leading them into a blind alley.
• Western countries want to punish Russia, and they want to use our example to intimidate everyone who conducts, or intends to conduct, an independent foreign policy <...>. All these vain attempts have no future and are already yielding a diametrically opposite effect.
Read in full
Key talking points:
🌐 We are witnessing the development of a fairer multipolar and polycentric architecture.
• Those whose business is to analyse international developments cannot disregard the fact that more and more countries in Eurasia, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are trying to pursue a more independent foreign policy.
• The principles of “reginal solutions to reginal problems” is becoming increasingly more topical. More and more countries, regions and organisations have accepted it and have joined their voices in calling for more democratic international relations.
• There are now centres of power and development outside of Europe and outside of the Western world. This can be viewed as the positive results of the decolonisation process, which started in mid-20th century. The Soviet Union took part in it.
• Even if the US retains the status as one of the global centres of power in the foreseeable future, which is quite possible, this does not mean preserving the US-led world order.
• The only novelty, perhaps, is the non-independent, servile position of the leaders of big, respected European states with rich traditions of autonomy in international affairs and awareness of their own national dignity. <...> The US is already openly shifting the costs of fighting Russia to its European vassals, enabling its defence companies to make money.
❗️ We are interested in just one thing: threats to Russian security should stop emanating from the West.
• Our neighbours on the western tip of Eurasia could have become a centre of an emerging multipolar world order. Someday, they will change their mind and realise that their line, implemented on orders from Washington, is leading them into a blind alley.
• Western countries want to punish Russia, and they want to use our example to intimidate everyone who conducts, or intends to conduct, an independent foreign policy <...>. All these vain attempts have no future and are already yielding a diametrically opposite effect.
Read in full
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🗓 On 29 June 1941 the Battle for the Zapolyarye Polar Region began.
It lasted until 1 November 1944 and culminated in a decisive Red Army's victory over the Nazis and their cronies. The war theatre of the its initial part comprised the Murmansk region, Karelia, Barents, White and Kara Seas.
The Third Reich sought to capture the Kola Peninsula and Murmansk, the country's only ice-free port beyond the Arctic Circle, where the Northern Fleet of the USSR was stationed, at any cost. The German command's plan was to to break through the Soviet defence, deprive the USSR of access to the Arctic Ocean and advance to the east with Finland fighting side by side with the Nazis and pursuing its goal to occupy the Kola Peninsula and Soviet Karelia.
⚔️ Hitler threw Army "Norway" (97 thousand strong) to achieve this goals against the 14th Army of the Northern Front, a little over 50,000 people. The offensive of the united German-Finnish forces lasted a week, despite numerical advantage ultimately failed and stalled, not able to overcome the Red Army's resistance. They were forced to engage and retain defensive positions, while being bogged down in the Arctic for a prolonged period.
Yet the Nazis did not abandon attempts to if not capture Murmansk, then destroy it. Residential quarters were mercilessly bombed. All in all the Luftwaffe performed 792 air raids, having dropped 207 thousand bombs. To give this a perspective: by sheer density of air strikes Murmansk is second only to Stalingrad.
Finland's forced withdrawal from the war in autumn 1944 created favourable conditions for the Red Army to go on the offensive. In the course of the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation Soviet forces not only liberated the occupied areas of the Soviet Polar Regions but also provided invaluable assistance in the liberation of Norway.
⭐️ In total, more than 67 thousand Soviet soldiers perished in the battles at this war theatre. On December 5, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR established the medal "For the Defence of the Soviet Polar Region", which was awarded to about 353 thousand people.
Contemporary Norwegian politician Just Lippe of the time wrote back in the day: "The Soviet army came to Norway not only as a military force, but also as a friend of the Norwegian people". In Oslo, Kirkenes, Budø, Elvenes and a number of other cities there are monuments to our soldiers with the innoscription "Norway thanks you".
