⚡️ The #G20 Leaders Summit has kicked off in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Russian delegation is headed by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation, Maksim Oreshkin.

🤝 At the Summit’s official opening ceremony, Maksim Oreshkin was welcomed by the Vice President of the Republic of South Africa, Paul Mashatile.

#G20SouthAfrica

🇦🇿🇷🇺 On November 21, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin held a meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation Rahman Sahib oglu Mustafayev.

It was noted that the appeal received on 14 November from the Azerbaijani Side concerning the damage to the buildings, property and grounds of Azerbaijan’s diplomatic mission in Kiev had been thoroughly reviewed by the competent Russian authorities.

The Russian Side expresses its sincere regret over the incident.

❗️ At the same time, based on the information examined, it has been determined that the damage to the diplomatic mission of Azerbaijan in Kiev was most likely caused by the improper operation of Ukraine’s air defence systems – presumably the fall of a Patriot SAM missile.

The Azerbaijani Side was once again informed that, in the course of the special military operation, the Russian Armed Forces deliver strikes against legitimate military targets, including facilities of Ukraine’s defence-industrial complex, some of which are located in Kiev.

When planning such strikes, careful control of targeting data is exercised to prevent harm to civilians, and the locations of foreign diplomatic missions are duly considered.

In this context, it was emphasized that claims of an alleged “deliberate nature” of missile strikes against facilities of Azerbaijan in Ukraine do not correspond to reality.

Attention was also drawn to the fact that the Kiev regime, in violation of international humanitarian law, continues to place military facilities – including air defence systems – within residential areas, thereby exposing civilians to danger.

☝️ The Russian Side proceeds from the understanding that Ukraine’s military-political leadership must bear responsibility for all consequences of such criminal actions.

The Sides reaffirmed their mutual commitment to further developing bilateral ties in line with the Declaration on Allied Interaction between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan, signed in Moscow on 22 February 2022.

They discussed the schedule of forthcoming high- and top-level contacts, noted progress in advancing bilateral economic cooperation, and emphasized the importance of fully restoring cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

⚡️ The Russian Side stressed the need for the earliest possible release of 11 Russian nationals detained in Baku on June 30 – July 1, 2025, viewing this as an important step towards normalizing bilateral relations.

Regional matters were also addressed, including potential Russian assistance to Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization based on the package of trilateral agreements reached at the highest level in 2020-2022.

Issues of maintaining the steady work of the “3+3” regional cooperation platform were reviewed.

#RussiaAzerbaijan

#FamilyPhoto

📸 G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg, 22-23 November 2025.

#G20SouthAfrica

🗓 Deputy Foreign Minister and Russia’s Sherpa in BRICS Sergey Ryabkov met with participants of the strategic session of the BRICS Civil Council (Moscow, November 17-18), organised by the #BRICS Expert Council-Russia.

A comprehensive discussion took place regarding the further expansion of multilateral cooperation through civil society and the prospects for implementing joint projects. The meeting participants expressed a shared commitment to strengthening the role of the Council, whose establishment was endorsed following the 16th BRICS Summit (Kazan, October 22–23, 2024), as one of the key BRICS institutions responsible for forming a consolidated public position on the principal issues of the BRICS agenda.

#AntiFake

❗️We noted the article "Who is benefiting geopolitically from African coups?" published in The Sun newspaper on November 21st. It is yet another example of Western stereotypes being used to evaluate Russian policy.

Everyone knows that Western countries have been plundering and exploiting the African continent for centuries. They provoked divisions among African peoples to enslave them. And in the article, we are told that Russia is doing the same thing. We think we don't need to convince anyone on the African continent, including Nigeria, that this is not the case.

The Soviet Union, and now Russia, have always extended a hand of friendship and assistance to our African partners, without pursuing selfish goals. We are confident that this is well remembered here. Incidentally, 65 years ago, the USSR was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Nigeria.

🌐 Following the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, the participants adopted the Leaders' Declaration.

The Russian delegation was helmed by Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation.

Excerpts from the Declaration:

1. We, Leaders of the #G20, who gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, for this historic first Summit on the African Continent under the South African G20 Presidency, on 22 and 23 November 2025, addressed major global challenges and discussed ways to promote solidarity, equality and sustainability as key pillars of inclusive growth.

