🎙 Ответ Министра иностранных дел Российской Федерации С.В.Лаврова на вопрос программы «Москва. Кремль. Путин», Москва (14 мая 2025 года)

❓ Вопрос: Информационный выплеск про малазийский «Боинг» – это случайность накануне российско-малазийских переговоров?

💬 С.В.Лавров: Конечно, это не случайность.

Всем понятно, что это сделано специально, чтобы попытаться омрачить визит. Это не удалось. Наши малазийские друзья прекрасно понимают, о чём идет речь.

На протяжении всех этих лет мы были с ними в тесном контакте. Они видят, что те, кто занялся этим расследованием, делали это не чистоплотно. Фактов полно.

Можно начать с того, что украинцы так и не дали данные со своих радаров, в отличие от нас. Американцы так и не дали данные со своих спутников, а судьи в Гааге записали, что, мол, США им сказали, ссылаясь на данные со своих спутников, что это сделала Россия – мы им верим. Но так юриспруденция не осуществляется.

⚡️ Statement by the Head of Delegation of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky on the outcomes of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul (May 16, 2025)

💬 Dear colleagues,

The direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side, held on the initiative of the President of Russia, have just concluded.

In general, we are satisfied with the outcome and are ready to continue contacts.

This is what we agreed on:

1. In the coming days there will be a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war — 1,000 for 1,000.

2. The Ukrainian side has requested direct talks between the heads of state. We have taken notice of this request.

3. We agreed that each side would present its vision of a possible future ceasefire. This will be outlined in detail.

Once this vision has been presented, we believe it would be appropriate, as also agreed, to continue our negotiations.

The Supreme Court of the Lugansk People’s Republic has sentenced Australian citizen Oscar Charles Augustus Jenkins to 13 years in a maximum-security prison.
Mr Jenkins was found guilty under Part 3 of Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Mercenarism”):

“Participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict or military actions shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of seven to fifteen years with or without restriction of liberty for a term of up to one year.

Note: A mercenary is a person acting for the purpose of receiving material compensation and who is not a citizen of a state participating in an armed conflict or military actions, does not permanently reside on its territory, and is not a person sent to perform official duties.”

It was established that Oscar Jenkins had arrived in Ukraine in February 2024 in order to fight against the Russian Federation, for a generous remuneration.

This is not a “sham trial” as the Australian Government and the mainstream media would like to present it. Russia has repeatedly warned that foreign mercenaries who fight on the side of the Kiev regime are subject to criminal liability. Thus, the Australian side’s “outrage” at the legitimate court ruling does, indeed, raise questions.

Perhaps next time, when giving the trite “do not travel” advice, it would be worth reminding the Australians who intend to get into the Special Military Operation zone that they may be prosecuted under the Russian Criminal Code.

⚡️ President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s statement to the media following a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump (May 19, 2025)

💬 Vladimir Putin: Good evening.

Our colleagues asked me to briefly comment on the outcome of my telephone conversation with the President of the United States.

This conversation has effectively taken place and lasted more than two hours. I would like to emphasise that it was both substantive and quite candid. Overall, I believe it was a very productive exchange.

First and foremost, I expressed my gratitude to the President of the United States for the support provided by the United States in facilitating the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine aimed at potentially reaching a peace agreement and resuming the talks which, as we know, were thwarted by the Ukrainian side in 2022.

The President of the United States shared his position on the cessation of hostilities and the prospects for a ceasefire. For my part, I noted that Russia also supports a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis as well. What we need now is to identify the most effective ways towards achieving peace.

We agreed with the President of the United States that Russia would propose and is ready to engage with the Ukrainian side on drafting a memorandum regarding a potential future peace agreement. This would include outlining a range of provisions, such as the principles for settlement, the timeframe for a possible peace deal, and other matters, including a potential temporary ceasefire, should the necessary agreements be reached.

Contacts among participants of the Istanbul meeting and talks have resumed, which gives reason to believe that we are on the right track overall.

I would like to reiterate that the conversation was highly constructive, and I assess it positively.

The key issue, of course, is now for the Russian side and the Ukrainian side to show their firm commitment to peace and to forge a compromise that would be acceptable to all parties.

☝️ Notably, Russia’s position is clear. Eliminating the root causes of this crisis is what matters most to us.

Should any clarifications be necessary, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov and my aide, Mr Yuri Ushakov, will provide further details on today’s telephone talks with President Trump.

