Forwarded from Russian Embassy in India
They discussed issues of increasing the effectiveness of Russian-Indian inter-parliamentary cooperation and the necessary decisions for legislative support of the agreements reached between the two countries.
Vyacheslav Volodin expressed his gratitude to Om Birla for the invitation to visit India.
"Trade turnover is growing, our humanitarian ties are getting stronger, but we must not stop there, we must try to create a legislative basis within the parliamentary dimension so that relations develop even more dynamically," the Chairman of the State Duma said.
The task of parliamentarians is to legislatively provide for decisions taken at the level of heads of state, he added.
☝🏻 Vyacheslav Volodin believes it is necessary to intensify the work of the joint inter-parliamentary commission. He confirmed the invitation to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Parliament of India, to visit Moscow.
"It would be right to proceed with systemic relations so that we could hold meetings in an annual format, discuss accumulated issues within the framework of our powers," the Chairman of the State Duma addressed his colleague.
He also considers it necessary to build contacts at the level of relevant committees of the State Duma and the Lok Sabha.
In addition, Vyacheslav Volodin invited Members of the Lok Sabha to take part in an international conference dedicated to the development of parliamentarism, which Moscow will host in the summer.
#RussiaIndia
#DruzhbaDosti
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🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of Russian-Indonesian diplomatic relations (Moscow, February 3, 2025)
💬 Sergey Lavrov: Welcome to the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of Russia-Indonesia diplomatic relations.
I would like to thank senior officials and staff from the Ministry’s Department of History and Records and from the Third Asian Department for their highly professional efforts to set up this event. The unique documents and photographs will provide an overview of the highlights of our relations.
🇷🇺🇮🇩 Russian-Indonesian diplomatic relations were established 7️⃣5️⃣ years ago on this day, February 3, 1950. From the earliest days, contacts between our countries relied on high levels of trust, mutual respect and understanding.
Gradually, they evolved into strong ties of friendship between many generations of the people of our two countries. The Soviet Union provided political support to the Indonesian people’s struggle for independence, and was among the first countries to recognise Indonesia as an independent state, and contributed to the development of its statehood.
Soviet specialists built Friendship Hospital, a replica of Moscow Luzhniki Stadium, numerous roads and transport interchanges in Jakarta and other regions of the archipelago. These sites became material symbols of fruitful Soviet-Indonesian cooperation. I can assure you that when I visited Indonesia, I had the chance to see our Indonesian friends continue to proudly and gratefully preserve and use these sites.
Relations between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and first President of Indonesia Sukarno, who visited the Soviet Union four times in the 1960s, were marked by particular trust. You will have the chance to see the archival photos depicting the main events of those years.
Our multifaceted ties have received a boost lately. We regard Indonesia as an influential power and one of Russia’s key partners in the Asia-Pacific region. We maintain strategic relations. The ongoing political dialogue at the top level underlies our successful relations.
☝️ We place great emphasis on the implementation of the agreements reached during the talks between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto at the Kremlin in July 2024. We hope that more photos from a new meeting of the leaders will replenish our archives soon. We will work hard to make it happen.
<...>
On a separate note, I would also like to note the productive coordination of our efforts in foreign policy, primarily the #UN and other international venues and in the #RussiaASEAN dialogue partnership format. The list of these platforms saw an addition in the form of #BRICS which is a new fast-growing association that enjoys the highest standing in today’s world, which #Indonesia joined as a full-fledged member on January 1. This fact will significantly expand Jakarta’s opportunities to expand international cooperation. <...>
We note with satisfaction that over the past 75 years we have managed to build impressive friendly ties that are based on a solid material, spiritual and historical potential.
🤝 An even greater potential is clearly waiting to be unlocked. Relying on the rich traditions of friendship and mutual sympathy, together with our Indonesian friends, we will continue to do our best to unlock it. We are enriching our relations with new facets for the benefit and to the satisfaction of our peoples and for the good of all humanity.
Read in full
#RussiaIndonesia75
💬 Sergey Lavrov: Welcome to the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of Russia-Indonesia diplomatic relations.
I would like to thank senior officials and staff from the Ministry’s Department of History and Records and from the Third Asian Department for their highly professional efforts to set up this event. The unique documents and photographs will provide an overview of the highlights of our relations.
🇷🇺🇮🇩 Russian-Indonesian diplomatic relations were established 7️⃣5️⃣ years ago on this day, February 3, 1950. From the earliest days, contacts between our countries relied on high levels of trust, mutual respect and understanding.
Gradually, they evolved into strong ties of friendship between many generations of the people of our two countries. The Soviet Union provided political support to the Indonesian people’s struggle for independence, and was among the first countries to recognise Indonesia as an independent state, and contributed to the development of its statehood.
Soviet specialists built Friendship Hospital, a replica of Moscow Luzhniki Stadium, numerous roads and transport interchanges in Jakarta and other regions of the archipelago. These sites became material symbols of fruitful Soviet-Indonesian cooperation. I can assure you that when I visited Indonesia, I had the chance to see our Indonesian friends continue to proudly and gratefully preserve and use these sites.
Relations between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and first President of Indonesia Sukarno, who visited the Soviet Union four times in the 1960s, were marked by particular trust. You will have the chance to see the archival photos depicting the main events of those years.
Our multifaceted ties have received a boost lately. We regard Indonesia as an influential power and one of Russia’s key partners in the Asia-Pacific region. We maintain strategic relations. The ongoing political dialogue at the top level underlies our successful relations.
☝️ We place great emphasis on the implementation of the agreements reached during the talks between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto at the Kremlin in July 2024. We hope that more photos from a new meeting of the leaders will replenish our archives soon. We will work hard to make it happen.
<...>
On a separate note, I would also like to note the productive coordination of our efforts in foreign policy, primarily the #UN and other international venues and in the #RussiaASEAN dialogue partnership format. The list of these platforms saw an addition in the form of #BRICS which is a new fast-growing association that enjoys the highest standing in today’s world, which #Indonesia joined as a full-fledged member on January 1. This fact will significantly expand Jakarta’s opportunities to expand international cooperation. <...>
We note with satisfaction that over the past 75 years we have managed to build impressive friendly ties that are based on a solid material, spiritual and historical potential.
