🗓 Today the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) kicked off in Russia's northern capital, welcoming over 20,000 participants from 140 countries and territories.
With broad international representation — from the CIS and BRICS to ASEAN, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America — SPIEF remains one of the world's leading platforms for global economic dialogue and fostering business cooperation.
Running from 18 to 21 June, this year's Forum centres on charting a path toward sustainable development amid mounting global uncertainty. The programme features more than 150 events covering pressing issues such as digital transformation, green economy, healthcare, regional development and technological innovation.
On 20 June, President Vladimir Putin is set to deliver a keynote address during the forum’s plenary session.
Stay tuned for updates and insights from St. Petersburg 👉 forumspb.com/en
📸 © Roscongress
With broad international representation — from the CIS and BRICS to ASEAN, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America — SPIEF remains one of the world's leading platforms for global economic dialogue and fostering business cooperation.
Running from 18 to 21 June, this year's Forum centres on charting a path toward sustainable development amid mounting global uncertainty. The programme features more than 150 events covering pressing issues such as digital transformation, green economy, healthcare, regional development and technological innovation.
On 20 June, President Vladimir Putin is set to deliver a keynote address during the forum’s plenary session.
Stay tuned for updates and insights from St. Petersburg 👉 forumspb.com/en
📸 © Roscongress
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📺 Watch Ambassador Andrei Kelin's interview with CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour (19 June 2025)
Key talking points:
• For Ukraine, there is a choice: either they accept our conditions now — and there will be a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive settlement — or we will continue our advance, and Ukraine will have to surrender under much worse conditions.
• Ukraine should not be part of NATO because it is threatening us. Basic human rights must be re-established in Ukraine for everyone, including Russians, Hungarians and Poles living there.
• This [attack on Iran] is an unprovoked strike by Israel, which has always denied to take any obligations under the non-proliferation regime.
• Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons. Its purpose is [to use nuclear technologies] for domestic consumption and energy needs. What is going on is a terrible escalation because <...> it can lead to [nuclear] contamination in the region.
• If required, we can offer mediation [between Israel and Iran]. There are important actors in the Middle East and beyond who would welcome these efforts.
Watch the interview on our YouTube channel
Key talking points:
• For Ukraine, there is a choice: either they accept our conditions now — and there will be a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive settlement — or we will continue our advance, and Ukraine will have to surrender under much worse conditions.
• Ukraine should not be part of NATO because it is threatening us. Basic human rights must be re-established in Ukraine for everyone, including Russians, Hungarians and Poles living there.
• This [attack on Iran] is an unprovoked strike by Israel, which has always denied to take any obligations under the non-proliferation regime.
• Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons. Its purpose is [to use nuclear technologies] for domestic consumption and energy needs. What is going on is a terrible escalation because <...> it can lead to [nuclear] contamination in the region.
• If required, we can offer mediation [between Israel and Iran]. There are important actors in the Middle East and beyond who would welcome these efforts.
Watch the interview on our YouTube channel
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🎙 Excerpt from President Vladimir Putin's remarks at the meeting with heads of the world's leading news agencies (19 June 2025)
💬 We do not view NATO's rearmament as a threat to the Russian Federation. Our security is fully self-reliant, and we are continuously enhancing both our Armed Forces and our overall defence capabilities.
Whatever actions NATO takes inevitably pose certain risks, but we will effectively counter any threats that may emerge; there is no doubt about that. In this context, efforts to rearm or raise military spending to 5% of GDP by NATO member countries are meaningless.
For centuries, the notion of a threat from Russia has periodically resurfaced in the West. Western elites have long found it convenient to invoke this perceived threat as a tool for shaping domestic policy. By pointing to an imagined danger from the East, they could justify extracting more funds from taxpayers and deflect blame for their own economic mistakes.
It is evident that the current crisis in relations between Russia and Western Europe effectively began in 2014. However, the issue is not that Russia, as it were, incorporated Crimea, but rather that Western countries facilitated a coup d’état in Ukraine. <...>
NATO countries currently spend $1.4 trillion on defence, more than the rest of the world combined, including Russia and the People’s Republic of China. <...> Our military spending is not even remotely comparable. And we are the ones supposedly planning an attack on NATO? It is absurd.
Everyone understands it is absurd. But people are being misled to justify inflated defence budgets – 3.5%, 5% of GDP – and to distract from failures in the economy and social sphere. <...>
☝️ If NATO countries choose to further increase their defence spending, that is their decision. But it won’t benefit anyone. On the contrary, it will only increase risks. <...> It is irrational and pointless.
