#Opinion by Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

💬 The Telegraph, UK, published a heart-rending story that could well qualify for a Russophobia-of-the-Month prize. It’s about how the Russian Embassy in London had nearly upset the coronation of Charles III in May 2023.

It turns out that an unidentified drone was hovering over the Buckingham Palace during the solemn ceremony. The police, of course, as per modern British tradition to blame the Russians, immediately suspected… the Russian Embassy.

After some time it emerged that the drone had been launched by a certain Walid Marai, 36, a US citizen.

It is not reported whether he was a CIA spy or just wanted to take a photo of Charles III from an unusual angle. What a disappointment! To my mind, this detail would have been of interest for the UK public.

If the #RussiansDidIt version regarding the bogus Russian Embassy involvement had prevailed, Russian diplomats, as usual, would have been expelled. As it is, Walid Marai got off with a £5,000 fine.

🎙️Пресс-подход Посла России А.В.Келина: Нагнетание истерии вокруг потенциального конфликта с Россией

После церемонии возложения венков и цветов к Советскому военному мемориалу в Лондоне по случаю 80-летия полного освобождения Ленинграда от блокады, Посол России в Великобритании А.В.Келин совершил пресс-подход к корреспондентам ведущих российских СМИ и ответил на вопросы относительно нагнетания панических настроений в Европе вокруг потенциального конфликта России с одной из стран-членов НАТО, 27 января 2024 года.

Из заявлений А.В.Келина для СМИ:

Сегодня, в напряженной политической обстановке, мы вдруг услышали призывы готовиться к войне с Россией в неопределённом будущем. Никаких поводов для этого мы не давали.

Очень важно, чтобы, особенно молодые [британские и европейские] политики, знали, учили и запоминали уроки истории. Никто и никогда не смог одержать над нами верх.

Политики, которые даже не помнят про Холодную войну, сейчас делают лихие заявления об укреплении армии и подготовке к конфликту с Россией в обозримой перспективе.

Всё это делается ради одной простой цели - ещё раз попытаться всколыхнуть общество в надежде выжать дополнительные деньги на военные расходы и наращивание потенциала вооруженных сил.

Поставки британцами дополнительных ракет Storm Shadow, если они произойдут, не смогут переломить ход украинского конфликта. Российские военные знают как бороться с данным типом ракет. Кроме того, российские военные постоянно совершенствуют системы РЭБ и возможности для перехвата [ракет, в том числе западного производства].

🇷🇺🇧🇾 President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in Saint Petersburg.

💬 Vladimir Putin: In general, our relations are developing quite rapidly. Over the first ten months of 2023, Russia-Belarus trade amounted to US$42.5 billion, according to our data, and it is constantly growing. Russia is your country’s biggest investor. Russian investors invested US$4 billion in the Belarusian economy.

This is a mutual effort, with Russian companies and businesses operating in Belarus, and our Belarusian friends increasingly showing more active involvement in the Russian market.

📈 Our relations are developing in all areas. I mean not only industrial cooperation, I am also talking about agriculture, science, education, culture – everything is growing at a fast and good pace.

Read in full

#RussiaBelarus

#Opinion by Maria Zakharova

💬 More lunacy of the modern-day Anglo-Saxons.

The other day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau established a working group led by former Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The group will focus exclusively on musings on Donald Trump's potential victory. Ottawa gave the group a hockey-inspired name - Team Canada. Canadian Ambassador to the US Kirsten Hillman will play a key role in it. She is already giving interviews and scaring the country's people about the prospect of a potential Trump win: “I certainly think that it's possible.”

More of the usual election meddling.

Truth be told, the pressure exerted on the audience has borne fruit. Polls show that about two-thirds of Canadians are convinced that US democracy will die if Trump wins the White House again, and about half said that the US is on its way to becoming an authoritarian state.
Canadian diplomats are more scared than anyone.

They reached out to their union - this is not a joke - asking for extra pay to compensate for working in the complex political environment in the US.

They listed the hardships they face in the US such as lack of medical insurance, expensive services, and, most importantly, incessant “mass shootings” at schools and in public places.

The Canadians fear for themselves and their families, and do not want to go to work in the US without extra pay. Next thing you know, the Canadian Foreign Ministry will have to place ads to hire embassy staff.