🤝 An even greater potential is clearly waiting to be unlocked. Relying on the rich traditions of friendship and mutual sympathy, together with our Indonesian friends, we will continue to do our best to unlock it. We are enriching our relations with new facets for the benefit and to the satisfaction of our peoples and for the good of all humanity.
Read in full
#RussiaIndonesia75
🗓 On February 3, Moscow hosted a traditional meeting between Sergey Lavrov and the ambassadors of the #CIS states accredited in Russia. CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev also attended the event.
The meeting participants reviewed the results of CIS cooperation in 2024, under Russia’s chairmanship. They outlined key tasks for 2025, the year of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War — the year of peace and unity in fighting Nazism — with an emphasis on further strengthening foreign policy coordination and enhancing cooperation in trade, the economy, culture and the humanitarian sphere, as well as in the field of security.
The discussion also focused on current global and regional issues, including in the context of implementing President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin’s initiative to create a new equal and indivisible security architecture in Eurasia.
🤝 Support was expressed for the priorities of Tajikistan’s chairmanship in the CIS this year.
The meeting participants reviewed the results of CIS cooperation in 2024, under Russia’s chairmanship. They outlined key tasks for 2025, the year of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War — the year of peace and unity in fighting Nazism — with an emphasis on further strengthening foreign policy coordination and enhancing cooperation in trade, the economy, culture and the humanitarian sphere, as well as in the field of security.
The discussion also focused on current global and regional issues, including in the context of implementing President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin’s initiative to create a new equal and indivisible security architecture in Eurasia.
🤝 Support was expressed for the priorities of Tajikistan’s chairmanship in the CIS this year.
Forwarded from Russian Mission Vienna
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🇷🇺 Comment by Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov to «Zvezda» (with English subtitles)
❓The IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi refuses to admit the guilt of the Kiev regime in the shelling of the Zaporozhskaya NPP, since, in his opinion, this goes beyond the Agency's mandate
Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov says that Russia has many questions about the IAEA Secretariat reports
The parties will discuss this during the visit of Rafael Grossi and his deputies to our country, which is scheduled to take place in the coming days
💬 On December 10 a Ukrainian drone hit an IAEA armored vehicle, Rafael Grossi reported to the Board of Governors that this drone had definitely come from the direction where the Ukrainian Armed Forces were located. He named the direction, but did not say it was done by Ukrainians
❓The IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi refuses to admit the guilt of the Kiev regime in the shelling of the Zaporozhskaya NPP, since, in his opinion, this goes beyond the Agency's mandate
Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov says that Russia has many questions about the IAEA Secretariat reports
The parties will discuss this during the visit of Rafael Grossi and his deputies to our country, which is scheduled to take place in the coming days
💬 On December 10 a Ukrainian drone hit an IAEA armored vehicle, Rafael Grossi reported to the Board of Governors that this drone had definitely come from the direction where the Ukrainian Armed Forces were located. He named the direction, but did not say it was done by Ukrainians
Forwarded from Russian Embassy to the UK
❗️ Embassy notice regarding the presence of foreign mercenaries within the Special Military Operation zone
In light of recent media reports of foreign nationals sustaining fatal or life-changing injuries in the Special Military Operation zone after joining Ukraine-linked military units the Embassy wishes to reiterate its earlier cautionary travel notice.
🛑 We urge British and other foreign nationals to refrain from travelling to the Special Military Operation zone in any capacity.
Their presence within the area of active combat operations or its vicinity poses immediate and grave danger for their life and health.
Non-Ukrainian nationals who take up arms as part of Ukraine-linked military units are considered mercenaries by the Russian Armed Forces. They consequently forfeit their rights to combatant or prisoner-of-war status, according to the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 (Protocol I). They are considered legitimate targets by the Russian Armed Forces. In the event of capture they face criminal prosecution by the relevant Russian authorities.
Mercenary activities constitute a criminal offence under Russian legislation and are punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment. Moreover, such activities may imply the perpetration of further serious crimes – murder, terrorism and illegal border-crossing, among others.
☝️ The Embassy encourages British and other foreign nationals to treat with utmost scepticism any open or implicit public and social media messaging that entices them to travel to Ukraine to join the pro-Kiev military formations.
The reasons for this propaganda, directed primarily at foreigners, are the massive battlefield losses of the Ukrainian military as well as the failure of repressive mobilisation efforts in Ukraine.
The sponsors and enablers of this campaign bear personal responsibility for the fate of foreigners who succumb to their propaganda and may subsequently perish in the conflict zone, as well as for the civilian victims of foreign mercenaries.
In light of recent media reports of foreign nationals sustaining fatal or life-changing injuries in the Special Military Operation zone after joining Ukraine-linked military units the Embassy wishes to reiterate its earlier cautionary travel notice.
🛑 We urge British and other foreign nationals to refrain from travelling to the Special Military Operation zone in any capacity.
Their presence within the area of active combat operations or its vicinity poses immediate and grave danger for their life and health.
Non-Ukrainian nationals who take up arms as part of Ukraine-linked military units are considered mercenaries by the Russian Armed Forces. They consequently forfeit their rights to combatant or prisoner-of-war status, according to the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 (Protocol I). They are considered legitimate targets by the Russian Armed Forces. In the event of capture they face criminal prosecution by the relevant Russian authorities.
Mercenary activities constitute a criminal offence under Russian legislation and are punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment. Moreover, such activities may imply the perpetration of further serious crimes – murder, terrorism and illegal border-crossing, among others.
☝️ The Embassy encourages British and other foreign nationals to treat with utmost scepticism any open or implicit public and social media messaging that entices them to travel to Ukraine to join the pro-Kiev military formations.
The reasons for this propaganda, directed primarily at foreigners, are the massive battlefield losses of the Ukrainian military as well as the failure of repressive mobilisation efforts in Ukraine.
