🎙 President Vladimir Putin answered questions from journalist Pavel Zarubin (February 14, 2024)

Key talking points:

❗️ We have been constantly deceived about NATO’s non-expansion to the east. NATO proceeded to expand five times, completely deceiving us.

🔹 We did not initiate this war; rather, we are striving to end it. During the first phase, we tried to achieve this through peaceful means, specifically, through the Minsk agreements. However, it became apparent that we had been given the runaround once again. Both the former German Chancellor and the former President of France admitted and publicly stated that they had never intended to honour the agreements.

🔹 German Foreign Minister and people like her, are, of course, hostile towards Russia. In my opinion, she is also hostile towards her own country because it is hard to imagine such a high-ranking politician treating the economic interests of her country and people with such disdain.

🔹 Exceptionalism of certain nations, as compared to others, is found in many countries these days. This is how Nazism started. Now that this has become so widespread, it would be appropriate to conduct this anti-fascist and anti-Nazi propaganda and work at the same global level.

🔹 I believe that there is absolutely no point in NATO. Its only purpose is to serve as a tool of US foreign policy. If the United States considers this tool no longer necessary, that is their decision.

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🎙️Комментарий Посольства России о заявлениях британских официальных лиц в поддержку Украины

Выступая за военную помощь режиму В.Зеленского, Д.Кэмерон так же потворствует нацизму, как и его предшественники в высших эшелонах британской власти почти 90 лет назад. От последствий их шагов мир содрогается до сих пор.

▪︎Британские официальные лица продолжают обрабатывать западных союзников, добиваясь продолжения военной помощи своим ставленникам в Киеве. Особенно упорствует глава Форин Офиса Д.Кэмерон, старательно доказывающий заокеанским парламентариям, что отчисления киевской военщине – на редкость «удачная инвестиция» в безопасность коллективного Запада.

▪︎Эти циничные подсчеты служат наглядным подтверждением безразличия Лондона к судьбам украинцев, жизни которых рассматриваются в качестве дешевого «расходного материала» в сдерживании России.

▪︎Не в первый раз в статьях и заявлениях главы британской дипломатии видим аналогии – на грани фола – с 1930-ми гг., когда ряд европейских стран, включая Великобританию, пошли на преступный «Мюнхенский сговор». Пожертвовав Чехословакией, в Лондоне и Париже стремились не столько «умиротворить» нацистскую Германию, сколько направить ее агрессию на Восток, к границам Советского союза.

☝️Приветствуем стремление Д.Кэмерона освежить в памяти коллег наиболее позорные страницы британской истории. Однако, похоже, в Лондоне извлекли неверные уроки из событий прошлого.

❗В свете очередного террористического ракетного удара ВСУ по мирному Белгороду, приведшего к многочисленным жертвам и раненым, призываем главу Форин Офиса называть вещи своими именами: ратуя за военную помощь режиму В.Зеленского, он так же потворствует нацизму, как и его предшественники в высших эшелонах британской власти почти 90 лет назад. От последствий их шагов мир содрогается до сих пор.

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🎙Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the presentation of the collection of documents noscriptd Crimea in Russia’s Development: History, Politics, Diplomacy. Documents from the Foreign Ministry Archives, Moscow (February 15, 2024)

💬 This publication has been released for the tenth Anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia, which we will celebrate next month.

<...>

In his famous Crimean Speech of March 18, 2014, President Vladimir Putin said: “We could not leave this plea unheeded; we could not abandon Crimea and its residents in distress. This would have been betrayal on our part.”

The way the dramatic events have been unfolding in Ukraine demonstrates that reunification with Russia was the only right and possible option for the people of Crimea. Taking this step was consistent with the historical logic of events and the fundamental interests of the people living on this Russian peninsula.

This is the message conveyed by the collection we are presenting today. In particular, it offers unique and convincing documentary evidence demonstrating the unbreakable bond linking Crimea’s destiny to Russia.

📜 The documents in this book include treaties, declarations, diplomatic messages, letters and telegrams. <...> This covers a historical era of over 200 years, marked by momentous accomplishments, including:

• the steady expansion of Russian influence over the peninsula,
• Crimea’s accession to the Russian Empire,
• the construction of new cities there,
• the emergence of the Black Sea fleet,
• the heroic defence of Sevastopol,
• the establishment of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

🇷🇺 Today, Russia is making great efforts to revive the love for Russian history and preserve the truth about its great past. This collection contains original documents from the Foreign Ministry Archives and seeks to make a constructive and useful contribution to these important efforts.