However, today, where the Soviet heroes selflessly & valiantly fought, including for the liberation of Norway, NATO troops regularly conduct anti-Russian military exercises and build-up military potential quite reminiscent of what the Third Reich did, while true pages of our common history are being torn apart and forgotten. That we won't allow ☝️ as #WeRemember
#Victory79
It lasted until 1 November 1944 and culminated in a decisive Red Army's victory over the Nazis and their cronies. The war theatre of the its initial part comprised the Murmansk region, Karelia, Barents, White and Kara Seas.
The Third Reich sought to capture the Kola Peninsula and Murmansk, the country's only ice-free port beyond the Arctic Circle, where the Northern Fleet of the USSR was stationed, at any cost. The German command's plan was to to break through the Soviet defence, deprive the USSR of access to the Arctic Ocean and advance to the east with Finland fighting side by side with the Nazis and pursuing its goal to occupy the Kola Peninsula and Soviet Karelia.
⚔️ Hitler threw Army "Norway" (97 thousand strong) to achieve this goals against the 14th Army of the Northern Front, a little over 50,000 people. The offensive of the united German-Finnish forces lasted a week, despite numerical advantage ultimately failed and stalled, not able to overcome the Red Army's resistance. They were forced to engage and retain defensive positions, while being bogged down in the Arctic for a prolonged period.
Yet the Nazis did not abandon attempts to if not capture Murmansk, then destroy it. Residential quarters were mercilessly bombed. All in all the Luftwaffe performed 792 air raids, having dropped 207 thousand bombs. To give this a perspective: by sheer density of air strikes Murmansk is second only to Stalingrad.
Finland's forced withdrawal from the war in autumn 1944 created favourable conditions for the Red Army to go on the offensive. In the course of the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation Soviet forces not only liberated the occupied areas of the Soviet Polar Regions but also provided invaluable assistance in the liberation of Norway.
⭐️ In total, more than 67 thousand Soviet soldiers perished in the battles at this war theatre. On December 5, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR established the medal "For the Defence of the Soviet Polar Region", which was awarded to about 353 thousand people.
Contemporary Norwegian politician Just Lippe of the time wrote back in the day: "The Soviet army came to Norway not only as a military force, but also as a friend of the Norwegian people". In Oslo, Kirkenes, Budø, Elvenes and a number of other cities there are monuments to our soldiers with the innoscription "Norway thanks you".
However, today, where the Soviet heroes selflessly & valiantly fought, including for the liberation of Norway, NATO troops regularly conduct anti-Russian military exercises and build-up military potential quite reminiscent of what the Third Reich did, while true pages of our common history are being torn apart and forgotten. That we won't allow ☝️ as #WeRemember
#Victory79
❤2
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🌟 In Russia, Youth Day is traditionally celebrated on the last Saturday of June. In 2024, the holiday falls on June 29.
In the USSR, there was a similar holiday known as "Soviet Youth Day," which was celebrated on the last Sunday of June starting from 1958.
According to the Federal Law "On Youth Policy in the Russian Federation" dated December 30, 2020, youth is defined as a socio-demographic group comprising individuals aged 14 to 35 years. As per Rosstat (Russian state statistical agency) data, the number of Russians within this age range was 38.843 million as of January 1, 2022.
The primary objectives and directions of youth policy in our country include patriotic and moral education of the younger generation, promoting youth participation in volunteer activities, implementing youth initiatives, creating conditions for sports engagement, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, developing the institution of mentorship, and supporting orphans and children without parental care.
On May 7, 2024, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree "On the National Development Goals of the Russian Federation for the period until 2030 and beyond until 2036." The goals outlined in this document, particularly the realization of each individual's potential, will be reflected in the upcoming national project "Youth and Children," and a Strategy for the Implementation of Youth Policy until 2030 is being formulated.
📝 To support the young population of our country, since 2022, the competition "Youth Capital of Russia" has been held. This status is awarded to a Russian city for outstanding achievements and plans to improve the field of youth policy at the municipal and regional levels.
This year, two cities, Moscow and Vladivostok, have been recognized as Youth Capitals. Today, these cities host meetings with youth associations, concerts, workshops, quizzes, exercise sessions, dance flash mobs, and much more.