The sponsors and enablers of this campaign bear personal responsibility for the fate of foreigners who succumb to their propaganda and may subsequently perish in the conflict zone, as well as for the civilian victims of foreign mercenaries.
🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's article "The UN Charter Should Become the Legal Foundation of a Multipolar World", published in Russia in Global Affairs magazine (February 4, 2025)
Read in full
💬 80 years ago, on 4 February 1945, the leaders of the victors of World War II ― the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain ― opened the Yalta Conference to determine the contours of the postwar world. <...>
One result of the negotiations was the creation of the United Nations and the approval of the UN Charter, which to this day remains the main source of international law. The Charter set forth goals and principles for countries’ behavior, which are designed to ensure their peaceful coexistence and sustained development.
The principle of the sovereign equality of states laid the foundation for the Yalta-Potsdam system: none may claim dominance, as all are formally equal regardless of territory, population, military capabilities, or other metrics.
<...> The UN-based world order fulfills its main task ― safeguarding everyone against a new world war. Truly, “the UN has not brought us to paradise but saved us from hell.”
🔹 Key points:
• The veto power enshrined in the Charter ― which is not a ‘privilege,’ but a burden of special responsibility for safeguarding peace ― serves as a solid barrier against reckless decisions and provides room for finding compromise based on a balance of interests.
• The UN has served as a unique universal platform for developing collective responses to common challenges, maintaining international peace and security and promoting socio-economic development.
• It was at the UN that, with a key role played by the USSR, the foundation was laid for the multipolar world that is now emerging before our eyes.
• The UN-centric order is thus based on international ― truly universal ― law, from which it follows that every state should abide by that law.
• Russia, like the majority of the world community, has never had any difficulty doing so. But the West was never cured of its syndrome of exceptionalism, and retains its neocolonial habits, i.e. living at the expense of others. Interstate relations based on respect for international law were, from the very beginning, not to the West’s liking.
• One manifestation of the ‘rules-based order’ was Washington’s policy of geopolitically absorbing Eastern Europe. Russia has been forced to eliminate its explosive consequences with the Special Military Operation.
❗️ Brazen attempts to reorder the world in one’s own interest, violating UN principles, may bring instability, confrontation, and even catastrophe. Given the current level of international tensions, a reckless rejection of the Yalta-Potsdam system, with the UN and its Charter at its core, will inevitably lead to chaos.
🇺🇳 Russia is ready for joint honest work to balance parties’ interests and to strengthen the legal principles of international relations. <...>
The most important thing, according to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, is “to regain an understanding of what the United Nations was created for, and to follow the principles that are set forth in its founding documents.” This should be the foremost guideline for regulating international relations in the multipolar era that has dawned.
Read in full
💬 80 years ago, on 4 February 1945, the leaders of the victors of World War II ― the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain ― opened the Yalta Conference to determine the contours of the postwar world. <...>
One result of the negotiations was the creation of the United Nations and the approval of the UN Charter, which to this day remains the main source of international law. The Charter set forth goals and principles for countries’ behavior, which are designed to ensure their peaceful coexistence and sustained development.
The principle of the sovereign equality of states laid the foundation for the Yalta-Potsdam system: none may claim dominance, as all are formally equal regardless of territory, population, military capabilities, or other metrics.
<...> The UN-based world order fulfills its main task ― safeguarding everyone against a new world war. Truly, “the UN has not brought us to paradise but saved us from hell.”
🔹 Key points:
• The veto power enshrined in the Charter ― which is not a ‘privilege,’ but a burden of special responsibility for safeguarding peace ― serves as a solid barrier against reckless decisions and provides room for finding compromise based on a balance of interests.
• The UN has served as a unique universal platform for developing collective responses to common challenges, maintaining international peace and security and promoting socio-economic development.
• It was at the UN that, with a key role played by the USSR, the foundation was laid for the multipolar world that is now emerging before our eyes.
• The UN-centric order is thus based on international ― truly universal ― law, from which it follows that every state should abide by that law.
• Russia, like the majority of the world community, has never had any difficulty doing so. But the West was never cured of its syndrome of exceptionalism, and retains its neocolonial habits, i.e. living at the expense of others. Interstate relations based on respect for international law were, from the very beginning, not to the West’s liking.
• One manifestation of the ‘rules-based order’ was Washington’s policy of geopolitically absorbing Eastern Europe. Russia has been forced to eliminate its explosive consequences with the Special Military Operation.
❗️ Brazen attempts to reorder the world in one’s own interest, violating UN principles, may bring instability, confrontation, and even catastrophe. Given the current level of international tensions, a reckless rejection of the Yalta-Potsdam system, with the UN and its Charter at its core, will inevitably lead to chaos.
🇺🇳 Russia is ready for joint honest work to balance parties’ interests and to strengthen the legal principles of international relations. <...>
The most important thing, according to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, is “to regain an understanding of what the United Nations was created for, and to follow the principles that are set forth in its founding documents.” This should be the foremost guideline for regulating international relations in the multipolar era that has dawned.
🔴 #LIVE: Russia's Foreign Minister’s Special Representative for Cooperation to Promote Respect for the Right to Freedom of Religion and Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador-at-Large, Gennady Askaldovich, holds a briefing
🔴 Russia's MFA website
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#HistoryOfDiplomacy
8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, on February 4, 1945, the Yalta (Crimea) Conference of the Allied leaders — Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin D.Roosevelt officially opened.
#YaltaConference of the Anti-Hitler coalition leaders went down in history as one of the most significant and key international meetings of the 'Big Three' during #WWII. The Yalta talks became a symbol of successful cooperation between the Soviet Union, the US and the UK in the fight against the common enemy — Nazism.
The decisions taken at the Conference outlined the frame of the post-war #YaltaPotsdam international relations system, with the #UNCharter becoming its international legal basis.
***
By late 1944 — early 1945, the Red Army expelled the enemy from all the territory of the Soviet Union and proceeded with the operations aimed at liberating Europe from the Nazis.