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🎙️Russian Embassy comment on statements by British officials in support of Ukraine

Against the backdrop of yet another terrorist missile attack by the armed forces of Ukraine against the peaceful city of Belgorod, which resulted in numerous dead and wounded, we call on the Foreign Secretary to call a spade a spade: in advocating military assistance to the Zelensky regime, he is condoning Nazism, much like his predecessors in the highest echelons of British power almost 90 years ago.

The world is still quivering from the shocking consequences of their missteps.

***

▪︎British officials continue to plead with their Western allies to keep on providing military aid to their Kiev proxies. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron is particularly persistent, diligently explaining to US Congressmen that donations to the Kiev military are an extremely “successful investment” towards the security of the collective West. These cynical calculations clearly confirm London’s indifference to the fate of ordinary Ukrainians, whose lives are viewed as expendable.

▪︎This is not the first time that the top British diplomat pronounces historical parallels – almost going over the top - with the 1930s, when a number of European countries, including Great Britain itself, arranged the criminal “Munich Agreement”. By sacrificing Czechoslovakia, London and Paris sought not so much to “appease” Nazi Germany as to direct its aggression to the East, towards the borders of the Soviet Union.

▪︎We welcome the desire of another British lord, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, to refresh his colleagues’ memory about the most shameful pages of British history. However, London appears to have learned the wrong lessons from past events.

➡️Read in full

💬 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

The instant reaction of the NATO leaders to the news of Alexey Navalny's demise in the form of direct accusations against Russia is self-exposing.

There is no forensic medical examination data available, yet the West has already made & voiced its "conclusions"

⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement on the Kiev regime’s latest atrocity

The Kiev criminal regime has once again revealed its neo-Nazi essence to the world.

During the day on February 15, Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out another large-scale attack on civilian areas in Belgorod. According to preliminary reports, six people were killed, including one child, and 17 were injured, four of whom were minors. Residential buildings, an industrial enterprise, a number of cars, and a store were damaged. This attack had no military significance.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, on the same day, air defence systems successfully intercepted 14 rockets launched from Ukrainian RM-70 Vampire MLRS in the airspace over the Belgorod Region.

❗️ The Foreign Ministry strongly condemns this heinous crime against civilians and civilian infrastructure. The attack will be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators will face severe punishment.

It is clear that the Kiev Nazis, having suffered numerous defeats on the battlefield, have chosen to unleash their anger on peaceful Russian citizens. The latest terrorist attack by the Banderites has once again exposed the criminal role of the collective West led by the US, which continues to pump the Nazi regime with deadly weapons that are used against innocent civilians.

☝️ We call on the international community to condemn this outrageous criminal act. We intend to bring this matter for discussion at the UN Security Council and other international bodies.

Outrageous cynicism

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with National Public Radio, “the US is actively seeking confirmation of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's (placed on the terrorist and extremist register) reported death. If it's confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “his death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this."

The death of a person is always a tragedy.

One could wonder why the White House and the State Department found the death of a Russian citizen in a Russian correctional facility much more important and horrific than the death of an US citizen, journalist Gonzalo Lira, who was tortured to death in a Ukrainian prison?

Instead of making sweeping accusations, they (US officials) should have shown restraint and waited for the official results of the forensic medical examination.

The way the Western leaders, politicians and media have responded to the news of Alexei Navalny's death has once again revealed their hypocrisy, cynicism and lack of principles. This is the “blame Russia first” approach in action. With a prepped noscript ready for every situation.

Let's look at the timeline. 👇

Today at approximately 2:19 pm, the website operated by the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area reported the death of convict Alexey Navalny in Prison Colony No. 3.

