🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues (Moscow, May 28, 2025)

Key talking points:

💬 Global South and East countries are becoming increasingly vocal when discussing and addressing the most urgent and key challenges the world is facing today. This reflects a tectonic shift in international politics, which took place over the past years and continues to this day. It primarily consists of an accelerated emergence of a multipolar world order, as well as new centres of development across the Eurasian continent, Africa and Latin America taking on a bigger role in the global distribution of power.

• #BRICS exemplifies constructive multilateral cooperation among major international actors and their partners representing various continents, cultures and religions. It has firmly established itself as one of the pillars of a multipolar world order and a champion of the Global Majority on the international stage.

• Upholding international law and seeking guidance from the principles of equality and neighbourly relations, as well as mutual respect and taking into account each other’s interests guarantees peace and stability.

• The conflict in Ukraine (and more fundamentally, the profound security crisis across Europe) was triggered precisely by NATO’s aggressive eastward expansion over decades that was in direct contravention of the solemn assurances by American and European leaders to both Soviet and Russian leadership regarding the alliance’s non-expansion.

• The alliance [NATO] is now taking steps to operate outside its area of responsibility, seeking to move into the Asia-Pacific region — the Indo-Pacific, as they call it — threatening to undermine the #ASEAN-centric security architecture that has developed there over decades and allowed the countries in the region and their partners in different parts of the world to successfully cooperate. This causes deep concern for the future of ASEAN and the future well-being of its member states.

• We advocate for the creation, under current conditions, of a global security architecture rooted in the objective trends of multipolarity, the emergence of new growth centres, and one that guarantees equal conditions for the peaceful development of all states without exception. <...> The foundation for this already exists – the UN Charter. What is required is for all to adhere to it in good faith.

• A crucial step towards the goal of global security is the formation of an architecture of equal and indivisible security on the Eurasian continent — the most expansive and resource-rich region, the stability of which underpins the resilience of a multipolar world.

• Russia does not seek to impose anything on anyone and is ready to engage in mutually respectful dialogue with everyone. We will keep perfecting the existing security mechanisms and put them to use as part of our engagement with the #CSTO, #CIS, and the #SCO.

• As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia is aware of the responsibility it has for international relations in all their aspects on the international stage, including in terms of promoting peace, strategic stability, conflict settlement and a unifying agenda.

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🗓 On May 29, the United Nations and the entire international community will mark the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

On this day, 77 years ago, the UN Security Council established the first peacekeeping mission – UN Truce Supervision Organisation designed to monitor the ceasefire after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War – which operates to this day.

🕊 Peacekeeping is a key area of UN work. Peacekeepers, including Russian troops, helped to settle multiple conflicts and restore peace in dozens of countries affected by violence and destruction.

🇷🇺 UN peacekeeping is an area of focus for Russia. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia is active in drafting mandates for UN peacekeeping operations, putting missions in a constructive and respectful frame of mind for cooperation with host countries.

❗️ As of today, Russia participates in seven UN peacekeeping missions from Western Sahara and South Sudan to the Middle East and Cyprus. The UN contingent includes 65 citizens of the Russian Federation, including 15 women. Russia is also among top ten contributors to budgets of peacekeeping operations.

Our country attaches much importance to training peacekeepers, including foreign specialists. Domodedovo, Moscow Region, is where the UN-accredited All-Russia Peacekeepers Training Centre of the Russian Interior Ministry is based, drilling law enforcement officers for participation in UN peacekeeping missions. Since 2000, over 350 individuals from about 50 countries have completed the course of training at the centre.

🇷🇺🇺🇸📞 On May 28, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Minister informed Marco Rubio about implementing the May 19 agreements between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the United States Donald Trump, as well as about the preparation by the Russian side of specific proposals for the next round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul.

For his part, Marco Rubio emphasised Donald Trump's intention to quickly bring the Ukraine conflict to an end and expressed Washington's readiness to help the sides to bring their positions closer together.

🤝 They reaffirmed their mutual commitment to continue constructive and reciprocally respectful dialogue between the foreign policy agencies of Russia and the United States.

📄 Vladimir Putin sent a message of greetings to President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan to congratulate them on the Day of the Eurasian Economic Union (May 29, 2025).

✍️ Vladimir Putin: Please accept my heartfelt greetings on the Day of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Integration processes within #EAEU have gathered substantial momentum and have been quite fruitful. We created a common market, which provides for the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour.

There is an ongoing effort to harmonise our national regulations in key sectors, while we succeed in undertaking joint economic and infrastructure projects.

I am certain that we will keep doing everything to step up our constructive multi-faceted cooperation for the benefit of our peoples and to ensure well-being and stability across the Eurasian space.

I wish you good health and success, and happiness and prosperity to your fellow citizens.

🗓 May 29, by decision of the Heads of Sates of the Eurasian Economic Union, is celebrated annually as #EAEUDay.

January 1 marked 1️⃣0️⃣ years since the Treaty on the EAEU (signed on May 29, 2014) came into force, launching the Union as a regional integration association.

Over this time, the EAEU has proven to be a successful project of regional integration based on equality and consideration of each member’s interests. The Union has become an independent and self-sufficient centre of the emerging #MultipolarWorld.