🌟 In the first days of February 1945, the forces of the Red Army's 1st Byelorussian and the 1st Ukrainian Fronts successfully completed the Vistula-Oder Offensive, overcoming over 500 kilometres in less than a month (!), liberated Poland and then reached the border with Germany. Berlin was just 60 kilometres away. The collapse of the Third Reich was just a matter of time.
As the long-awaited common Allies' #Victory over Nazi Germany was as close as never, the future post-war world order-related issues needed to be discussed by the victorious great powers. While the Soviet forces were rapidly advancing in Eastern Europe in January, the preparations for the big negotiations to shape the future of the world were in full swing. Yalta, a Crimean city, was picked as the venue for that historic meeting (February 4-11, 1945).
The fate of post-war Germany was the key focus of the Yalta Conference. The Allies reaffirmed their commitment to eliminating German militarism and Nazism, and creating guarantees that “Germany would never be able again to disturb peace of the world.”
At the Yalta talks, the 'Big Three' managed to reach agreement on Poland’s post-war borders. The Soviet delegation consistently promoted the idea of ensuring the interests of the Poles and their fundamental right to independence and sovereignty. Winston Churchill, addressing the House of Commons upon his return from Yalta, on February 27, said: "If not for the prodigious exertions and sacrifices of Russia, Poland was doomed to utter destruction at the hands of the Germans. Not only Poland as a state and as a nation, but the Poles as a race were doomed by Hitler to be destroyed or reduced to a servile station".
The Yalta Conference resulted also in adopting of 'the Declaration of Free Europe' and other crucial international legal documents on the fundamental principles of the #UnitedNations, laying down the foundation of the Yalta-Potsdam international system.
☝️ The rapidly strengthening international posture and influence of the Soviet Union, bolstered by the outstanding achievements of the Red Army in the battlefields, had a significant impact on the course and the outcomes of the negotiations. By the time Europe was almost freed from the shackles of hitlerism, the Soviet soldier enjoyed the fame of liberator whose noble feat was well-known all across the continent.
The decisions of the Yalta Conference strengthened the anti-fascist coalition in the final stages of WWII and contributed to the Victory over Germany.
🎙 From a briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Saransk, January 31, 2025):
💬 "The participants in the Yalta Conference managed to overcome their differences, and, acting in the spirit of true solidarity, mutual respect and trust, abandoned their fleeting interests for the sake of defeating the common enemy and achieving a common victory, peace and freedom for all countries and peoples.
Unfortunately, much has changed since then. Now, multiple proponents of historical revisionism tend to falsify historical reality and associate the Yalta agreements with the split of Europe and the bloc confrontation of the post-war period."
#WeWereAllies
8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, on February 4, 1945, the Yalta (Crimea) Conference of the Allied leaders — Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin D.Roosevelt officially opened.
#YaltaConference of the Anti-Hitler coalition leaders went down in history as one of the most significant and key international meetings of the 'Big Three' during #WWII. The Yalta talks became a symbol of successful cooperation between the Soviet Union, the US and the UK in the fight against the common enemy — Nazism.
The decisions taken at the Conference outlined the frame of the post-war #YaltaPotsdam international relations system, with the #UNCharter becoming its international legal basis.
***
By late 1944 — early 1945, the Red Army expelled the enemy from all the territory of the Soviet Union and proceeded with the operations aimed at liberating Europe from the Nazis.
As the long-awaited common Allies' #Victory over Nazi Germany was as close as never, the future post-war world order-related issues needed to be discussed by the victorious great powers. While the Soviet forces were rapidly advancing in Eastern Europe in January, the preparations for the big negotiations to shape the future of the world were in full swing. Yalta, a Crimean city, was picked as the venue for that historic meeting (February 4-11, 1945).
The fate of post-war Germany was the key focus of the Yalta Conference. The Allies reaffirmed their commitment to eliminating German militarism and Nazism, and creating guarantees that “Germany would never be able again to disturb peace of the world.”
At the Yalta talks, the 'Big Three' managed to reach agreement on Poland’s post-war borders. The Soviet delegation consistently promoted the idea of ensuring the interests of the Poles and their fundamental right to independence and sovereignty. Winston Churchill, addressing the House of Commons upon his return from Yalta, on February 27, said: "If not for the prodigious exertions and sacrifices of Russia, Poland was doomed to utter destruction at the hands of the Germans. Not only Poland as a state and as a nation, but the Poles as a race were doomed by Hitler to be destroyed or reduced to a servile station".
The Yalta Conference resulted also in adopting of 'the Declaration of Free Europe' and other crucial international legal documents on the fundamental principles of the #UnitedNations, laying down the foundation of the Yalta-Potsdam international system.
☝️ The rapidly strengthening international posture and influence of the Soviet Union, bolstered by the outstanding achievements of the Red Army in the battlefields, had a significant impact on the course and the outcomes of the negotiations. By the time Europe was almost freed from the shackles of hitlerism, the Soviet soldier enjoyed the fame of liberator whose noble feat was well-known all across the continent.
The decisions of the Yalta Conference strengthened the anti-fascist coalition in the final stages of WWII and contributed to the Victory over Germany.
🎙 From a briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Saransk, January 31, 2025):
💬 "The participants in the Yalta Conference managed to overcome their differences, and, acting in the spirit of true solidarity, mutual respect and trust, abandoned their fleeting interests for the sake of defeating the common enemy and achieving a common victory, peace and freedom for all countries and peoples.
Unfortunately, much has changed since then. Now, multiple proponents of historical revisionism tend to falsify historical reality and associate the Yalta agreements with the split of Europe and the bloc confrontation of the post-war period."
#WeWereAllies
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🔴 #LIVE: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at the 14th Middle East Conference
🔴 X (ex-Twitter)
🔴 Facebook
🔴 Russia's MFA Website
🔴 Ruptly
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#Announcement
🎙 On February 6, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold a briefing on current foreign policy issues:
🕑 2.00 pm MSK
🕚 11.00 am GMT
🕛 12.00 pm CEST
🕖 7.00 pm CST (Beijing)
For accreditation inquiries, please contact the MFA Press Centre. Accredited journalists will receive details on the technical aspects of submitting questions.