Literally 15 minutes later, a flurry of carbon-copy accusations poured in:

- 2:35 pm, Tobias Billström: “Terrible news about Navalny. If the information about his death in a Russian prison is confirmed, it will be another heinous crime by Putin's regime”;
- 2:35 pm, Barth Eide: “I’m deeply saddened by the news of Navalny's death. The Russian government bears a heavy burden of responsibility for this”;
- 2:41 pm, Edgars Rinkevics: “Whatever your thoughts about Alexei Navalny as a politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That's a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia's current regime”;
- 2:50 pm, Jan Lipavsky: “Russia still treats foreign policy issues the same way it treats its citizens. It has turned into a violent state that kills people who dream of a beautiful, better future, such as Nemtsov and now Navalny, who was imprisoned and tortured to death”;
- 2:51 pm, Stéphane Séjourné: “Navalny paid with his life to fight against a system of oppression. His death in a penal colony reminds us of the realities of Vladimir Putin's regime”;
- 3:02 pm, Charles Michel: “The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death”;
- 3:10 pm Kiev regime kingpin Zelensky: “Clearly, he was killed by Putin, like thousands of others who were tortured to death”;
- 3:16 pm (media), 4:50 pm (social media), Jens Stoltenberg: “We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the questions”;
- 3:20 pm, Mark Rutte: “Navalny's death once again bears witness to the immense brutality of the Russian regime”;
- 3:30 pm, Maia Sandu: “Navalny's death in a Russian prison is a reminder of the regime's egregious suppression of dissent”;
- 3:35 pm, Annalena Baerbock: “Like no one else, Alexei Navalny was a symbol for a free and democratic Russia. That is precisely the reason he had to die”;
- 3:43 pm, Ursula von der Leyen: “A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about”;
- 3:49 pm, Ulf Kristersson: “The Russian authorities, and President Putin personally, are responsible for Alexei Navalny no longer being alive”;
- 3:14 pm, Olaf Scholz: “He has now paid for this courage with his life. This terrible news demonstrates once again how Russia has changed and what kind of regime is in power in Moscow”;
- 3:25 pm, Antony Blinken: “Beyond that, his death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia bears responsibility for this”;
- 5:28 pm, Emmanuel Macron: “In today's Russia, free spirits are put in the Gulag and sentenced to death”;

Within a short period of time, two hours as a matter of fact (starting at 2:19 pm), Western politicians and their subordinate media managed, it appears, to get the results of a forensic examination that has yet to take place, to investigate, to indict Moscow and to render a verdict.

There is no explanation other than to assume these responses were prepared in advance.

Perhaps we could believe this unbelievable, seemingly miraculous swiftness had the whole world not witnessed the months-long, toothless “investigation” into the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines, which fizzled out eventually.

What distinguishes all these statements is the glaring absence of even a suggestion of perhaps... waiting until the results of a forensic examination and investigation are available.

О вызове руководства Посольства в Форин Офис

▪︎16 февраля с.г. советник-посланник Посольства действительно был приглашен на беседу в МИД Великобритании.

▪︎В ходе встречи британская сторона озвучила ряд предвзятых и оторванных от реальности оценок ситуации, связанной со смертью гражданина А.Навального, а также попыталась без всяких на то оснований возложить на российские власти ответственность за произошедшее.

▪︎В этой связи с российской стороны была подчеркнута категорическая неприемлемость попыток Великобритании вмешиваться в сугубо внутреннее дело нашей страны.

☝️Для нас очевидны конфронтационные геополитические цели, которые преследует местный политический истеблишмент, занимаясь тиражированием ангажированных антироссийских инсинуаций еще до официального установления всех обстоятельств произошедшего.

❗Подчеркнуто, что у России также накопилось немало вопросов к Лондону, в частности по теме мнимого «отравления» А.Навального в 2020 г.

#Food4Thought #Think4Yourself

🇷🇺🇬🇧 The centuries-long history of Russian-British relations is fraught with controversy. It has had its ups and downs: periods of consolidation in the face of a common threat and times of clandestine or open confrontation. Long story short - a rather complicated relationship.

The British has continuously interfered in the internal affairs of our country, playing various political forces against others. The old Roman principle Divide et Impera has been embraced by the British Empire as the main policy of the colonial power and used by London ever since, peppered with endless hoaxes and provocations.

A PURELY ENGLISH PROVOCATION
Part 1 of a 10-episode documentary series «Russia – England. Loveless Deceit»

📺 The "Loveless Deceit" investigative documentary series explores history and exposes the real incentives behind Britain's approach towards relations with Russia.

👉 Duplicity of the Western MSM led by US outlets condensed in one picture: double standards, hypocrisy, cynicism and lack of principles.