The member-states of the Union — the EAEU "Five" — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia — have achieved significant progress: the Union's internal market is functioning and improving, mutual trade is demonstrating sustainable growth, cooperation is becoming closer in such areas as transportation, logistics, industry, agriculture, energy and food security.

📈 Economic indicators speak for themselves: according to estimates available, the combined GDP of the EAEU member-states has increased from 1.6 to 2.5 trillion dollars over the 10 years of the Union's development.

In 2024, the growth of the GDP (on average in the Union) was recorded as 4.4%, thus, outpacing the global average growth of 3.3%. Trade with third countries has increased by 60%, while the share of the national currencies in mutual trade within the EAEU has reached 90%.

The Eurasian Economic Union has firmly established itself as a major actor in global economic affairs with an extensive network of partnerships. Today, free trade agreements of the EAEU with Vietnam 🇻🇳, Iran 🇮🇷, and Serbia 🇷🇸 are already in force, with the two non-preferential agreements have been signed with China 🇨🇳. Active efforts are being made to align the Union with China’s Belt and Road initiative.

The EAEU maintains close cooperation with the Union's observer-states, such as Uzbekistan 🇺🇿, Cuba 🇨🇺, and Iran 🇮🇷. The trade talks the EAEU is holding with Indonesia 🇮🇩, the UAE 🇦🇪, and Mongolia 🇲🇳 are nearing completion.

📰 An excerpt form the interview by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Overchuk for 'Rossiyskaya Gazeta' (May 28, 2025):

💬 <...> “We consider the EAEU to be the economic nucleus of Northern Eurasia — an area that has achieved a high level of socio-economic development and largely resolved issues of food and energy security.

This makes the EAEU "Five" an attractive partner for the Global South countries, many of which are still fighting the implications of their colonial dependence on Western Europe. <...>

Eurasia holds a vast creative potential, with nations both in the North and South committed to progress. Many of these countries are naturally seeking cooperation with Russia.”

🎙 From a briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (May 20, 2025):

💬 “Today, the EAEU stands as a paradigm of successful integration, where cooperation is built on principles of equality, trust, and respect, with due consideration for the interests of each member state.

We extend our congratulations ahead of EAEU Day and express gratitude to our colleagues from member states and the Eurasian Economic Commission for their productive collaboration. We remain committed to unlocking further economic potential and deepening integration for the benefit of our nations’ citizens and businesses.”

🗓️ On May 30, 1934 Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was born

👨‍🚀 The first person in the world to walk on March 18, 1965 into outer space

🚀 Spent 7 days 33 minutes 3 seconds in space over two flights

⭐️ Twice Hero of the Soviet Union

🎙 Statement by Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC meeting on Ukraine (New York, May 29, 2025)

💬 Vassily Nebenzia: The script of today's meeting is absolutely clear and predictable. Much like previous similar initiatives by our Western and, of late, European colleagues, this meeting is not geared either towards solving problems or bringing the Ukrainian crisis closer to a peaceful settlement. Instead, the goal is to prop up the image of a supposedly free and democratic Ukraine. Thus, Ukraine is portrayed as the victim of alleged “Russian aggression” with the European sponsors of the Kiev regime trying to keep this image afloat, as they began to shape it long before Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine.

It is becoming more and more difficult for London, Paris, Berlin and their satellites to inflate this propaganda “bubble”, since it’s way too obvious now that what they have in Ukraine is nothing but a dictatorship and the Kiev expired princeling would stop at nothing to hold on to power, which he would lose if peace prevails. <...>

Today, yet again in this chamber, they are trying to make us believe that Russia is deliberately shelling residential areas of Ukrainian cities. What they offer as evidence are the consequences of the operation of Ukrainian air defense stationed near homes and social facilities in violation of the basic IHL norms.

At the same time, what is being hushed up is the fact that our strikes target exclusively objects related to Ukraine's military-industrial complex, and we are successfully destroying them or rendering them inoperable. <...>

Another fact that is being hushed up is that Russia is doing what I’ve just mentioned only in response to the massive and targeted shelling of peaceful Russian towns by the Kiev regime. <...>

The plans concocted by Zelensky and his posse are way too plain and clear.

👉 Their task is to trick and mislead American President Donald Trump, who is taking decisive steps toward peace; they are ready to go to any lengths only to return the US – which has already wasted hundreds of billions of dollars helping Ukraine – to an anti-Russian and Russophobic course. <...>

What is also clear and undeniable are peace initiatives and tangible steps on the part of the Russian leadership.

We intend to continue pursuing this course and are willing to proceed with the serious direct negotiations with Ukraine, which Ukraine itself suspended in April 2022 at the instigation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and like-minded Russophobes. This negotiation process should bring about such a solution that would definitively address the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict and the threats to the security of my country emanating from Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side has been invited to meet in Istanbul on June 2 to discuss the content of our memoranda regarding approaches to the negotiation process.

As long as Kiev tries to prolong the war and provoke Russia by striking at residential and civilian infrastructure in our territory, we will continue our special military operation and we will continue destroying facilities having to do with the Kiev regime's military capabilities. And neither new anti-Russian sanctions, nor arms supplies to Ukraine, nor other hostile steps vis-a-vis Russia will be able to prevent the inevitable military defeat of the Zelensky regime.

❗️ The ball is in Ukraine’s court: either talks followed by peace or imminent defeat on the battlefield with different conditions for ending the conflict.

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