2. For the first time, G20 Leaders have convened in Africa. <...> We understand our interconnectedness as a global community of nations and reaffirm our commitment to ensure that no one is left behind through multilateral cooperation, macro policy coordination, global partnerships for sustainable development and solidarity.

3. We meet against the backdrop of rising geopolitical and geo-economic competition and instability, heightened conflicts and wars, deepening inequality, increasing global economic uncertainty and fragmentation. In the face of this challenging political and socio-economic environment, we underscore our belief in multilateral cooperation to collectively address shared challenges. We note with distress the immense human suffering and the adverse impact of wars and conflicts around the world.

4. We affirm our unwavering commitment to act in accordance with international law including international humanitarian law and the Charter of the United Nations and its principle of peaceful settlement of disputes and in this regard, we condemn all attacks against civilians and infrastructure. <...>

23. We recognise the inequalities and challenges, along with opportunities for growth, that exist in the current energy landscape globally, particularly in Africa and other developing regions. <...>

27. We will advance energy security, affordability, and access as well as market stability through diverse pathways, and a technologically neutral approach to accelerate just and inclusive sustainable energy transitions, including through additional energy supply and demand- side management and transmission expansion and modernisation efforts that contribute to domestic and collective goals in order to meet growing energy demand. <...>

35. We recognise that inequality, unemployment, under-employment and informal employment, pose significant threats to global economic growth, development, social and economic stability. We underline the imperative to address these challenges, as well as disparities in wealth and development both within and between countries. <...>

38. As Leaders of the G20, we share a vision to harness science, technology, entrepreneurship, and Indigenous and local knowledge in partnership to unlock new pathways to prosperity, leaving no one behind. <...>

81. We emphasise that 2025 marked the 80th Anniversary of the UN and its Charter. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening multilateralism, with the UN at its core, rooted in the principles of international law as they are reflected in the Charter of the United Nations. <...>

84. We reaffirm peace as a path to sustainable economic development and the importance of international cooperation and multilateral solutions in addressing global challenges, including growing economic inequality and instability. <...>

118. We embrace the African Union as a full member of the G20 in its second year in the group, as we are gathered for the first time on African soil. Africa’s voice should continue to be amplified in the G20 and all other international fora. <...>

121. We reiterate our commitment to the G20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation and its continued operation in the spirit of multilateralism, on the basis of consensus, with all members participating on an equal footing in all its events including Summits in accordance with international obligations.

📄 Full text of the Declaration

🎙 Response by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova to a media question regarding the unveiling of the monument to Alexander Pushkin in Paris (November 21, 2025)

❓ Question: We have repeatedly heard in recent years about acts of vandalism in Ukraine, the Baltic states and other European countries against monuments connected with our country’s culture and history. In this context, the unveiling of a monument to Alexander Pushkin in the centre of Paris was quite unexpected. How was it possible to implement this project?

💬 Maria Zakharova: On November 20, at the initiative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, a monument to Alexander Pushkin was unveiled in the very heart of Paris, on the premises of the Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Centre, which is visited daily by hundreds of residents and guests of the French capital.

The author of the monument is Merited Artist of the Russian Federation Alexander Taratynov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, whose works adorn many cities in our country and abroad. He is known in France primarily for the monuments commemorating the exploits of the participants in the Russian Army’s Foreign Campaign of 1813-1814 and the troops of the Russian Expeditionary Corps who were fighting in France during World War I.  

The ceremony was attended by Russian Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov, representatives of the diplomatic corps, Russian Orthodox Church, literary and cultural figures of France, our compatriots, as well as the poet’s direct descendants currently residing in Belgium – Alexander Pushkin and his wife, Maria Pushkina-Durnovo.

A number of exciting Pushkin-themed events were arranged for the occasion, with the assistance of the Russian Ministry of Culture, including a chamber performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, with soloists from the Bolshoi Theatre and Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre.

☝️ In the current situation, when Russophobia is being elevated to the level of state policy in a number of countries, while the Russian language and culture are being persecuted, the unveiling of a monument to the great Russian poet in Paris takes on special significance.

It will be a glaring symbol of Russia’s spiritual and cultural presence in France, a new point of attraction for all those who are interested in Russian history and culture.

🤝 No matter how hard are the times Russian-French relations are going through, Pushkin’s legacy has always been – and we believe will remain – a unifying force and a plentiful source of inspiration.