⚡️ Russian Defence Ministry:

🇷🇺 #Avdeevka (~31,75 sq km) has been liberated from the Ukrainian nationalists and neo-Nazis.

This will allow to move the frontline further away from Donetsk and decrease the number of terrorist attacks against its residents.

Full Russian MoD statement to be released shortly.

#Opinion by Maria Zakharova

💬 Every year at the UN General Assembly session, the US votes against the annual resolution "On combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to the escalation of modern forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and associated intolerance".

Their official reason against it is a violation of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Here is an indicative example of how freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are exercised in the US: on February 17, a neo-Nazi group called Blood Tribe held a march in Nashville from the local Capitol to downtown. They held their rally right outside administrative buildings and then proceeded to walk through the central streets of the capital of Tennessee. They had "2218" written on their backs, which, apparently, is a code for the neo-Nazi chant, "Bring back Adolf Hitler."

Of course, this event will be met with silence. The White House and multiple public organisations will just let it slide. Israel will not comment either. In their view, it is something different from Nazism or racism.

These are simply free people in a free country, freely taking a stroll. All this can be explained through the prism of the new normality: according to the Supreme Court of Italy, a Hitler salute is now considered a Roman salute and no longer a crime. Similarly, the swastika, one of the symbols of the Third Reich, is now viewed as an ancient symbol of kindness.

The people for the most part remain silent. For some, this is merely entertainment that they can capture on their phones, akin to Halloween, pride parades or the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan. In these videos, only one courageous person dared to ask the Nazis to show their faces and told them that they were a disgrace to their grandfathers. What naivete. The Nazis can see that monuments dedicated to some grandfathers are being demolished while other grandfathers are being applauded in the Canadian parliament. This is why they are glorifying the grandfathers like Christya Freeland's or Annalena Baerbock's. This behaviour is echoed by all NATO bosses, led by the US.

Look carefully: nobody is calling the police. This is because everybody is free to act as they please. For some reason, this freedom seems to apply only to malevolent forces like neo-Nazism, gender experiments on children, drug legalisation, satanism and others.

All that was once taboo to humanity, pushed into a metaphorical lamp like an evil genie and cast into the sea, seemingly forever, has been unleashed by American freedom.

But resisting evil, according to this American freedom, is now seen as a violation of liberties.

🎙️Ambassador Andrei Kelin’s interview to Sky News:

After the coup d'état in Kiev in February 2014, the Kiev regime set out to resolve the Donbass issue by force, not by negotiations with the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, not by implementing the Minsk Agreements.

☝️We advocated for the peaceful resolution of this situation, although it was very difficult. Despite this, Kiev made the decision to use force against those living in the Donbass region.

➡️Watch the interview

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, February 14, 2024)

🔹 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 MFA’s preparations for holding the Presidential election abroad
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Moldova
🔹 Attacks on Russian Orthodox Church congregations in Denmark
🔹 Promoting A.Hitler’s legacy in Germany
🔹 Recognising the genocide of the Soviet peoples during the Great Patriotic War
🔹 The collective West’s neo-colonial policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina
🔹 Lack of reaction from the OSCE to discrimination against Russian and the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States

📰 Read in full
📺 Watch

***

#Ukraine

The West continues to overlook the terrorist actions of the Kiev junta, turning a blind eye to all their criminal activities and the threats to commit them. Ukrainian Minister for Digital Transformation, Mikhail Fyodorov, attracted attention by making a brigandish statement that resembled the rhetoric of Al-Qaeda and ISIS (organisations that are banned and globally recognised as terrorist). He went as far as promising major explosions throughout Russia.

There should be no illusions that the Kiev regime will escape accountability for such statements and malevolent actions.

#BosniaAndHerzegovina

They [illegal actions by the Western parties’ multilateral efforts] are guided by a Less Dayton – More Brussels motto, and acting in gross violation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitutional provisions, which guarantee equality for the three state-forming peoples and the country’s two entities. They are pressuring the country into accepting a Western neo-liberal pseudo-civilian social model while failing to take into account the historical, political, cultural, religious and administrative factors that have defined the way the state in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been developing.

❗️ They are open about imposing their priorities on sovereign Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving it no option other than to follow the EU and NATO in their policies while sacrificing ties with third parties.