#Announcement

🗓 On May 27-29, 2025, in Moscow, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergey Shoigu will chair the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues.

Invitations to participate in this forum have been extended to more than 150 states of the Global South and East, the #CIS, #CSTO, #EAEU, and #SCO countries, as well as to the leaders of more than 20 international organisations.

The agenda of the 13th forum focuses on international security cooperation.

ℹ️ The Security Council of the Russian Federation has been holding the annual international meetings of high representatives in charge of security issues since 2010. It is an important international platform for exchange of views on all global security-related issues and mechanisms to strengthen cooperation between partner countries to combat international terrorism, extremism, transnational crime, drug trafficking, as well as new challenges and threats.

Media accreditation is open until May 20, 2025

⚡ Интервью Министра иностранных дел Российской Федерации С.В.Лаврова для документального фильма телеканала «Звезда», посвященного 70-летнему юбилею С.К.Шойгу (Москва, 21 мая 2025 года)

❓Вопрос: Мы привыкли разделять военное дело и дипломатическое искусство. Но есть понятие военной дипломатии. А что это такое, что оно в себя включает и как его реализуют?

💬 С.В.Лавров: Есть целая профессия – военный дипломат. В большинстве наших посольств есть военные атташаты, которые возглавляются военным атташе. <...> Поэтому связь военных и гражданских дипломатов это не что-то новое. Тем более, что касается известного высказывания про наших союзников: армию и флот (теперь у нас ещё есть воздушно-космические силы и многое другое), сейчас подтверждается, что это непреложная истина. <...>

❓Вопрос: Можно ли сказать о том, какую роль сыграл С.К.Шойгу в развитии нашей военной дипломатии?

💬 С.В.Лавров: С.К.Шойгу, когда работал Министром обороны, активно общался со своими партнёрами. Безусловно, главное внимание уделялось нашим союзникам по #ОДКБ и другим странам #СНГ. Проводились регулярные мероприятия, получившие по линии Министерства обороны большой резонанс и завоевавшие популярность.

Это и международные конференции, которые посещали многие десятки министров обороны или их заместителей. <...> Ежегодно проводившиеся выставки, которые привлекали большое внимание. Это всё часть военной дипломатии – показывать, на что способна твоя армия и как этот опыт мы можем передавать на основе взаимной выгоды, на основе наших союзнических отношений.

<...>

Сейчас на поле боя мы демонстрируем, что можем, что умеем, что у нас есть и что обрели за эти годы, за последние десятилетия. Интерес, который проявляют партнёры к нашим достижениям, говорит о том, что они есть – и достаточно значительные.

❓Вопрос: Давайте попробуем вспомнить то время, когда он был министром по чрезвычайным ситуациям. В период бомбардировок Югославии мы организовывали гуманитарную помощь. Тогда наше МЧС сильно себя проявило. Вы бы не могли вспомнить Вашу совместную работу по этому вопросу?

💬 С.В.Лавров: Мы начинали наше знакомство на этой почве. В 1999 году Запад в нарушение всех норм международного права впервые в послевоенной Европе применил грубую силу, включая бомбардировки гражданских объектов, против европейского государства, члена #ОБСЕ. Это было «рубежным» преступлением наших западных коллег.

Сейчас они пытаются говорить, что в первый раз сила была применена в регионе ОБСЕ против Украины. Они врут. И они это знают. Никаких угроз со стороны Сербии в отношении Запада не проистекало. Никто на границах стран Запада никаких военных инфраструктур не выстраивал, как это делали прямо на наших границах западники с Украиной. Поэтому это на их совести. <...>

В тот период способности Сергея Кужугетовича как переговорщика были весьма востребованы. <...>

❓Вопрос: Переходя к нашему времени и к Совету Безопасности Российской Федерации. Какие направления внешнеполитической деятельности нашего Совбеза можно назвать приоритетными? Какую роль в них играют личные качества Сергея Кужугетовича?

💬 С.В.Лавров: Направления деятельности Совета Безопасности определяет Президент Российской Федерации. Там нет главных и второстепенных направлений. <...>

Сергей Кужугетович – это один из самых долго работающих государственных деятелей без всякого преувеличения. С 1990 года он занимает государственные посты. Поэтому качеств ему не занимать. У него огромный опыт и в сферах миротворчества (о чём мы с Вами говорили, это было в Закавказье), и в сферах военного дела и военного строительства, а также в сферах строительства в целом.