Additionally, on Youth Day, special meetings with heroes of the special military operation were held at the "Together with the Motherland" festival venues.
🌍 One of the most prominent international events of 2024 was the World Festival of Youth (#WFY2024), which saw participation from 20,000 young leaders from Russia and abroad in the fields of business, media, international cooperation, culture, science, education, volunteering, and charity, as well as sports.
💬 Russia's commitment to continuing the development of international youth contacts was reaffirmed today by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation:
In the USSR, there was a similar holiday known as "Soviet Youth Day," which was celebrated on the last Sunday of June starting from 1958.
According to the Federal Law "On Youth Policy in the Russian Federation" dated December 30, 2020, youth is defined as a socio-demographic group comprising individuals aged 14 to 35 years. As per Rosstat (Russian state statistical agency) data, the number of Russians within this age range was 38.843 million as of January 1, 2022.
The primary objectives and directions of youth policy in our country include patriotic and moral education of the younger generation, promoting youth participation in volunteer activities, implementing youth initiatives, creating conditions for sports engagement, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, developing the institution of mentorship, and supporting orphans and children without parental care.
On May 7, 2024, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree "On the National Development Goals of the Russian Federation for the period until 2030 and beyond until 2036." The goals outlined in this document, particularly the realization of each individual's potential, will be reflected in the upcoming national project "Youth and Children," and a Strategy for the Implementation of Youth Policy until 2030 is being formulated.
📝 To support the young population of our country, since 2022, the competition "Youth Capital of Russia" has been held. This status is awarded to a Russian city for outstanding achievements and plans to improve the field of youth policy at the municipal and regional levels.
This year, two cities, Moscow and Vladivostok, have been recognized as Youth Capitals. Today, these cities host meetings with youth associations, concerts, workshops, quizzes, exercise sessions, dance flash mobs, and much more.
Additionally, on Youth Day, special meetings with heroes of the special military operation were held at the "Together with the Motherland" festival venues.
🌍 One of the most prominent international events of 2024 was the World Festival of Youth (#WFY2024), which saw participation from 20,000 young leaders from Russia and abroad in the fields of business, media, international cooperation, culture, science, education, volunteering, and charity, as well as sports.
💬 Russia's commitment to continuing the development of international youth contacts was reaffirmed today by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation:
The President decided that we will have a large festival every six years for 20,000 people, and midway through this period, in two to three years, we will have a medium-sized festival for 10,000 people dedicated to a specially chosen theme. Accordingly, in 2026 or 2027, we will have such a festival, which will also host 10,000 people from all over the world.
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🇷🇺🇺🇳 On July 1, Russia assumed the UN Security Council Presidency, which, pursuant to the UN Charter, bears the primary responsibility for finding effective responses to threats to international peace and security.
Three central events have been planned during the Russian presidency:
🗓 July 16 – open ministerial-level debate on multilateral cooperation for a more just, democratic and sustainable world order.
🗓 July 17 – open ministerial-level debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.
🗓 July 19 – debate in the Security Council on UN cooperation with the #CSTO, the #CIS and the #SCO.
The first two events will be chaired by Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.
In general, the Council has a very busy agenda. The mandate-reporting cycle will include meetings on the situation in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, West Africa and the Sahel region, Yemen, Cyprus, Colombia, Lebanon and Syria, as well as on the activities of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.
The mandates of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement and the Security Council sanctions regime against the Central African Republic are scheduled for renewal.
The agenda also includes discussions on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2720 on the humanitarian mechanism for the Gaza Strip to be attended by the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag.
🇷🇺 The Russian Federation as a permanent member of the Security Council and a responsible participant in the international community, will traditionally make every effort to ensure a coherent and expeditious work of this agency. In this connection, Russia will urge its colleagues in the Security Council to seek common denominators, given due account of the interests of all the parties concerned.
Three central events have been planned during the Russian presidency:
🗓 July 16 – open ministerial-level debate on multilateral cooperation for a more just, democratic and sustainable world order.