The US equates diplomatic service in Moscow to that in Kabul, the Central African Republic, or Guinea (Conakry) and pays sizable bonuses for the risk and complexity of the work to personnel stationed in these countries. It appears that the Canadian Foreign Ministry has a similar assessment of the situation in the US.

However, they are still unwilling to go to Washington.

Basically, Canada is interfering in the US elections and working itself up with fear to the point where Canadian diplomats are willing to go work in the States only if they are paid extra.

Unfortunately, CNN and the New York Post are keeping silent about it. Why? Check the noscript of this post.

🇷🇺🇧🇾 Presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko chaired a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus at the Konstantin Palace.

💬 Vladimir Putin: It is noteworthy that the draft Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State in 2024–2026 submitted to the Supreme State Council is aimed at further advancing the comprehensive interaction between the two countries, including in industry, agriculture, energy, transport, logistics, and information.

A new strategy for scientific and technological development of the Union State for the period until 2035 has been submitted for approval. It contains specific steps to strengthen overall technological sovereignty, including the launch of large joint projects for import substitution and the creation of competitive products with high added value.

<...>

🤝 The programme for the Union State’s coordinated foreign policy actions until 2026, prepared for this meeting, will continue and encourage even closer Russia-Belarus coordination in international affairs.

***

📃 Following the meeting, a number of decisions were adopted and relevant documents were signed. The following decrees of the Supreme State Council of the Union State were signed:

• On the Progress on the Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State for 2021–2023 and Union programmes;

• On the Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State for 2024–2026;

• On Certain Issues of Implementing a Common Industrial Policy and the Rules to Confirm the Manufacture of Industrial Products on the Territory of the Union State;

• A resolution On Implementing A Programme for Coordinated Foreign Policy Action by the States – Parties to the Treaty Establishing the Union State for 2022–2023 and A Programme for Coordinated Foreign Policy Action by the States – Parties to the Treaty Establishing the Union State for 2024–2026 was also signed;

and much more.

⚠️ The Kiev regime continues to carry out violent terrorist attacks incited by the collective West, which relentlessly floods the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons and ammunition, sends in foreign mercenaries, and trains Ukrainian military personnel.

▪️ On Jan 12, 2024, a combat drone attacked an ambulance in Golmovsky, a community in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The paramedics were responding to a call to help three wounded power supply workers who were injured in an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

🕯Tragically, a paramedic and a power company employee died in the attack, which also left three more medics wounded. There is no doubt that this was a targeted strike against this ambulance.

▪️In the early hours of Jan 16, 2024, the Kiev regime made a cynical attempt to attack Voronezh with drones, but the air defence forces intercepted them.
However, fragments from the downed UAVs damaged 35 apartments in three apartment blocks, leaving a 10-year-old girl wounded.

▪️On Jan 21, Ukrainian neo-Nazis launched a targeted missile and artillery strike against a farmer’s market and retail outlets in the Tekstilshchik residential area, Kirovsky District, Donetsk. This was the most violent attack in recent years, killing 27 civilians, including two teenagers, and injuring another 25 residents.

▪️The premeditated terrorist attack by Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles launched from the Kharkov Region targeting Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft on January 24 was another heinous crime committed by the Zelensky regime.

🕯 Everyone onboard, including six crew members, three Russian escort officers, and 65 Ukrainian servicemen on their way to a pre-agreed prisoner swap, died on the spot.

▪️ Yesterday, the Ukrainian army yet again shelled the long-suffering Donetsk with MLRS, firing 8 missiles at the densely populated Kalininsky district of the city. Four people were killed, and injuries were also reported.

#KievRegimeCrimes

⚡️ On September 15 to 29 Moscow and Yekaterinburg will host the 2024 #WorldFriendshipGames, a new multi-sport tournament free from any form of discrimination.

Leading athletes from all continents are invited to take part. The only criterion for participation is the athlete's own sporting performance.

🚴‍♂️ The event will feature competitions in 33 summer sports.

🌐 About 7900 athletes from more than 70 countries are expected to take part.

Learn more

🇷🇺🇧🇾 On January 29, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus Sergey Aleinik on the sidelines of the meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State in St Petersburg.