The Russia's Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman will answer media questions received by the call centre.
❗️ Accreditation is open until 09.00 am on February 5.
🎙 On February 6, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold a briefing on current foreign policy issues:
🕑 2.00 pm MSK
🕚 11.00 am GMT
🕛 12.00 pm CEST
🕖 7.00 pm CST (Beijing)
For accreditation inquiries, please contact the MFA Press Centre. Accredited journalists will receive details on the technical aspects of submitting questions.
The Russia's Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman will answer media questions received by the call centre.
❗️ Accreditation is open until 09.00 am on February 5.
🔴 #LIVE: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at the presentation of the Department for Partnership with Africa
🔴 X (ex-Twitter)
🔴 Facebook
🔴 Russia's MFA Website
🔴 Ruptly
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🎙 Briefing by Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (January 31, 2025)
🔹 Tragedy in the airspace over Washington
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Kiev regime crimes
🔹 Anniversary of breaking the Siege of Leningrad
🔹 80th Anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by the Red Army
🔹 80th Anniversary of the Yalta Conference
🔹 International Holocaust Remembrance Day
🔹 Falsification of history
🔹 Further facts about the crimes of Japanese militarism
🔹 Situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
📰 Read
📺 Watch
***
#USA #PotomacRiverTragedy
In the evening of January 29, a passenger plane and a military helicopter collided in mid-air over Washington, killing 67 people. We express our deep condolences to the victims’ families and the American people.
#FalsificationOfHistory
The collective West is bent on erasing all positive developments from historical memory and smearing the Red Army rather than preserving memory and thanking their liberators [of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp], our soldiers, who defeated the Third Reich.
Zelensky’s appearance in Oswiecim sparked an outrage among Poland’s religious Jewish community. Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich said its representatives refused to go to an event attended by a dictator who has domesticated Nazis.
#KievRegimeCrimes #NeoNazism
The modern-day Bandera followers are trying to keep up with their ideological cult figures and continue to terrorise civilians and to attack civilian infrastructure in the Russian regions.
The representatives of the Kiev regime are neo-Nazis, not only in relation to the Russian-speaking population, but also to all citizens of Ukraine. Genocide of its own population is underway in Ukraine, and it is committed by those whom the people of Ukraine voted for as their leaders.
The Kiev regime is doing its utmost to erase the memory of the liberator soldiers, who were Russians and people of other Soviet nationalities, including many Ukrainians. Nationalists are maniacally demolishing the monuments and graves of Red Army soldiers throughout Ukraine, or rather in what’s left of Ukraine due to actions of the Kiev regime and its Western sponsors.
The Kiev regime continues to deride the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Westerners have always been behind the lawlessness and legal chaos in Ukraine. They use the dirtiest methods to destroy Orthodoxy in Ukraine, distort it beyond recognition, and replace concepts.
#Sanctions #USA
Western sanctions and weaponising reserve currencies by Washington and its satellites have undermined the international players’ confidence in the global financial architecture based on the dominance of the US dollar and the euro, which has led to an increase in the share of alternative monetary units in international payments and savings.
Acting as part of associations such as #BRICS, the #SCO, #ASEAN, and on a bilateral footing, member countries are stepping up the dialogue on using national currencies in mutual trade and taking steps to build the necessary payment and settlement infrastructure that would be independent of Western countries.
#GreatPatrioticWar #YaltaConference
On February 4, 1945, a conference with the participation of the three Allied leaders opened in Livadia Palace outside Yalta.
Thanks largely to the efforts of Soviet diplomacy, the decisions adopted at the Yalta Conference had a great influence on bringing an early end to the Second World War and the post-war organisation of the world, and became an integral part of the Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations.
#DRC
The security situation in [in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] once again deteriorated this January as the March 23 Movement (M23) intensified its offensive. On January 27, M23 captured Goma, the administrative centre of the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is home to more than one million civilians.
🔹 Tragedy in the airspace over Washington
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Kiev regime crimes
🔹 Anniversary of breaking the Siege of Leningrad
🔹 80th Anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by the Red Army
🔹 80th Anniversary of the Yalta Conference
🔹 International Holocaust Remembrance Day
🔹 Falsification of history
🔹 Further facts about the crimes of Japanese militarism
🔹 Situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
📰 Read
📺 Watch
***
#USA #PotomacRiverTragedy
In the evening of January 29, a passenger plane and a military helicopter collided in mid-air over Washington, killing 67 people. We express our deep condolences to the victims’ families and the American people.
#FalsificationOfHistory
The collective West is bent on erasing all positive developments from historical memory and smearing the Red Army rather than preserving memory and thanking their liberators [of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp], our soldiers, who defeated the Third Reich.
Zelensky’s appearance in Oswiecim sparked an outrage among Poland’s religious Jewish community. Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich said its representatives refused to go to an event attended by a dictator who has domesticated Nazis.
#KievRegimeCrimes #NeoNazism
The modern-day Bandera followers are trying to keep up with their ideological cult figures and continue to terrorise civilians and to attack civilian infrastructure in the Russian regions.
The representatives of the Kiev regime are neo-Nazis, not only in relation to the Russian-speaking population, but also to all citizens of Ukraine. Genocide of its own population is underway in Ukraine, and it is committed by those whom the people of Ukraine voted for as their leaders.
The Kiev regime is doing its utmost to erase the memory of the liberator soldiers, who were Russians and people of other Soviet nationalities, including many Ukrainians. Nationalists are maniacally demolishing the monuments and graves of Red Army soldiers throughout Ukraine, or rather in what’s left of Ukraine due to actions of the Kiev regime and its Western sponsors.
The Kiev regime continues to deride the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Westerners have always been behind the lawlessness and legal chaos in Ukraine. They use the dirtiest methods to destroy Orthodoxy in Ukraine, distort it beyond recognition, and replace concepts.