🗓 July 17 – open ministerial-level debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.
🗓 July 19 – debate in the Security Council on UN cooperation with the #CSTO, the #CIS and the #SCO.
The first two events will be chaired by Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.
In general, the Council has a very busy agenda. The mandate-reporting cycle will include meetings on the situation in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, West Africa and the Sahel region, Yemen, Cyprus, Colombia, Lebanon and Syria, as well as on the activities of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.
The mandates of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement and the Security Council sanctions regime against the Central African Republic are scheduled for renewal.
The agenda also includes discussions on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2720 on the humanitarian mechanism for the Gaza Strip to be attended by the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag.
🇷🇺 The Russian Federation as a permanent member of the Security Council and a responsible participant in the international community, will traditionally make every effort to ensure a coherent and expeditious work of this agency. In this connection, Russia will urge its colleagues in the Security Council to seek common denominators, given due account of the interests of all the parties concerned.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#Opinion
✍️ Dmitry Trenin, a research professor at the Higher School of Economics and a lead research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, member of the Russian International Affairs Council.
Europe will eventually have to choose between the US and BRICS
Read in full
Key points:
💬 Rather than setting out to organize a genuine multipolar system based on mutual recognition of each nation’s core interests, <...> the US proceeded to enhance its exclusive and comprehensive dominance.
• This year, at the #BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan, the group will for the first time include the leaders of Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Another major Eurasian institution is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (#SCO) <...> to be admitted soon. A number of other Eurasian countries, from Turkey to Thailand and from the Malpes to Mongolia, have voiced their intention to join either BRICS or SCO.
• To counter that trend among the members of what we increasingly call the World Majority, Washington has raised the profile of NATO in the Indo-Pacific; strengthened its Cold War-era bilateral and trilateral alliances in the Western Pacific, and founded a new one, #AUKUS, in the South Pacific.
❗️ All these multiple arrangements are completely dominated by the US and are aimed at containing and deterring Washington’s designated primary adversaries: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea – with one overriding goal of defending America’s hegemonic position.
• In contrast to that, neither BRICS nor the SCO is dominated by a single power, or a tandem/triumvirate of nations. BRICS’s recent expansion also suggests that it does not aspire to become a version of the West’s G7, as an elitist steering group, or directoire, for the non-Western world.
• Neither BRICS nor the SCO is overtly anti-American or anti-Western: their main focus is internal rather than external, and they have their work cut out for them.
• The emerging mutual security space within the SCO will make the continent – minus Western Europe, for the time being – far more stable, whether in terms of strategic stability in major-power relations, regional security systems, or the risks of terrorism.
☝️ Eventually, the countries of Western Europe – or far western Eurasia, if you like – will have to make a choice between staying in the US orbit as America’s power continues to shrink, or reaching out east to a vast and vibrant new world next door.
✍️ Dmitry Trenin, a research professor at the Higher School of Economics and a lead research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, member of the Russian International Affairs Council.
Europe will eventually have to choose between the US and BRICS
Read in full
Key points:
💬 Rather than setting out to organize a genuine multipolar system based on mutual recognition of each nation’s core interests, <...> the US proceeded to enhance its exclusive and comprehensive dominance.
• This year, at the #BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan, the group will for the first time include the leaders of Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Another major Eurasian institution is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (#SCO) <...> to be admitted soon. A number of other Eurasian countries, from Turkey to Thailand and from the Malpes to Mongolia, have voiced their intention to join either BRICS or SCO.
• To counter that trend among the members of what we increasingly call the World Majority, Washington has raised the profile of NATO in the Indo-Pacific; strengthened its Cold War-era bilateral and trilateral alliances in the Western Pacific, and founded a new one, #AUKUS, in the South Pacific.
❗️ All these multiple arrangements are completely dominated by the US and are aimed at containing and deterring Washington’s designated primary adversaries: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea – with one overriding goal of defending America’s hegemonic position.