📰 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

Neo-Nazism on the march across Europe

“I killed 500 Russians” – this is the headline of a piece in the British Telegraph dedicated to the Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä. In their frenzied effort to re-write history, the Brits went as far as designating this killer of Russians as WWII hero, even if he only took part in the USSR’s conflict with Finland in 1939-1940. Including this figure in a series of publications about World War II reflects a targeted effort to erase USSR’s contribution to the allied coalition and denigrate Red Army.

One can’t help but recall similar manifestations of Japanese militarism: in 1937, the press in the Land of the Rising Sun glorified a “contest” among Imperial Army officers… for beheading Chinese people. Many historians note that the victims were unarmed prisoners. Newspapers dwelled on the details of these crimes with relish. After the war, the “heroes” received the punishment they deserved. This is something the British press and Western revisionists must keep in mind.

This article came in the footsteps of Sisu: Road to Revenge, a sequel to a story about a Finnish commando in which the lead character kills Soviet soldiers and officers in 1946 and acts with extreme cruelty in doing so. After all, this film has an 18+ age rating.

The filmmakers openly admit they were inspired by the image of Simo Häyhä, a man who killed Russians.

The first part is set during the Lapland War, when the lead character fights Nazis and Fins decided to confront their former allies, Third Reich. In the sequel, the enemies are Russians.

We have already provided detailed insights into what happened in 1939 and 1940, and later between 1941 and 1944 when Finland tried building the Greater Suomi by seeking an alliance with Hitler and taking part in the genocide of the Soviet nation. But when the Red Army crushed the “invincible Finns,” they suddenly began fighting Nazism.

It is telling that this cold-blooded sniper has been turned into yet another piece of anti-Russian propaganda. Wounded in 1940, he became disabled and later died alone. The films echo Mannerheim-era myths, portraying Simo Häyhä as a legendary hero and claiming Soviet soldiers called him the “White Death” — a notion historians find no evidence for. The nickname only appears in Finnish literature from the late 1980s.

Western popular culture is clearly facing a crisis of character, with no real heroes left to look up to. Driven by short-term political aims, it now casts Russians as villains to be slaughtered by the hundreds. So they found someone who actually did that — and turned this Finnish Rambo-style figure into a “hero.”

But Simo Häyhä was never a hero. Historians have demonstrated that he wanted to join the Nazi ranks but his disability prevented him from fighting shoulder to shoulder with the German troops. By the way, some believe that he never took any pride in the way he served and believed that the killings were a sin. His military diary contains the line: “This is my list of sins.”

Anyway, in the war where Häyhä fought against the Red Army, Finland was defeated. And that is yet another reason why he was never a hero and never could be. But Finland is now in NATO, where the rehabilitation of Nazism and Russophobia have become foundational principles.

There was a time when Soviet snipers were portrayed as heroes in America and Hollywood. Woody Guthrie, a country singer, devoted one of his top-ranking songs to Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet sniper. President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt invited her to a reception so that she could address members of Congress.

Today, they invite the Banderite killers to speak in front of their Congress members. There was also Vasily Zaitsev, a sniper from Stalingrad, as portrayed by Jude Law in the 2001 film, 'Enemy at the Gates', even though it contained too many Hollywood-style distortions. This is what history will remember. It cannot be re-written by publishing these opportunistic articles or presenting an alternate reality on the screen.

🎙From the responses of Maksim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation and head of the Russian delegation at the #G20 Leaders Summit, to questions from Russian media:

📍Johannesburg, 22 November 2025

• The G20 platform is extremely important. It is great that agreement was reached on the Declaration, which includes significant provisions on food security, as well as on a number of other issues related to sustainable development. All of this was incorporated into the final document. This means that the format continues to function and deliver results.

• Regardless of who holds the presidency, the Russian side always strives to contribute to a constructive development agenda.

• The global economy is facing severe fragmentation. Developed economies continue to pursue unlawful unilateral measures, including sanctions, trade barriers, technological and educational restrictions, as well as the seizure of sovereign assets.

☝️ We believe that fair and efficiently functioning trade benefits not only Russia, but the entire world.