#Sanctions #USA
Western sanctions and weaponising reserve currencies by Washington and its satellites have undermined the international players’ confidence in the global financial architecture based on the dominance of the US dollar and the euro, which has led to an increase in the share of alternative monetary units in international payments and savings.
Acting as part of associations such as #BRICS, the #SCO, #ASEAN, and on a bilateral footing, member countries are stepping up the dialogue on using national currencies in mutual trade and taking steps to build the necessary payment and settlement infrastructure that would be independent of Western countries.
#GreatPatrioticWar #YaltaConference
On February 4, 1945, a conference with the participation of the three Allied leaders opened in Livadia Palace outside Yalta.
Thanks largely to the efforts of Soviet diplomacy, the decisions adopted at the Yalta Conference had a great influence on bringing an early end to the Second World War and the post-war organisation of the world, and became an integral part of the Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations.
#DRC
The security situation in [in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] once again deteriorated this January as the March 23 Movement (M23) intensified its offensive. On January 27, M23 captured Goma, the administrative centre of the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is home to more than one million civilians.
✍️ Article for the ‘Russia in Global Affairs’ journal by Director of the Foreign Policy Planning Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexey Drobinin (originally published on January 6, 2025)
The African Pole – Problems and Prospects
Key points:
• Africa’s role in global politics is steadily growing. The development of a Pan-African identity is progressing slowly. The increasing self-awareness of African peoples and their determination to make up for what was lost during the colonial and post-colonial eras serve as a powerful driving force in establishing the continent as one of the poles in a multipolar world order.
• Africa has all the prerequisites to transform into a sovereign centre of power.
• Africa remains the continent most devastated by colonialism, having been ruthlessly exploited for centuries by European powers that drained its human and material resources. The wealth plundered from Africa served as rocket fuel for the accelerated development of European countries and the United States.
• African experts lament that the West is unwilling “to recognize the right of the continent’s countries to set their own agenda” and that its policy toward opponents amounts to “punishing them for having their own interests”. Africans are dissatisfied that they are still being treated as mere extras in foreign-policy projects promoted under the banner of a ‘rules-based order’.
• The formal end of the colonial era did not bring true liberation from external dependence, particularly in the economic sphere. Despite being rich in resources, Africa, with its underdeveloped infrastructure and industries, continues to draw the attention of Western multinational corporations.
• This discriminatory arrangement, enabling Western development at others’ expense through unequal exchange, is highly advantageous to the West. To sustain and entrench this system, former colonial powers employ an extensive neo-colonial toolkit in Africa.
• The West watches with concern as Africa moves toward geopolitical sovereignty. Interestingly, the West has even called for rejecting the term ‘Global South’, alleging it to be a product of Russian propaganda.
👉 Time, however, runs its course. The main historical trend is that the era of Western dominance on the African continent has come to an end. Africa’s liberation aligns harmoniously with the broader international trend of strengthening multipolarity. The #BRICS bloc, with South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia currently representing Africa among its member states, is poised to play a key role in strengthening multipolarity.
• Russia intends to support the African continent as a distinctive and influential centre of world development. According to President of Russia Vladimir Putin, cooperation with African states is one of the enduring priorities of Russia’s foreign policy.
• No African state is unfriendly towards Russia. Not a single country on the continent has joined anti-Russian sanctions. Africa is among the leaders in refusing to support Western-initiated anti-Russian resolutions in the UN General Assembly.
❗️ Today marks the era of Russia’s return to the African continent. The continent is waiting for us, that Russia is seen as a force advocating for truth, equality, and justice on the international stage, defending genuine sovereignty and statehood.
Read in full
The African Pole – Problems and Prospects
Key points:
• Africa’s role in global politics is steadily growing. The development of a Pan-African identity is progressing slowly. The increasing self-awareness of African peoples and their determination to make up for what was lost during the colonial and post-colonial eras serve as a powerful driving force in establishing the continent as one of the poles in a multipolar world order.
• Africa has all the prerequisites to transform into a sovereign centre of power.
• Africa remains the continent most devastated by colonialism, having been ruthlessly exploited for centuries by European powers that drained its human and material resources. The wealth plundered from Africa served as rocket fuel for the accelerated development of European countries and the United States.
• African experts lament that the West is unwilling “to recognize the right of the continent’s countries to set their own agenda” and that its policy toward opponents amounts to “punishing them for having their own interests”. Africans are dissatisfied that they are still being treated as mere extras in foreign-policy projects promoted under the banner of a ‘rules-based order’.
• The formal end of the colonial era did not bring true liberation from external dependence, particularly in the economic sphere. Despite being rich in resources, Africa, with its underdeveloped infrastructure and industries, continues to draw the attention of Western multinational corporations.
• This discriminatory arrangement, enabling Western development at others’ expense through unequal exchange, is highly advantageous to the West. To sustain and entrench this system, former colonial powers employ an extensive neo-colonial toolkit in Africa.
• The West watches with concern as Africa moves toward geopolitical sovereignty. Interestingly, the West has even called for rejecting the term ‘Global South’, alleging it to be a product of Russian propaganda.
👉 Time, however, runs its course. The main historical trend is that the era of Western dominance on the African continent has come to an end. Africa’s liberation aligns harmoniously with the broader international trend of strengthening multipolarity. The #BRICS bloc, with South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia currently representing Africa among its member states, is poised to play a key role in strengthening multipolarity.
• Russia intends to support the African continent as a distinctive and influential centre of world development. According to President of Russia Vladimir Putin, cooperation with African states is one of the enduring priorities of Russia’s foreign policy.
• No African state is unfriendly towards Russia. Not a single country on the continent has joined anti-Russian sanctions. Africa is among the leaders in refusing to support Western-initiated anti-Russian resolutions in the UN General Assembly.
❗️ Today marks the era of Russia’s return to the African continent. The continent is waiting for us, that Russia is seen as a force advocating for truth, equality, and justice on the international stage, defending genuine sovereignty and statehood.