Read in full
💬 We do not view NATO's rearmament as a threat to the Russian Federation. Our security is fully self-reliant, and we are continuously enhancing both our Armed Forces and our overall defence capabilities.
Whatever actions NATO takes inevitably pose certain risks, but we will effectively counter any threats that may emerge; there is no doubt about that. In this context, efforts to rearm or raise military spending to 5% of GDP by NATO member countries are meaningless.
For centuries, the notion of a threat from Russia has periodically resurfaced in the West. Western elites have long found it convenient to invoke this perceived threat as a tool for shaping domestic policy. By pointing to an imagined danger from the East, they could justify extracting more funds from taxpayers and deflect blame for their own economic mistakes.
It is evident that the current crisis in relations between Russia and Western Europe effectively began in 2014. However, the issue is not that Russia, as it were, incorporated Crimea, but rather that Western countries facilitated a coup d’état in Ukraine. <...>
NATO countries currently spend $1.4 trillion on defence, more than the rest of the world combined, including Russia and the People’s Republic of China. <...> Our military spending is not even remotely comparable. And we are the ones supposedly planning an attack on NATO? It is absurd.
Everyone understands it is absurd. But people are being misled to justify inflated defence budgets – 3.5%, 5% of GDP – and to distract from failures in the economy and social sphere. <...>
☝️ If NATO countries choose to further increase their defence spending, that is their decision. But it won’t benefit anyone. On the contrary, it will only increase risks. <...> It is irrational and pointless.
Read in full
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🕯 22 июня в России отмечается День памяти и скорби.
В этот день в 1941 году нацистская Германия и её союзники вероломно напали на Советский Союз. Так началась Великая Отечественная война – самая страшная и кровавая страница нашей истории. Этот разрушительный конфликт длился 1418 дней и унёс жизни около 27 миллионов советских граждан.
Сегодня мы вспоминаем всех, кто погиб, защищая Родину. Всех, кто сражался, терпел, страдал… И тех, кто оказался далеко от дома — но не забыт.
В настоящее время на территории Соединённого Королевства насчитывается 18 официально подтвержденных захоронений советских граждан, погибших в годы Второй мировой войны.
Места их погребения расположены в Шефтсбери, Тидворте, Олдершоте, Хартлпуле, Харрогейте, Лидсе, Хаддерсфилде, Ливерпуле и Честере. Они являются молчаливым свидетельством нашей общей истории и напоминанием о цене, которую пришлось заплатить за Победу.
Никто не забыт, ничто не забыто!
#МыПомним
В этот день в 1941 году нацистская Германия и её союзники вероломно напали на Советский Союз. Так началась Великая Отечественная война – самая страшная и кровавая страница нашей истории. Этот разрушительный конфликт длился 1418 дней и унёс жизни около 27 миллионов советских граждан.
Сегодня мы вспоминаем всех, кто погиб, защищая Родину. Всех, кто сражался, терпел, страдал… И тех, кто оказался далеко от дома — но не забыт.
В настоящее время на территории Соединённого Королевства насчитывается 18 официально подтвержденных захоронений советских граждан, погибших в годы Второй мировой войны.
Места их погребения расположены в Шефтсбери, Тидворте, Олдершоте, Хартлпуле, Харрогейте, Лидсе, Хаддерсфилде, Ливерпуле и Честере. Они являются молчаливым свидетельством нашей общей истории и напоминанием о цене, которую пришлось заплатить за Победу.
Никто не забыт, ничто не забыто!
#МыПомним
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
◼️ June 22 is the #DayOfMemoryAndSorrow in Russia, the the most tragic date in the modern history of our country.
On this day 8️⃣4️⃣ years ago — on June 22, 1941 — the Soviet Union was attacked, unprovoked and without a declaration of war, by the Nazi Germany and its European cronies, which unleashed the full might of its vicious war machine. For our people on that day the Great Patriotic War began — the bloodiest and most brutal, devastating and terrible war, which lasted 1418 days and claimed lives of some 27 million Soviet citizens.
Obsessed with the ideas of racial superiority, the Hitlerites and their henchmen in Europe planned to wipe entire nations off the face of the Earth, and the survivors left — to turn into slaves of the Third Reich. The Germans invaded our country with one goal — to physically annihilate the Soviet people, to destroy our nation's centuries-old cultural and spiritual heritage — the Nazis and their allies carried out a genocide.