The Ministers exchanged opinions on current issues related to bilateral foreign policy cooperation and integration development. They also coordinated their positions on topical international and regional issues. They agreed to continue close coordination and mutual support in advancing shared interests at multilateral platforms.

📃 During the meeting, Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Aleinik reported on the progress made in implementing the 2022-2023 programme of coordinated foreign policy actions by the countries parties to the Treaty on Establishing the Union State. They presented a similar new programme, signed on December 15, 2023, following a joint meeting of the boards of the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Belarus in Moscow and due to be implemented in 2024-2026. The document, which reflects both countries’ new joint priorities on the international stage, was approved by a resolution of the Supreme State Council of the Union State.

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, January 26, 2024)

🔹 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 Organising the Russian presidential election abroad
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Terrorist attacks of the Kiev regime
🔹 NATO military exercise - Steadfast Defender 2024
🔹 EU - agricultural problems
🔹 Anti-Serbian repression in Kosovo
🔹 The Day of Lifting the Siege of Leningrad
🔹 International Holocaust Remembrance Day

📰 Read in full
📺 Watch

▪️ #Ukraine #Terrorism

On January 21, Ukrainian neo-Nazis launched a targeted missile and artillery strike against a farmer’s market and retail outlets in the Tekstilshchik residential area, Kirovsky District, Donetsk. This was the most violent attack in recent years, killing 27 civilians, including two teenagers, and injuring another 25 residents.

The premeditated terrorist attack by Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles launched from the Kharkov Region targeting Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft on January 24 was another heinous crime committed by the Zelensky regime. Everyone onboard, including six crew members, three Russian escort officers, and 65 Ukrainian servicemen on their way to a pre-agreed prisoner swap, died on the spot.

Kiev was aware of this flight and its humanitarian mission, yet they issued an order to destroy it.

▪️ #NATO

Against the backdrop of constant calls for Russia to de-escalate, the plans of the North Atlantic Alliance to hold Steadfast Defender 2024, the largest coalition military exercise since the Cold War, raise numerous questions. The manoeuvres amount to an overt provocation. For several months, a joint force consisting of 90,000 personnel from 31 NATO member countries and Sweden will be deployed near the Russian borders, spanning the territory from Norway to Romania.

This step is deliberately aimed at escalating tensions; it raises the risk of military incidents and could lead to tragic consequences for Europe.

❗️The second issue of the Bulletin on the activities of the Russian Federation Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights to protect children during a special military operation (SMO) is available at the official web-site of he Russian Federation Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Right in seven languages:

🇷🇺 Russian;
🇬🇧 English;
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan;
🇦🇲 Armenian;
🇪🇸 Spanish;
🇨🇳 Chinese;
🇫🇷 French.

The document contains information about activities of the Russian Federation Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the realization of the rights and interests of minors affected by the military actions.

💬 It doesn’t matter where or in what status a child is in Russia, in an orphanage, in a foster family, whether he or she has Russian citizenship or not. If he has a parent with full parental rights, the family has every opportunity to be reunited.

💬 Since the beginning of the SMO, representatives of Ukrainian authorities have not officially contacted the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights. It should be noted that Maria Lvova-Belova is open to interaction with the Ukrainian side, and if official requests were received, they would be considered.

💬 It is important to understand that the territories of the DPR and LPR have been shelled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces for many years, and most orphaned children from social institutions in the republic are aware of this. Children do not perceive Russia as an enemy and expect protection and help from us, so being placed in safe territory with Russian foster families is not a traumatic circumstance for them.

*The first Bulletin was presented on April 4, 2023.

⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement on the situation in the Korean Peninsula

Tension has been escalating in the Korean Peninsula lately threatening security and stability in Northeast Asia.

This escalation stems from the provocative steps by the US and its allies, aimed at ramping up their military activity in the region, including by deploying NATO infrastructure, making military preparations and holding more manoeuvres and exercises, some involving nuclear components, close to the DPRK’s border.

The fact that the US and the collective West are seeking to shift the blame for escalating tension in the peninsula and in Northeast Asia in general onto the DPRK is nothing more than a reflection of their long-standing habit of shifting the burden of responsibility. In fact, it is the unrelenting aggressive provocations by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo that are forcing Pyongyang to take adequate measures to ensure its defence capabilities and security.