Read in full
🔴 #LIVE: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks during the ambassadors' roundtable discussion on resolving the situation regarding Ukraine
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🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a presentation of the Department for Partnership with Africa (Moscow, February 4, 2025)
💬 Sergey Lavrov: The establishment of this department underscores the significance that Russia’s leadership places on advancing the African aspect of our foreign policy. This priority is enshrined in the Foreign Policy Concept approved by President Putin in March 2023 and has become increasingly prominent in our practical policies in the international arena.
Our African friends have always found a reliable and understanding friend and partner in Russia. <...> Russia selflessly supported Africans in their heroic struggle against colonial powers for freedom and independence, and assisted in developing young states, their economies, strengthening their defence capabilities, training national specialists, and resolving daunting social challenges.
<...>
Africans are playing an increasingly significant role in global politics and the economy, and widely participate in addressing international issues. The collective voice of African countries in world affairs is growing louder and clearer. Russia consistently advocates for strengthening Africa’s position in the multipolar world that is objectively taking shape before our eyes. This world must be consistently based on the principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and interrelation.
<...>
🤝 We support the push of our African friends to secure a permanent seat at the UN Security Council and we respect the decisions taken by Africans in this regard. I’m referring to the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
We welcome the successful development of strong integration entities in Africa. We support our friends’ desire to determine their own future, as they remain guided by the African solutions to African problems principle.
Russia-Africa cooperation, which President Vladimir Putin termed strategic in his article “Russia and Africa: Joining Efforts for Peace, Progress and a Successful Future,” is reaching new qualitative heights.
The significance of the first and second Russia-Africa Summits, alongside last November’s inaugural ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, cannot be overstated. In conjunction with our African partners, we are implementing agreed measures under the Action Plan adopted in St Petersburg in summer 2023.
📈 Progress is tangible, yet more remains to be done. Even though growing ($25 billion in 2024), our trade and economic cooperation still underperforms relative to its potential. Other African partners post markedly higher figures – a spur to identifying new constructive projects that solidify the material foundations of our strategic partnership. Opportunities abound, particularly in energy, logistics and transport corridors, creation of reliable settlement systems in high-tech domains (including outer space exploration, digital technologies, and nuclear energy), and beyond.
We stand ready to collaborate bilaterally and through our like-minded partners and friends in the #EAEU, the #CIS, and the #SCO. Africa’s positions within #BRICS continue to strengthen – a trajectory set to expand further. <...>
Russia will continue to support African nations in countering terrorism, including through the establishment of pertinent agencies, ensuring food security, combatting epidemics, and training highly skilled personnel.
We are convinced that Africa is our natural ally in our joint endeavours to uphold the UN Charter’s principles of justice and equality.
Read in full
#RussiaAfrica
💬 Sergey Lavrov: The establishment of this department underscores the significance that Russia’s leadership places on advancing the African aspect of our foreign policy. This priority is enshrined in the Foreign Policy Concept approved by President Putin in March 2023 and has become increasingly prominent in our practical policies in the international arena.
Our African friends have always found a reliable and understanding friend and partner in Russia. <...> Russia selflessly supported Africans in their heroic struggle against colonial powers for freedom and independence, and assisted in developing young states, their economies, strengthening their defence capabilities, training national specialists, and resolving daunting social challenges.
<...>
Africans are playing an increasingly significant role in global politics and the economy, and widely participate in addressing international issues. The collective voice of African countries in world affairs is growing louder and clearer. Russia consistently advocates for strengthening Africa’s position in the multipolar world that is objectively taking shape before our eyes. This world must be consistently based on the principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and interrelation.
<...>
🤝 We support the push of our African friends to secure a permanent seat at the UN Security Council and we respect the decisions taken by Africans in this regard. I’m referring to the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
We welcome the successful development of strong integration entities in Africa. We support our friends’ desire to determine their own future, as they remain guided by the African solutions to African problems principle.
Russia-Africa cooperation, which President Vladimir Putin termed strategic in his article “Russia and Africa: Joining Efforts for Peace, Progress and a Successful Future,” is reaching new qualitative heights.
The significance of the first and second Russia-Africa Summits, alongside last November’s inaugural ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, cannot be overstated. In conjunction with our African partners, we are implementing agreed measures under the Action Plan adopted in St Petersburg in summer 2023.
📈 Progress is tangible, yet more remains to be done. Even though growing ($25 billion in 2024), our trade and economic cooperation still underperforms relative to its potential. Other African partners post markedly higher figures – a spur to identifying new constructive projects that solidify the material foundations of our strategic partnership. Opportunities abound, particularly in energy, logistics and transport corridors, creation of reliable settlement systems in high-tech domains (including outer space exploration, digital technologies, and nuclear energy), and beyond.
We stand ready to collaborate bilaterally and through our like-minded partners and friends in the #EAEU, the #CIS, and the #SCO. Africa’s positions within #BRICS continue to strengthen – a trajectory set to expand further. <...>
Russia will continue to support African nations in countering terrorism, including through the establishment of pertinent agencies, ensuring food security, combatting epidemics, and training highly skilled personnel.
We are convinced that Africa is our natural ally in our joint endeavours to uphold the UN Charter’s principles of justice and equality.
Read in full
#RussiaAfrica
Forwarded from Russian Mission Vienna
🇷🇺 Comment by Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov to RIA Novosti news agency
❓The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reports that the IAEA was forced to postpone the rotation of its personnel at the Zaporozhskaya NPP due to the lack of security guarantees from the Russian Federation
The accusation is that «during one of the previous rotations, Russia struck an IAEA vehicle with a drone»
Did the Agency really cancel the rotation? For what reasons? And when can it take place?