#G20SouthAfrica

🎙️Interview of Russian Ambassador to South Africa Roman Ambarov to RIA Novosti (21 November 2025)

READ IN FULL (in Russian)

❓ Question: Vice President of South Africa Paul Mashatile said in the summer that the country wants to attract Russian investments and increase trade volume. Have any negotiations already begun? If yes, with which companies? What conditions does South Africa offer?

💬 Roman Ambarov: Certainly, the visit of the South African Vice President to Russia in June 2025 was an important step in strengthening dialogue in the economic sphere. It should be noted that the search for commercial opportunities and substantive consultations between Russian and South African businesses are taking place on an ongoing basis, including through the specialized bilateral structure — the #RussiaSouthAfrica Business Council.

We observe interest from companies in both countries in developing cooperation in energy, agriculture, mineral extraction, and the supply of equipment and mineral resources. <…>

South African authorities, for their part, declare openness to expanding trade and investment ties, offering opportunities for foreign economic operators to participate in government infrastructure and energy tenders. <…>

❗️Relations between our states are built on equal partnership. This approach fundamentally differs from the neo-colonial practices of certain outside players who seek to reinforce Africa’s economic dependence by imposing loan schemes and asymmetric conditions for resource access.

❓ Question: South African authorities expressed interest in cooperation with Russia in the field of liquefied natural gas, but no details have been published. Does the country still have an interest in LNG imports?

💬 Roman Ambarov: Within the framework of the current strategy for the development of South Africa’s energy sector, the interest in importing LNG from abroad indeed remains. The government has emphasized that, given the limited domestic gas reserves, the country aims to diversify its supply sources. It has also noted the need to build LNG receiving terminals as one of the options for securing gas supply.

Moreover, in the integrated resource plan approved in October 2025, which determines the main trends in the development of South Africa’s electric power sector, gas is regarded as an element of the transition to a low-carbon economy: it allows for flexible generation while supporting industrialization.

❓ Question: In 2023, Roscosmos Director Yury Borisov said that Russia would propose cooperation to South Africa, which had expressed interest in sending its cosmonauts to the ISS. What contacts have taken place in the past two years? Is South Africa showing interest in space cooperation with Russia today?

💬 Roman Ambarov: Cooperation in the space sector between Russia and South Africa is developing both bilaterally and on international platforms, primarily within #BRICS.

It is no coincidence that our South African partners were among the first to support Russia’s proposal to create a BRICS Space Council, which is intended to coordinate work on current joint projects and consider new initiatives for scientific and technical cooperation and for improving international legal regulation of space activities. <…>

☝️ Russia, possessing significant expertise in the space industry, is *
one of the most reliable and technologically mature partners for Africa. As you know, in July 2023 a Russian optical-electronic complex for monitoring space debris was opened in South Africa, in Hartbeesthoek. At the same time, Russia is interested in expanding the range of traditional space services provided to our friends in Africa, including by developing ground infrastructure in African countries.

#RussiaSouthAfrica

🎙 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova interviewed by representatives of the International “People’s Unity Club”, a discussion with Pepe Escobar, Larry Johnson, George Galloway and others on topical political matters (November 20, 2025)

Key points:

👉 ON US VISA RESTRICTIONS

US citizens receive Russian visas "just like that", while Russian nationals must leave the country, wait months for an interview, and still have no guarantee that a US visa will be issued.

We never retaliate against ordinary people. Many have families abroad, elderly relatives, or health-related needs. People must not suffer because of the actions of their governments.

That is why Russia will continue to treat visa matters responsibly and humanely. Everything will be fine on our side.

👉 ON PERSECUTION OF CANONICAL ORTHODOXY IN UKRAINE

Orthodox Christianity is the largest and canonical religion in Ukraine – a traditional form of Christianity that has never advocated violence or acted as a religious sect.

What is most striking is this: the Zelensky regime claims to be “decommunizing” Ukraine, supposedly rejecting all communist legacy. Yet its actions against the Orthodox Church go far beyond anything the communists ever did.

The Kiev regime seizes churches, kills, imprisons and politically persecutes priests, drives congregations out into the streets and forces them to swear allegiance to a newly created, artificial schismatic church.

Western audiences need to hear the voices of those who have spent months on the defendants’ bench, the priests now behind bars, the relatives of the clergy who were killed, and the congregations that were, quite literally, destroyed.