Читайте полностью

🎙️Из брифинга официального представителя МИД России М.В.Захаровой

«Сегодня ЕАЭС – пример успешного интеграционного объединения, взаимодействие в рамках которого строится на принципах равенства, доверия и уважения, учета интересов каждого участника.

<...>

❗ЕАЭС стал важным игроком на международной арене: об этом свидетельствует сеть международных контактов Союза. Она включает в себя соглашения о свободной торговле с 🇻🇳Вьетнамом, 🇷🇸Сербией и 🇮🇷Ираном, а также непреференциальное соглашение с 🇨🇳Китаем и более 80 меморандумов о сотрудничестве по линии наднационального органа Союза – Евразийской экономической комиссии. <...> Активно осуществляется взаимодействие с государствами-наблюдателями – 🇺🇿Узбекистаном, 🇨🇺Кубой и 🇮🇷Ираном.


🤝 Поздравляем с наступающим Днем ЕАЭС, благодарим коллег из стран Союза и Евразийской экономической комиссии за плодотворное взаимодействие. Нацелены на дальнейшее раскрытие экономического потенциала, наращивание и укрепление интеграции на благо населения и бизнеса».

#ЕАЭС
#ДеньЕАЭС

#KievRegimeCrimes

❗️ Maxim Grigoryev, the Сhairman of the International Public Tribunal on the Crimes of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, which includes representatives of civil society from more than 30 countries, continues recording reports of war crimes committed by the Kiev regime towards prisoners of war (POWs).

Below are their first-hand accounts 👇

💬 Prisoner of war Matvey Ainyaurgin:

"When they [Ukrainian Armed Forces] captured me, the first thing they did was beat me up. <...> They said they were going to 'zero me out,' which meant killing me. <...> I had wounds on my legs, and they kicked me directly on those wounds."

💬 Prisoner of war Oleg Kisilev:

"The [Ukrainian Armed Forces] attacked me from all sides with two or three bats. They smashed my head. <...> They broke my arm and my leg; they shattered my kneecaps with a bat. <...> They constantly broke me down morally. I asked for painkillers, but they never gave me any."

💬 Prisoner of war Ivan Fomenko:

"The [Ukrainian Armed Forces] stripped us naked, then took bats, clubs, and sticks and beat us. They set two dogs on us and watched as the dogs tore people apart. The dogs bit hard. <...> Some were tortured with electric shocks."

🌏 The fifth season of the International Prize #WEARETOGETHER has been launched.

Foreign citizens and NGOs can apply until June 23, 2025 on the official website of the Prize.

🏆 The Prize is available for volunteers and NGOs from across the globe. The laureates will receive a cash prize valued at $10,000 and an invitation to take part in the International Forum of Civil Participation #WEARETOGETHER, which is traditionally held in December in Moscow.

Prize nominations:

🔸“Sustainable Future”
For those who are leading projects in the field of environmental protection, environmental education, ecological consumption, “green” economy and technologies.

🔸“Human Assistance”
For those who run projects aimed at improving the well-being of vulnerable categories of citizens, providing social and humanitarian assistance to people, discovering talents and nurturing individuals, developing education and volunteerism.

📆 24 мая в России и за её пределами торжественно отмечается День славянской письменности и культуры. Этот праздник посвящён памяти святых равноапостольных братьев Мефодия и Кирилла, выдающихся просветителей славян. Кирилл и Мефодий почитаются как создатели первой славянской азбуки, а их подвижническая деятельность заложила фундамент для развития славянской, в том числе русской, письменности и литературы.

В России этот праздник впервые отмечался в 1863 году — в год тысячелетия создания славянской азбуки братьями-просветителями. Тогда же Святейший Синод постановил ежегодно чтить их память. В Советском Союзе идея возрождения праздника возникла в 1986 году, а в 1991 году он обрёл статус государственного.

🌍 Славянские языки обладают богатой тысячелетней историей и сложной географией распространения. Сегодня на языках славянской группы говорят более 400 миллионов человек по всему миру, по разным подсчётам в эту группу входят от десяти до восемнадцати языков, из которых наиболее распространённым является русский язык.

🎙 М.В.Захарова:
Этот праздник широко отмечается и в нашей стране, и за рубежом. Он напоминает нам об общих истоках славянских языков, является ярким свидетельством неразрывной исторической связи и культурного единства славянских народов.