💬 The statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is a lie. The Russian Ministry of Defence provided the IAEA staff with all the necessary security guarantees during the rotation. The IAEA leadership had to postpone the rotation of personell scheduled for February 5 because the Ukrainian side tried to put forward new demands that go beyond the established practice
💬 The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also stated that this is not the first time that «the Kremlin has used blackmail as a means of intimidating international experts and undermining their independence». This is also not true. The Russian side has consistently fully ensured security guarantees and a «silence regime» during the rotation of IAEA personnel at the Zaporozhskaya NPP. But the Ukrainian side has violated this «silence regime» at least three or four times over the past two and a half years. The last time was on December 10, when a Ukrainian drone hit an IAEA armored vehicle from behind, which was used to transport personnel. IAEA employees recorded that the drone had come from the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which Rafael Grossi reported to the IAEA Board of Governors
💬 We expect that the Ukrainian side will stop creating obstacles to the rotation and will ensure that it is carried out in accordance with established modalities. Moreover, this must be done immediately
❓The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reports that the IAEA was forced to postpone the rotation of its personnel at the Zaporozhskaya NPP due to the lack of security guarantees from the Russian Federation
The accusation is that «during one of the previous rotations, Russia struck an IAEA vehicle with a drone»
Did the Agency really cancel the rotation? For what reasons? And when can it take place?
💬 The statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is a lie. The Russian Ministry of Defence provided the IAEA staff with all the necessary security guarantees during the rotation. The IAEA leadership had to postpone the rotation of personell scheduled for February 5 because the Ukrainian side tried to put forward new demands that go beyond the established practice
💬 The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also stated that this is not the first time that «the Kremlin has used blackmail as a means of intimidating international experts and undermining their independence». This is also not true. The Russian side has consistently fully ensured security guarantees and a «silence regime» during the rotation of IAEA personnel at the Zaporozhskaya NPP. But the Ukrainian side has violated this «silence regime» at least three or four times over the past two and a half years. The last time was on December 10, when a Ukrainian drone hit an IAEA armored vehicle from behind, which was used to transport personnel. IAEA employees recorded that the drone had come from the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which Rafael Grossi reported to the IAEA Board of Governors
💬 We expect that the Ukrainian side will stop creating obstacles to the rotation and will ensure that it is carried out in accordance with established modalities. Moreover, this must be done immediately
🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at 14th Middle East Conference on the sidelines of Valdai International Discussion Club (Moscow, February 4, 2025)
Key talking points:
• The Middle East is not a playground. The key to resolving the many conflicts there is the creation of a Palestinian state. Numerous resolutions to this effect have been adopted at the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
• The West has no respect whatsoever for international law. It only selects the parts of law it finds applicable at any given moment.
• The latest data show that the crisis in Gaza has claimed the lives of 46'000 Palestinian civilians (perhaps even more, as statistics vary). Around 100'000 civilians, and counting, have been injured. Despite ceasefires, outbreaks of violence can be seen across the region.
• Good thing that a ceasefire was finally reached after more than a year of the Security Council’s attempts to call for one. The Americans blocked all of them, using their veto power on six occasions. Then, they came up with a resolution of their own, which was presented as a solution to all issues. However, when, prior to the vote, we asked the parties (primarily Israel) whether they were willing to implement it, they evaded answering this question which is why we chose not to support it. We abstained. But it was adopted nonetheless. As anticipated, nothing changed.
• I believe the new administration in the White House contributed to quickening the negotiating process. However, the key role was played by Egypt and Qatar, which, in conjunction with the Americans, secured agreements from Israel and Hamas, the first phase of which is now being implemented.
• Despite the developments unfolding in Syria and Lebanon, Libya also remains plagued by unresolved issues, where the West and East cannot agree on the way forward to address the political process. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Geir Pedersen, is acting not too transparently and utterly ineffectively.
• Syria faces major problems, including issues with the current leadership represented by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa and the groups that were part of this organisation. After the change of power in Syria, they didn’t get along in terms of establishing a dialogue and understanding each other. What they should do is try to promote national dialogue as best they can, without seeking to gain geopolitical points, but thinking primarily about the future of the Syrian people. This requires concerted efforts of all external players who can influence this situation. The attempts to exclude Russia, China, and Iran from the process of providing external support for Syrian settlement are hardly driven by good intentions, but, instead, reveal the West’s plans to push its competitors to less meaningful secondary positions.
Read in full
Key talking points:
• The Middle East is not a playground. The key to resolving the many conflicts there is the creation of a Palestinian state. Numerous resolutions to this effect have been adopted at the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
• The West has no respect whatsoever for international law. It only selects the parts of law it finds applicable at any given moment.
• The latest data show that the crisis in Gaza has claimed the lives of 46'000 Palestinian civilians (perhaps even more, as statistics vary). Around 100'000 civilians, and counting, have been injured. Despite ceasefires, outbreaks of violence can be seen across the region.
• Good thing that a ceasefire was finally reached after more than a year of the Security Council’s attempts to call for one. The Americans blocked all of them, using their veto power on six occasions. Then, they came up with a resolution of their own, which was presented as a solution to all issues. However, when, prior to the vote, we asked the parties (primarily Israel) whether they were willing to implement it, they evaded answering this question which is why we chose not to support it. We abstained. But it was adopted nonetheless. As anticipated, nothing changed.
• I believe the new administration in the White House contributed to quickening the negotiating process. However, the key role was played by Egypt and Qatar, which, in conjunction with the Americans, secured agreements from Israel and Hamas, the first phase of which is now being implemented.
• Despite the developments unfolding in Syria and Lebanon, Libya also remains plagued by unresolved issues, where the West and East cannot agree on the way forward to address the political process. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Geir Pedersen, is acting not too transparently and utterly ineffectively.
• Syria faces major problems, including issues with the current leadership represented by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa and the groups that were part of this organisation. After the change of power in Syria, they didn’t get along in terms of establishing a dialogue and understanding each other. What they should do is try to promote national dialogue as best they can, without seeking to gain geopolitical points, but thinking primarily about the future of the Syrian people. This requires concerted efforts of all external players who can influence this situation. The attempts to exclude Russia, China, and Iran from the process of providing external support for Syrian settlement are hardly driven by good intentions, but, instead, reveal the West’s plans to push its competitors to less meaningful secondary positions.
Read in full