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At dawn at 4 am, the enemy aviation launched massive strikes on airfields, railway stations, Soviet naval bases, deployments of the Red Army forces and cities along the entire western state border of the USSR to a depth of up to 250-300 km. Together with Nazi Germany, Romania, Italy, Finland and other states allied to the Third Reich took part in the aggression. The industries of almost the entire continental Europe served the aggressors.
The people of the USSR were informed on the radio about the attack by the Nazis and, thus, the beginning of the war. At noon on June 22, 1941, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov, on behalf of the Soviet leadership addressed the nation:
It was the Soviet Union that bore the main burden of the Nazi aggression in Europe. It was the Soviet Victorious People who showed unparalleled heroism, courage and fortitude, fighting to the last drop of blood for the freedom of our Motherland, crushed Nazism and saved Europe from the Nazi 'plague'. It was on the Eastern Front of the European theater of #WWII that the Nazis and their henchmen lost more than 75% of their forces fighting the Red Army.
🌟 The Great Victory was achieved at a high price. The Soviet Union's losses amounted to 40% of all human casualties during WWII — almost 27 million people. Of these, more than 8.7 million perished on the battlefield, 7.42 million people were deliberately and cold-bloodedly killed by the Nazis. Over 5 million Soviet citizens were taken into slavery and moved to Germany and Reich-occupied European countries.
To this day June 22 still echoes in the hearts of all Russians with grief, sorrow and pain for the lives lost and fates of entire generations broken. There is no family in our country and in the former Republics of the Soviet Union that was not affected by that terrible war. There is #NoStatuteOfLimitations for the crimes committed by the Nazis and their collaborators on our land. On this day, we bow our heads in memory of our ancestors who perished during the Great Patriotic War.
🎙 Excerpt from the comment by Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the occasion of the Day of Memory and Sorrow (June 21, 2025):
On this day 8️⃣4️⃣ years ago — on June 22, 1941 — the Soviet Union was attacked, unprovoked and without a declaration of war, by the Nazi Germany and its European cronies, which unleashed the full might of its vicious war machine. For our people on that day the Great Patriotic War began — the bloodiest and most brutal, devastating and terrible war, which lasted 1418 days and claimed lives of some 27 million Soviet citizens.
Obsessed with the ideas of racial superiority, the Hitlerites and their henchmen in Europe planned to wipe entire nations off the face of the Earth, and the survivors left — to turn into slaves of the Third Reich. The Germans invaded our country with one goal — to physically annihilate the Soviet people, to destroy our nation's centuries-old cultural and spiritual heritage — the Nazis and their allies carried out a genocide.
2️⃣2️⃣.0️⃣6️⃣.1️⃣9️⃣4️⃣1️⃣
At dawn at 4 am, the enemy aviation launched massive strikes on airfields, railway stations, Soviet naval bases, deployments of the Red Army forces and cities along the entire western state border of the USSR to a depth of up to 250-300 km. Together with Nazi Germany, Romania, Italy, Finland and other states allied to the Third Reich took part in the aggression. The industries of almost the entire continental Europe served the aggressors.
The people of the USSR were informed on the radio about the attack by the Nazis and, thus, the beginning of the war. At noon on June 22, 1941, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov, on behalf of the Soviet leadership addressed the nation:
🎙 "Today, at 4 a.m. in the morning, the German troops have invaded our country, without making any demands on the Soviet Union and without a declaration of war. They have attacked our borders in many places and have subjected our towns to aerial bombardments.
This unheard-of attack on our nation, despite the non-aggression Treaty between the USSR and Germany, is unprecedented in the history of civilized nations."<...>
Our cause is right. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory will be ours!"
It was the Soviet Union that bore the main burden of the Nazi aggression in Europe. It was the Soviet Victorious People who showed unparalleled heroism, courage and fortitude, fighting to the last drop of blood for the freedom of our Motherland, crushed Nazism and saved Europe from the Nazi 'plague'. It was on the Eastern Front of the European theater of #WWII that the Nazis and their henchmen lost more than 75% of their forces fighting the Red Army.
To this day June 22 still echoes in the hearts of all Russians with grief, sorrow and pain for the lives lost and fates of entire generations broken. There is no family in our country and in the former Republics of the Soviet Union that was not affected by that terrible war. There is #NoStatuteOfLimitations for the crimes committed by the Nazis and their collaborators on our land. On this day, we bow our heads in memory of our ancestors who perished during the Great Patriotic War.
🎙 Excerpt from the comment by Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the occasion of the Day of Memory and Sorrow (June 21, 2025):
💬 "Unlike the "collective West", we do not divide the victims of the Nazis into categories — they all deserve justice and for their executioners to be punished.