(из брифинга официального представителя МИД России от 20 мая 2025 года)

🌍 African nations are displaying a strong interest in the XIII international Meeting of High Representatives For Security Issues to be held at the "Russia" National Centre in Moscow on May 27−29, 2025.

Forty-five delegations from over 40 countries of Africa, as well as several Africa-based international organisations, including the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority for Development, have confirmed their intention to participate in the forum that will be chaired by Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu.

🤝 In a separate briefing to be held on the sidelines of the 13th meeting, participants will discuss ways to further intensify relations between Russia and African countries even further, particularly in light of decisions approved by the Russia-Africa summits.

The Press Service of the Executive Office of the Security Council of Russia:

“Large-scale geopolitical changes have directly affected the interests of states of the Global South and East. We hear an increasingly audible voice of African countries, which seek to conduct their foreign policy in the interests of their people and are ready to defend their right to freely choose their path of development. Russia has always rendered assistance to its African partners in their striving to defend their sovereignty, national interests and legitimate place in the system of international relations.”

#RussiaAfrica

⚡ Foreign Ministry statement on Kiev’s latest drone attack targeting Russian civilians (May 23, 2025)

The Kiev regime is relentless in its terror attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in numerous Russian regions, including Moscow.

According to the Defence Ministry, from May 20 to 8 am on May 23, the number of aerial attacks amounted to multiples of what it used to be with 788 strikes by fixed-wing UAVs and Western-made missiles targeting Russian territory outside the area of the special military operation. Our air defence forces destroyed 776 drones and missiles, though unfortunately, 12 UAVs made it through our defences and hit their targets.

Casualties have been reported. On May 22, an attack on the village of Panteleymonovka, the Donetsk People’s Republic, wounded eight people. On the same day, a drone strike in the Vasilyevsky Municipal District, Zaporozhye Region, killed a woman born in 1990 and injured four children aged 10, 9, 8, and 1.

On the night of May 23, a downed UAV triggered fire in an industrial zone of Yelets, Lipetsk Region, injuring eight people. Additionally, the Ukrainian forces launched two HIMARS missiles on civilian targets in the city of Lgov, Kursk Region, also resulting in casualties, including two children.

Notably, even after the Ukrainian forces had been ousted from the Kursk Region, they keep trying to infiltrate our territory and launch drone, long-range artillery, and missile attacks.

Under these circumstances, the President was compelled to make a decision on establishing a security buffer zone on adjacent territory in order to minimise the ability of the Ukrainian forces to infiltrate and to attack our border regions using various munitions.

The latest barbaric terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime were carried out in an attempt to thwart direct Russia-Ukraine talks facilitated by the US Administration, which are designed to settle the conflict definitively. They also appear intended to derail the implementation of initial agreements reached in Istanbul on May 16, including a massive prisoner exchange.

These attacks are part of the strategy pursued by Ukraine’s party of war, which also includes violations of energy and Easter ceasefires that Russia has strictly observed, as well as the unilateral ceasefire declared by us during the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory celebrations.

Without a doubt, Russia will deliver a matching response to barrages of terrorist attacks carried out by the Kiev regime.

Unlike the Ukrainian side, our targets will be strictly limited to military facilities and defence industry plants.

☝️ To reiterate, our fundamental commitment to a constructive search for a peaceful settlement through dialogue remains unchanged.

✍️ 24 мая в начальной общеобразовательной школе при Посольстве России в Австралии прошел тематический урок, приуроченный ко Дню славянской письменности и культуры.

🎓 Ученики познакомились с историей жизни создателей первой славянской азбуки - святых равноапостольных братьев Кирилла и Мефодия, а также ответили на вопросы викторины, посвященной интересным фактам о славянских языках.

📜 Это праздник напоминает нам о важности понимания истоков родной письменности и символизирует духовное единство славянских народов.

#ДеньСлавянскойПисьменности

🌍 May 25 is African Liberation Day or #AfricaDay.

On this day in 1963, the first conference of 32 independent African states took place in Addis Ababa, marking the birth of the Organisation of African Unity — the predecessor of today's African Union (since 2002).

This was how the first stage in the decolonisation process on the African continent reached its culminating point.

👉 Read our feature article on Africa Day

Long before arrival of Europeans, African societies had well-developed, self-sufficient economic and social systems, as well as their own forms of governance.

Everything changed during the Age of Discovery, when the Portuguese and Spanish were the first to establish trade routes along Africa’s west coast in the 15th century.