❗️ The Foreign Ministry calls for an end to the US’ irresponsible and hazardous policy, which uses its Indo-Pacific Strategy as a motto to divert countries in the region from developing independently, depriving their people of their sovereign right to preserve and strengthen their identity and choose their own development path.

⚡️ On the International Court of Justice finding no discrimination against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Russia and completely rejecting Ukraine’s reparations claims

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💬 On January 31, 2024, the UN International Court of Justice released its final Judgment in the dispute with Russia initiated by Ukraine in January 2017, based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The court rejected practically all Ukraine’s demands and recognised that Russia’s policy conforms to its commitments under the convention. There is no discrimination against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea.

The main false accusation levelled by Kiev against Russia was that:

• Russia’s law-enforcement actions against members of the terrorist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and the extremist groups Tablighi Jamaat and the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People constituted persecution of Crimean Tatars on ethnic grounds. The court did not agree with this assessment. It did not find any elements of discrimination in the standards of Russian anti-extremist legislation. Nor did it detect any signs of racial discrimination in the application of these standards by Russian law-enforcement bodies.

• The court did not find that the ban on the Mejlis, which Russia has outlawed as an extremist organisation, violated the Convention. It emphasised in its Judgment that the Qurultay is the representative body of the Crimean Tatar people. It was not banned and continues fulfilling its functions in Crimea.

• The court rejected Ukraine’s accusations of Russia’s alleged involvement in the targeted murders and abductions of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea.

• The court also rejected all Ukraine’s claims on the issues of citizenship. It did not identify any cases of racial discrimination in the Russian laws on granting citizenship in Crimea since 2014.

• Ukraine’s allegations about the infringement of the rights of the Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians to access to their national media, assemblies and rallies and the preservation of cultural heritage sites were also found to lack merit.

• Russia’s restoration of the Khan’s Palace in Bachchisarai was not a “cultural catastrophe” as Ukrainian representatives tried to present it. It was necessary to remedy the effects of negligence on the part of the Ukrainian authorities that had brought this landmark of history and culture to a dilapidated state.

• The International Court of Justice recognised that the residents of Crimea have access to education in the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian languages. At the same time, a majority on the court ruled that the sharp reduction in the number of schools with instruction in Ukrainian after Crimea’s transfer to Russia’s jurisdiction in 2014, is a violation of its commitments on the right to education under the CERD.

☝️ This finding is controversial enough, especially considering that the court admitted that Crimeans chose instruction in Russian of their own free will. Were the Russian authorities supposed to drag children into Ukrainian schools against their will? All those who want instruction in Ukrainian will be granted this opportunity in one way or another in accordance with current legislation.

***

✅ The case is over. Russia is not supposed to take any special action to fulfil this judgment. All of Ukraine’s demands for reparations have been rejected.

🇷🇺🇺🇳 Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN:

🎙 Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question (January 31, 2024)

💬 The conflict has been going on for almost four months now. The colossal figures of loss and destruction speak for themselves – more than 26,000 people, including women and children, have become victims of indiscriminate bombardment and use of armed force. At least 65,000 people have been injured. 80 % of the entire population of Gaza have been internally displaced.

Due to the lack of unimpeded humanitarian access to the north and south of the enclave, especially to Khan Younis, and the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure (reportedly up to 50 %) Gaza faces equally deadly risks of famine and infectious disease epidemics.

❗️ For our part, we have consistently and unwaveringly advocated an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Without a cessation of hostilities, there can be no meaningful humanitarian access to all those in need, no release of all hostages and no recovery of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement process on an internationally recognized basis.

☝️ Against this tragic humanitarian backdrop, we note the high-impact decision of a number of Western donors, led by the US, to suspend funding to UNRWA.

Provocative rhetoric of some representatives of Israel’s leadership, who call not only for the continuation of the military operation in the Gaza Strip, but also for the elimination of the UNRWA presence in the enclave and forced displacement of Palestinians from their places of permanent residence, is particularly alarming.

***

🇷🇺 Russia will continue to do its utmost to contribute to stabilization in the Middle East and to advance the Middle East settlement process together with the countries of the region and in coordination with other conscious mediators. As before, we are open to discussing relevant initiatives within the collective UN framework.

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