• In contrast to that, neither BRICS nor the SCO is dominated by a single power, or a tandem/triumvirate of nations. BRICS’s recent expansion also suggests that it does not aspire to become a version of the West’s G7, as an elitist steering group, or directoire, for the non-Western world.
• Neither BRICS nor the SCO is overtly anti-American or anti-Western: their main focus is internal rather than external, and they have their work cut out for them.
• The emerging mutual security space within the SCO will make the continent – minus Western Europe, for the time being – far more stable, whether in terms of strategic stability in major-power relations, regional security systems, or the risks of terrorism.
☝️ Eventually, the countries of Western Europe – or far western Eurasia, if you like – will have to make a choice between staying in the US orbit as America’s power continues to shrink, or reaching out east to a vast and vibrant new world next door.
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎙 Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia’s answers to media questions on the occasion of assuming UNSC Presidency by Russia (July 1, 2024)
#Ukraine
• President Putin in his recent remarks (of June 14) said that the reality changed, and we are ready anytime not just to interrupt the conflict, but to come to ending it, but the reality should be taken into account. The new reality that emerged during the period between April 22 and July 24. It was rejected by Kiev and by the West. But the problem for them is that the longer this thing continues, the more difficult the situation on the ground for them will be. <...> So, if they don't want to be realistic, let them not be.
• We are discouraging all countries from providing arms for Ukraine. The destiny of the weapons that will be eventually exported to Ukraine is clear. They will be destroyed, as the other weapons that the West and the US are supplying Ukraine with.
#Afghanistan
• The Taliban is de facto the authorities of Afghanistan. <...> You have to recognize this fact and deal with them as such.
• The rights of women and girls in Afghanistan should be observed and the government in Afghanistan should be inclusive, inclusive not just by nationalities, but by the political spectrum that exists to represent the country fully. The case today that it is not the fact and we have to accept it for the time being and continue pragmatic dealing with the current Afghan authorities.
#Syria
• You mentioned foreign presence in Syria. Yes, indeed. There are many foreign armies there; most of them are deployed there illegally. For example, the US that justifies its presence in Syria by Article 51 of the Charter. I wonder how Article 51 of the Charter works for the US in Syria.
The Syrian conflict is not ending because the reality on the ground is not changing. The Syrian government is subject to numerous <...> sanctions, unilateral coercive measures, with most of them originating in the West of course.
Read in full
#Ukraine
• President Putin in his recent remarks (of June 14) said that the reality changed, and we are ready anytime not just to interrupt the conflict, but to come to ending it, but the reality should be taken into account. The new reality that emerged during the period between April 22 and July 24. It was rejected by Kiev and by the West. But the problem for them is that the longer this thing continues, the more difficult the situation on the ground for them will be. <...> So, if they don't want to be realistic, let them not be.
• We are discouraging all countries from providing arms for Ukraine. The destiny of the weapons that will be eventually exported to Ukraine is clear. They will be destroyed, as the other weapons that the West and the US are supplying Ukraine with.
#Afghanistan
• The Taliban is de facto the authorities of Afghanistan. <...> You have to recognize this fact and deal with them as such.
• The rights of women and girls in Afghanistan should be observed and the government in Afghanistan should be inclusive, inclusive not just by nationalities, but by the political spectrum that exists to represent the country fully. The case today that it is not the fact and we have to accept it for the time being and continue pragmatic dealing with the current Afghan authorities.
#Syria
• You mentioned foreign presence in Syria. Yes, indeed. There are many foreign armies there; most of them are deployed there illegally. For example, the US that justifies its presence in Syria by Article 51 of the Charter. I wonder how Article 51 of the Charter works for the US in Syria.
The Syrian conflict is not ending because the reality on the ground is not changing. The Syrian government is subject to numerous <...> sanctions, unilateral coercive measures, with most of them originating in the West of course.
Read in full
Совместный проект Фонда поддержки и защиты прав соотечественников, проживающих за рубежом, Фонда исследования проблем демократии и Общественной палаты Российской Федерации – выставка «Люди новых регионов»
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