👉 ON CULTIVATION OF HATRED IN BRITISH SOCIETY

The British signature “licence to kill”, glorified in the James Bond franchise, is essentially an indulgence to eliminate those whom the state designates as enemies. And we know from Britain's colonial past, the Crown and state agencies often designated ordinary people in Africa and other world regions as its enemies.

This institutionalised hatred directed at our country is not a response to Russia’s actions – it is part of a long-standing, state-level ideology. And I am speaking about the British elites, not ordinary people.

Most people in the UK know little about Russia – they are poorly informed and heavily influenced by tabloid culture. The yellow press sets their worldview. This Russophobia is not a British national trait – it is cultivated by the ruling class and passed down through generations.

👉 ON HISTORICAL FALCIFICATIONS

The situation around Ukraine is part of a wider crisis of fakes. Western youth know little about history nowadays – ask them about the Nuremberg Trials, which mark their 80th anniversary, and few will answer.

The events in Bucha were constructed using the same template as the Nazi provocation in Nemmersdorf in 1944. The same tropes: Soviet forces withdraw from the settlement, the Nazis enter, declare a “terrible massacre”, bring in foreign journalists, and even convene an "international tribunal".

Only decades later did representatives of modern Germany acknowledge that it had been a staged operation to smear the victorious Red Army.

The Bucha narrative was driven primarily by British media and served one goal – to sabotage the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in spring 2022.

👉 ON CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE

The Kiev regime is at the centre of an international corruption scheme. Another bubble (aka "the Mindich case") has just burst, exposing the true nature of this system.

Western defence ministries have no proper mechanisms to track arms sent to Ukraine. There are no mixed monitoring or audit teams, no reconciliation of what was shipped and what was received.

What exists instead is a mafia-style operation that launders money through arms deliveries and the ongoing bloodshed.

One must keep in mind the fact that all Western weapons received by Zelensky for acts of terrorism against Russia are legitimate targets and will be eliminated.

🕯 In Memory of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova

📅 On November 24, 2025, it will be 6️⃣5️⃣ years since the passing of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexander III the Peacemaker and Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark).

🇷🇺 After the Revolution, she moved with her August Mother and relatives to the estate of Ai-Todor in Crimea. In 1919 she emigrated.

🇨🇦 From 1948 she lived in Canada. She is buried in the Russian section of the North York Cemetery in Toronto.

***
☦️ Give rest, O Lord, in blessed repose to the soul of Thy handmaiden, the Right-Believing Sovereign Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, and make her memory to be eternal.

🎙 Russian Mission to the UN Office in Geneva:

🇷🇺🇺🇳 On November 20-21, Geneva hosted the 66th Session of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (#UNITAR). Petr Ilichev, Director of the Department for New Challenges and Threats of the Russian Foreign Ministry, took part in the meeting.

The Board approved UNITAR’s 2026-2029 Strategic Framework, aimed at expanding training programmes for public officials, strengthening the educational capacity of universities in developing countries with a focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and enhancing the effectiveness of the UN development system.

The Board reviewed the prospects for a merger between UNITAR and the UN System Staff College, proposed by the UN Secretary-General under the UN80 initiative.

The Institute’s 2026-2027 budget was approved at 106 million US dollars. The projected increase in expenditures for the next biennium is linked to the expansion of the learner base and course themes, as well as growing donor interest in UNITAR projects, some of which are carried out with support from Russia.

🇷🇺🇹🇷📞 On November 24, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone conversation.

The Presidents reviewed current bilateral cooperation issues, with a focus on further expanding trade and investment ties and advancing strategically important energy projects.

The Leaders exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine, including in the context of the US proposals for a peaceful settlement. Vladimir Putin noted that the proposals, in the form in which the Russian Side has examined them, are in line with the discussions held at the Russia-US Summit in Alaska and could, in principle, serve as a basis for a final peace agreement.

Russia’s continued interest in a political and diplomatic resolution of the Ukrainian crisis was reaffirmed.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his intention to provide every possible support to the negotiation process and confirmed Türkiye’s readiness to continue offering the Istanbul platform for this purpose. The parties agreed to step up Russian-Turkish contacts on the Ukrainian dossier at various levels.

President Erdogan also shared his impressions from the G20 Summit in Johannesburg and meetings with a number of participating heads of state.

🤝 The Presidents agreed to maintain regular contacts.

#RussiaTürkiye