We, regardless of race, nationality and religion, mourn the 2.6 million Jewish citizens of the USSR, millions of Slavs and representatives of other ethnic groups of the multinational Soviet people who became victims of genocide".
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Russian Foreign Ministry:
❗️ Russia resolutely condemns the United States' strikes on several nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, carried out in the early hours of June 22, following recent attacks by Israel.
This reckless decision to launch missile and aerial strikes on the territory of a sovereign state, regardless of the justifications offered, constitutes a blatant violation of international law, the UN Charter, and relevant resolutions by the UN Security Council, which has consistently and unequivocally deemed such actions unacceptable. Particularly concerning is the fact that the strikes were executed by a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
The consequences of this action, including potential radioactive effects, have yet to be determined. However, it is already evident that a dangerous escalation is underway, one that threatens to further destabilise security both in the region and globally.
This has drastically increased the likelihood of a larger conflict in the Middle East, a region already plagued by numerous crises. <...>
☝️ We call for an immediate end to aggression and for stepping up efforts to bring the situation back onto a peaceful, diplomatic track.
Read in full
❗️ Russia resolutely condemns the United States' strikes on several nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, carried out in the early hours of June 22, following recent attacks by Israel.
This reckless decision to launch missile and aerial strikes on the territory of a sovereign state, regardless of the justifications offered, constitutes a blatant violation of international law, the UN Charter, and relevant resolutions by the UN Security Council, which has consistently and unequivocally deemed such actions unacceptable. Particularly concerning is the fact that the strikes were executed by a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
The consequences of this action, including potential radioactive effects, have yet to be determined. However, it is already evident that a dangerous escalation is underway, one that threatens to further destabilise security both in the region and globally.
This has drastically increased the likelihood of a larger conflict in the Middle East, a region already plagued by numerous crises. <...>
☝️ We call for an immediate end to aggression and for stepping up efforts to bring the situation back onto a peaceful, diplomatic track.
Read in full
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🎙 Statement by Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC briefing following US strikes on Iran (New York, 22 June 2025)
❗️ Russia vehemently condemns the irresponsible, dangerous, and provocative actions taken by the US against Iran. <...>
Washington has yet again demonstrated its complete disregard for the position of the international community and reasserted that to advance the interests of its Israeli ally, it is prepared not only to turn a blind eye to the killings of tens of thousands of Palestinian women, children, and elderly people, but also to gamble with the safety and well-being of all humanity. Through its actions, the US has opened Pandora's box, and no one knows what new consequences this may lead to. <...>
The US is completely unconcerned about either the radiological consequences or the threat to the lives and health of a huge number of civilians, including women and children, in the region and beyond. Much like West Jerusalem, Washington sees itself as the highest judge in the land vested with the right to deliver justice at its sole discretion. Thus, the US reaffirms that in order to preserve its global hegemony, it is ready to commit any crimes and violations of international law.
Let me remind you that no one has ever authorized the US to undertake such actions. We have persistently offered our American colleagues our mediation services so as to find a peaceful and mutually agreeable solution to the contradictions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. But it appears that diplomacy is not what our US colleagues currently need.
Responsibility for all this falls squarely on the shoulders of the American leadership. Especially given that the US leadership has not only publicly acknowledged the responsibility for these actions, but actually flaunted them, demonstrating utter contempt for the norms of international law and the UN Charter. <...>
☝️ Unless we stop the escalation, the Middle East will find itself on the brink of a large-scale conflict, which is fraught with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security architecture. And the whole world could find itself on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe.
We call for an immediate cessation of aggressive actions by Israel and the United States, and we urge all parties to exercise restraint and return into the fold of international diplomacy and negotiations.
Read in full
❗️ Russia vehemently condemns the irresponsible, dangerous, and provocative actions taken by the US against Iran. <...>
Washington has yet again demonstrated its complete disregard for the position of the international community and reasserted that to advance the interests of its Israeli ally, it is prepared not only to turn a blind eye to the killings of tens of thousands of Palestinian women, children, and elderly people, but also to gamble with the safety and well-being of all humanity. Through its actions, the US has opened Pandora's box, and no one knows what new consequences this may lead to. <...>
The US is completely unconcerned about either the radiological consequences or the threat to the lives and health of a huge number of civilians, including women and children, in the region and beyond. Much like West Jerusalem, Washington sees itself as the highest judge in the land vested with the right to deliver justice at its sole discretion. Thus, the US reaffirms that in order to preserve its global hegemony, it is ready to commit any crimes and violations of international law.