⛓ The main tool for generating maximum returns was the slave trade, which began in the 7th and 6th centuries BC and brought about a boom with the discovery of the New World, when colonisers needed free labour.

Apart from the slave trade, the colonisers (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium) ruthlessly exploited natural resources. They exported Africa's gold, ivory and other valuable goods.

According to official UN data, approximately 17 million individuals were forcibly taken from Africa (and reached their destination) throughout the history of the slave trade. At least as many died in transit. Some researchers estimate the total number of lives lost to be close to 50 million people... At the same time, Africa’s economic potential was severely damaged, $777 trillions were extracted by the colonial powers.

With the outbreak of World War II, Africa found itself at the centre of global change, sparking the emergence and strengthening of national liberation movements across the continent.

After years of struggle, Ghana became the first African country to gain independence in 1957, inspiring other nations and national liberation movements.

The Soviet Union was proactive in assisting African states in their struggle for independence and in helping establish these young nations.

📃 It was the Soviet Union that initiated the adoption of the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which proclaimed the need to end colonialism and discrimination in all its forms.

In fact, the USSR helped build 37 African economies by signing bilateral economic and technical cooperation agreements with them. Soviet military advisors and experts worked in Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, Mozambique and several other African countries at different times.

Today, Africa is the fastest-growing macro-region on the planet. African countries are experiencing explosive economic growth. According to projections, by 2050, Africans will make up around 40% of the world’s population.

💬 Maria Zakharova:

"During the Soviet era, our country made a substantial contribution to liberating African nations from colonial dependence, selflessly and consistently assisting the continent’s young states in strengthening their sovereignty, developing their economies and training local personnel.

Today, our relations are moving along an upward trajectory. Building a truly strategic partnership with Africa is one of Russia’s foreign policy priorities."

(From Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s briefing on May 20, 2025)

☝️ African Liberation Day is an important symbol of solidarity and unity for all African nations. It commemorates the long and arduous path that Africans have travelled in the struggle for their independence and the right to self-determination.

Unfortunately, Western powers not only continue to exploit the African nations by siphoning off their resources and helping their corporations earn hefty profits, but also seek to erase or rewrite their own unsightly record there.

The descendants of colonisers are trying to pretend that they have nothing to do with the suffering many generations of Africans have had to endure, including racism, slave trade and punitive operations.

❗️ But Africa remembers it all.

#AfricaDay

🇷🇺 The Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Russian Federation:

⚡️ The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic sentenced 25-year-old citizen of the Commonwealth of Australia Caleb John List in absentia, finding him guilty of serving as a mercenary in an armed conflict under Article 359.3 of the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code.

The court established that, in February 2022, List had arrived in Ukraine via Poland and voluntarily joined the International Legion. He received military training at Yavorov military base where he acquired skills of handling weapons, learned the strategy and tactics of combat operations and obtained the required material support. Following the training course, List was issued firearms, ammunition, uniform and specialised equipment.

From May 2023 through February 2025, he served as an operator with a territorial defence battalion of the 127th Separate Territorial Defence Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and was involved in combat operations against service personnel of the Russian Armed Forces.

For these actions, he received over 2.9 million roubles.

❗️ From the state prosecutor’s point of view, the court sentenced List to 14 years in absentia. He is to serve the prison time at a maximum-security penitentiary.

📄 Russia's Foreign Ministry's report on the "Situation in several European countries with the desecration and destruction of monuments dedicated to those who fought against Nazism during World War II"

Full text of the report

Since the end of the World War II, approximately 4'000 monuments to Soviet soldiers have been erected in Europe. A total of more than one million Red Army soldiers are buried in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. In general, the peoples of the USSR and Europe paid a much higher price for the Victory over Nazism, measured in tens of millions of lives.

The Soviet army liberated Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria (the eastern part of the country and Vienna), Romania, Yugoslavia and a number of other European countries from Nazism.

The majority of Soviet monuments were erected specifically in these countries. There are also monuments to the Soviet soldier in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, and France.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many memorials ended up on the territory of states bordering Russia that emerged from the former Soviet republics. In several of these countries, the chosen course toward reviving Nazism and rewriting history has had a serious impact on the memorial legacy of the Great Patriotic War.

❌ Decommunization, the destruction of monuments to our common history and culture, the desecration of the graves of fallen Soviet soldiers, neo-Nazi torch marches, the glorification of Nazis and their collaborators, the physical elimination of ideological opponents — many of these practices, and often all of them at once, have become commonplace in Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as in Poland, the Czech Republic and a number of other European countries.