Let me remind you that no one has ever authorized the US to undertake such actions. We have persistently offered our American colleagues our mediation services so as to find a peaceful and mutually agreeable solution to the contradictions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. But it appears that diplomacy is not what our US colleagues currently need.
Responsibility for all this falls squarely on the shoulders of the American leadership. Especially given that the US leadership has not only publicly acknowledged the responsibility for these actions, but actually flaunted them, demonstrating utter contempt for the norms of international law and the UN Charter. <...>
☝️ Unless we stop the escalation, the Middle East will find itself on the brink of a large-scale conflict, which is fraught with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security architecture. And the whole world could find itself on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe.
We call for an immediate cessation of aggressive actions by Israel and the United States, and we urge all parties to exercise restraint and return into the fold of international diplomacy and negotiations.
Read in full
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🎙 Excerpt from President Vladimir Putin's remarks at the meeting with graduates of higher military schools (Moscow, 23 June)
💬 We are deeply concerned that some Western political leaders persist in pursuing strategies aimed at delivering a "strategic defeat" to Russia. It appears that history has taught them little.
They continue to supply the current Kiev regime with weapons, financial resources, military-technical assistance, and intelligence support – effectively making themselves direct participants in the conflict.
We know that NATO is expected to unveil an expanded capability enhancement programme at its upcoming summit, which will require increased defence spending from the member states. Currently, NATO countries allocate more resources to military expenditures than the rest of the world's nations combined. This highlights the drivers of the global military escalation and the arms race.
In justifying their plans, the alliance's leadership once again invokes a supposed threat from Russia, suggesting a potential invasion of Europe. They have fabricated this alarming narrative and repeat it year after year to mislead their own populations and secure funding. Yet, once again, we confront the same blatant and shameless falsehoods.
❗️ Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, we remain committed to taking appropriate measures to bolster the security of Russia and our allies while advancing the development of our Armed Forces as a safeguard for Russia's sovereign and independent development.
Read in full
💬 We are deeply concerned that some Western political leaders persist in pursuing strategies aimed at delivering a "strategic defeat" to Russia. It appears that history has taught them little.
They continue to supply the current Kiev regime with weapons, financial resources, military-technical assistance, and intelligence support – effectively making themselves direct participants in the conflict.
We know that NATO is expected to unveil an expanded capability enhancement programme at its upcoming summit, which will require increased defence spending from the member states. Currently, NATO countries allocate more resources to military expenditures than the rest of the world's nations combined. This highlights the drivers of the global military escalation and the arms race.
In justifying their plans, the alliance's leadership once again invokes a supposed threat from Russia, suggesting a potential invasion of Europe. They have fabricated this alarming narrative and repeat it year after year to mislead their own populations and secure funding. Yet, once again, we confront the same blatant and shameless falsehoods.
❗️ Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, we remain committed to taking appropriate measures to bolster the security of Russia and our allies while advancing the development of our Armed Forces as a safeguard for Russia's sovereign and independent development.
Read in full
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🇷🇺 The 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) concluded with more than 1,000 agreements signed worth $80 billion.
The event convened over 24,000 participants from 144 nations, reinforcing the Forum's reputation as a prominent platform for multilateral engagement and international dialogue amid a shifting geopolitical landscape.
The plenary session featured a keynote address from President Vladimir Putin, who outlined Russia's economic trajectory and emphasised the growing relevance of BRICS in a multipolar world.
Notably, this year's agenda was defined by a forward-looking tone, encompassing over 350 events that addressed pressing global issues. With an expanded youth presence from over 220 universities, SPIEF 2025 also reflected a conscious investment in the next generation of global leaders and economic thinkers.
Bahrain was honoured as the guest country this year, with Saudi Arabia set to take the mantle in 2026.
The event convened over 24,000 participants from 144 nations, reinforcing the Forum's reputation as a prominent platform for multilateral engagement and international dialogue amid a shifting geopolitical landscape.
The plenary session featured a keynote address from President Vladimir Putin, who outlined Russia's economic trajectory and emphasised the growing relevance of BRICS in a multipolar world.
Notably, this year's agenda was defined by a forward-looking tone, encompassing over 350 events that addressed pressing global issues. With an expanded youth presence from over 220 universities, SPIEF 2025 also reflected a conscious investment in the next generation of global leaders and economic thinkers.
Bahrain was honoured as the guest country this year, with Saudi Arabia set to take the mantle in 2026.
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