These very countries are the focus of this report. Under the guise of "decommunization" laws and by dismantling monuments to Soviet soldiers, the governments of these countries are attempting to "reinforce an anti-Russian front".

At the same time, monuments to Nazi criminals are being erected, their protection is being enshrined in law, and rare acts of activists opposing Nazi memorials are harshly prosecuted. The key objective of such steps is the complete erasure of historical memory.

This report has been prepared as part of the Russia's Foreign Ministry's efforts to draw attention to the manifestations of various forms of Nazi glorification, neo-Nazism, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance in foreign countries.

The report focuses on the actions of certain countries, primarily the Baltic states, Poland, and Ukraine, which, using Russia’s special military operation aimed at denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, as well as the protection of the peaceful population of Donbass, as a pretext, have sharply escalated a long-standing practice of destroying Soviet, Russian, and often their own memorial heritage on their territories.

👉 Detailed account of the unlawful actions by authorities of Ukraine, the Baltic states, Bulgaria, Moldova, Poland, Finland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, targeting Russian and Soviet monuments.

🎙 Address by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to participants of the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues (May 28, 2025)

💬 Vladimir Putin: I am pleased to welcome you to Moscow for the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues.

Over the past nearly fifteen years, your Forum has convincingly affirmed its significant status and authority. I know that in these days, participants of the Meeting — representatives of delegations from many states — can expect a substantial programme, with the main discussion dedicated to the prospects of establishing a new global security architecture.

☝️ As for Russia, our approaches remain principled and unchanged. I have said it before and will reiterate: we are convinced that the new security architecture must be equal and indivisible — that is, all states must receive firm guarantees of their own security, but not at the expense of the security and interests of other countries.

It is vital to make our continent a space of peace and stability, an example of sustainable economic, social, and cultural development. We believe that the foundation for creating such a universal security system could be the existing and well-established multilateral cooperation formats, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and others.

Your current meeting is widely attended by states of the Global South and East. It is they, in essence, who form the global majority, seek to influence regional and international processes more actively, and uphold the principle of sovereign equality and the right to their own development model.

Undoubtedly, in building joint efforts, it is necessary to rely on positive historical experience, on the lessons of the past. This year marks the 80th Anniversary of the end of #WWII, which fundamentally influenced the development of the international community.

The experience of uniting states in the fight against evil, against Nazism and militarism, the understanding of the colossal price humanity paid for peace and freedom, for the right of peoples to choose their own path of development, laid the foundations of the post-war world order and led to the creation of the UN — a universal, legitimate organisation based on the principles of international law, which has helped overcome many geopolitical challenges.

Today, it is especially important to preserve the truth about the events of those years, to counter attempts to rewrite history, to cast doubt on the decisive contribution of the peoples of the Soviet Union to the Victory over Hitler’s Germany, and to glorify Nazi criminals and their accomplices.

Just recently, on May 9, we solemnly marked the Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The celebrations in Moscow became yet another symbol of unity around the ideals of the Great Victory, demonstrating once again the commitment of our friends and partners to shaping a safer world, to constructive cooperation, and to jointly addressing global challenges.

I am convinced that this latest meeting of high representatives overseeing security issues will contribute to the development of new important approaches to strengthening international peace and stability and will help advance dialogue for the benefit of all countries and peoples.

I wish you success.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement on the second round of the resumed direct Russian-Ukrainian talks (Moscow, May 28, 2025)

💬 As you know, with support from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, it became possible to pave the way for the resumption of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. The first round was held on May 16 in Istanbul.

Pursuant to the agreements reached, the parties have exchanged 1,000 prisoners of war each. In addition, Moscow and Kiev agreed in Istanbul to prepare documents setting out the parties’ respective stances on achieving a sustainable settlement.

❗️ As agreed, the Russian side promptly drafted a memorandum that sets out our views on all aspects of reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis. Our delegation, led by Vladimir Medinsky, is ready to present this memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary clarifications during a second round of resumed direct talks in Istanbul next Monday, June 2.

I would like to once again express my gratitude to our Turkish partners for providing a hospitable venue for the talks, which Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed yesterday during his visit to Moscow.

☝️ We hope that all parties that are genuinely interested in the success of the peace process rather than just claim to be in favour of the initiative will support the new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul.