🔴 #LIVE: Briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova on topical foreign policy issues on the sidelines of the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (#SPIEF).

🔗 https://www.ruptly.tv/en/events/202306150800-live14609-russian-foreign-ministry-spokesperson-zakharova-holds-weekly-briefing-on-sidelines-of-spief

🔗 https://mid.ru/en/press_service/video/

🛡 #OTD 22 years ago, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (#SCO) was founded - a multilateral association aimed at ensuring peace, security and stability and jointly countering new security challenges and threats to member states.

Today, the SCO is made up of eight countries: its founding members – Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan – as well as India and Pakistan, which joined in 2017. Iran is also expected to become a full SCO member at the upcoming summit (July 3-4, New Delhi).

In June 2002, the organisation's member states signed the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation that cemented the SCO's focus on the positive promotion of multidimensional cooperation and its non-targeting of third countries and organisations. Today the SCO continues to firmly rule out bloc, ideological and confrontational approaches to solving international and regional development problems.

🤝 One of the most important areas of SCO activity is joint efforts to combat terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and transnational organised crime. The SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure operates in Tashkent on a permanent basis to ensure effective cooperation between the competent authorities of the member states in these areas.

🌐 The SCO's legal framework for relations with the United Nations and its agencies continues to expand. Partnerships have been established with the #CIS, #CSTO, #EEC, #ASEAN and a number of other multilateral associations that share similar principles of constructive development.

🔴 #LIVE: On the sidelines of the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova takes part in a roundtable discussion on Digital Dictatorship vs Digital Sovereignty: Problems, Risks, Opportunities.

🔗 https://forumspb.com/en/programme/business-programme/105427/#broadcast

🔗 https://mid.ru/en/press_service/video/

To participants, organizers and guests of the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Friends,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

As in the past years, the event’s rich and substantive agenda covers a broad range of relevant and significant issues. Scientists, entrepreneurs, politicians and public figures will discuss key trends and prospects related to the Russian and global economy. They will examine the profound tectonic shifts that are gaining momentum today.

These are in no small measure due to the ongoing formation of a multipolar world and efforts by most countries to secure political and economic independence. Given this, I consider it to be both vital and timely that the theme for this year’s Forum is Sovereign Development as the Basis of a Just World: Joining Forces for Future Generations.

I should note that the Russian business community continues to be active in today’s economic reality. I would therefore like to once again express my gratitude to all those working at companies and organizations, whether in senior positions or as team members, for having done much to overcome the severe consequences of unlawful sanctions.

According to experts, the global economy will continue to decelerate in 2023. In contrast, Russia’s GDP could grow by 1–2%. At the same time, it is vital to make the most of the opportunities that are presenting themselves. That means focusing on attaining technological and financial sovereignty, forging strong ties, developing optimal logistics routes, improving infrastructure and tackling inequality and poverty.

Boosting the labour market is another priority. In order to achieve this, there needs to be a close partnership between the state and the business community, particularly with regard to introducing lean manufacturing technology and modernizing enterprises. And of course, more work is needed to optimize professional training and retraining programmes and improve the national employment service.

I firmly believe that the Forum will continue to help attain global economic objectives and serve as an example of constructive dialogue that leads to results.

I wish you a rewarding and successful event.

Vladimir Putin

🎙 Interview by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova with RT on the sidelines of XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Key topics:

🔹 Strikes by Ukraine’s Armed Forces against the Kakhovskaya dam
🔹 Prospects of Russian-German contacts
🔹 Relations between Russia and neighboring countries
🔹 Potential #BRICS candidates
🔹 #RussiaAfrica ties
🔹 Peace initiatives on Ukraine
🔹 Black Sea Initiative
🔹 Relations with the EU countries
🔹 2024 US presidential elections

🇷🇺 Interview by Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov to TASS news agency

🔴 Main topics:

🔵 Zaporozhskaya NPP

🔵 Visit by the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Ukraine and a planned trip to Russia

🔗 Read in full

👩‍🚀 #OnThisDay 60 years ago, Soviet citizen Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Her mission aboard the Vostok-6 spacecraft became a world sensation and inspired millions of women in the Soviet Union and abroad.

The issue of launching a female cosmonaut was raised immediately after Yury Gagarin’s triumphant return from orbit. The goal was to compare the impact of outer space on male and female bodies and to study the possibility of launching civilian specialists into space in future.

🚀 The Vostok-6 flight lasted for two days, 22 hours and 50 minutes and circled the Earth 48 times. Tereshkova made the flight alone; this was never again repeated later. She maintained radio communications with Vostok-5, piloted by Valery Bykovsky.

The first woman in space successfully accomplished her mission. For example, she was able to take pictures of the horizon, and these photos later made it possible to locate aerosol layers in the atmosphere. She violated her strict instructions only after landing in the Altai Territory. While there, she handed out space food tubes to local residents and partook of potatoes and Koumiss, fermented mare’s milk.

🎖Valentina, then 26, lifted off as a Lieutenant and came back a Captain. Three days after landing, she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Later, she was made a Hero of Socialist Labour of Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Vietnam and Mongolia and became an honorary citizen of 18 Russian and foreign cities.

Tereshkova became the sixth Soviet cosmonaut, the 12th person in space and the youngest woman in orbit. Her daughter Yelena became the first child both of whose parents were cosmonauts.

🔴 #LIVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks at the Plenary Session of the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (#SPIEF2023)

🔗 https://forumspb.com/en/programme/business-programme/110303/?ELEMENT_ID=110303

🔗 https://www.ruptly.tv/en/events/202306161100-live14663-putin-and-algerian-president-tebboune-address-spief-2023-plenary-session-in-st-petersburg

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answer to a question from NTV on the sidelines of the 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum (June 16, 2023)

❓Question: You have said that the Ukrainian part of the “grain deal” has turned into a commercial project. What does Russia think about the possibility of its extension? Are there any signs that our position will be taken into account?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: Why should we extend an unviable deal? The part of the package regarding Russian fertilisers and foods, proposed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is not being implemented. Only the Ukrainian part is being implemented, but only as a commercial deal rather than for the purpose mentioned by Guterres, which is to satisfy the needs of the poorest countries.

❗️ Less than 3 percent of the total volume dispatched by Ukraine under the grain part of the initiative were delivered to the poorest developing countries on the special list of the UN World Food Programme.

As for our part of the package deal, the explosion of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline alone has shown that some people would like to destroy the package and everything else that created conditions for expanding our trade and the delivery of Russian products to developing countries.

Ukraine and the EU have established “solidarity lanes,” which are a combination of land and river routes. Many European countries are angry about cheap and low-quality Ukrainian grain that does not meet sanitary requirements. If they have more than they need, they can send the surplus to Africa and other countries that need it, including as fodder for their cattle.

☝️ For the past months when the Russian part of the “grain deal” was blocked, we continued to deliver grain to developing countries via other routes, which are not obstructed by Western barriers. We will continue to do this. There is no doubt about that.

Read in full

🔴 #LIVE: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks following the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and heads of the African delegations.


🔗 https://www.ruptly.tv/en/events/202306170900-live14692-refeed-lavrov-speaks-to-press-following-putin-s-meeting-with-african-leaders

🎙 Excerpts from President Vladimir Putin's remarks in the plenary session of the 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

• This proves yet again that common sense, business initiative and objective market forces outweigh politics. This also demonstrates that this ugly and de-facto neo-colonial international system no longer works, while the multipolar world order is, on the contrary, becoming stronger. This is an inevitable process.

•  In today’s world it is hard to make other countries mindlessly tow to somebody’s interests; it is practically impossible sometimes. Those who do it should finally realise that it is counterproductive not only for the global economy, which is hard to perceive at one glance; it is unacceptable for millions of people. Unacceptable.

• And the current situation, the current crisis in Ukraine is beneficial for them. It is a pretext to conceal their economic mistakes both in energy and finance. They have driven the situation to an inflation spike. Why? Because they were flooding their economy with trillions of dollars

• Now they are considering supplies of aircraft [NATO's to Ukraine]. But if they are located at air bases outside Ukraine and are used in hostilities, we will have to think about how and where we can hit the resources that are used against us in the hostilities. There is a serious danger of NATO’s further involvement in this armed conflict.

• Nuclear weapons are created to ensure our security, in the broadest sense of the word, and the existence of the Russian state. First, we see no need to use it; and second, considering this, even as a possibility, factors into lowering the threshold for the use of such weapons. This is my first point. The second point is that we have more such nuclear weapons than NATO countries. They know about it and never stop trying to persuade us to start nuclear reduction talks.

Read in full

#Announcement

🎙 Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold a briefing on current foreign policy issues at approximately 3 pm MSK (12 pm GMT) on June 21.

❗️ Accreditation is open until 2 pm on June 20.

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Saint Petersburg, June 15, 2023)

🔹 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Zaporozhye NPP update
🔹 Organ trade in Ukraine
🔹 Ukrainisation of UNSC agenda
🔹 Situation in Afghanistan
🔹 Nuclear deterrence
🔹 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
🔹 European Union

And more...

📚 Read in full

#Ukraine
As a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant due to prolonged shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces, 36 settlements in Kherson Region were flooded.

A large-scale humanitarian operation has been taking place in this Russian region over the last few days. Russian Emergencies Ministry workers rescued almost 2,000 people, among them hundreds of children.

While Russia is making every effort to save the residents of the affected areas and to provide them with essential supplies, Kiev continues to target civilian sites.

#NuclearDeterrence
Russia is fully committed to the principle of the inadmissibility of a nuclear war. There can be no winners in such a war, and it must never be waged.

The hypothetical use of nuclear weapons is only possible under extraordinary circumstances for purely defensive purposes.

#EU
An astronomical amount of [COVID19] vaccines, many times the size of the EU population, was purchased on behalf of the EU member states, at an astronomical cost and mainly from a single company, Pfizer.

The multi-billion dollar amount and the terms of the contract were not made public. This was done without bidding, without documents and without witnesses. Such decisions were made simply by text message.

🎥 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with RT TV Channel on the sidelines of the 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum (St Petersburg, June 16, 2023)

Key talking points:

🔹 We can no longer rely on the promises and the agreements signed with the West which were presented as a foundation for developing constructive partnership. <...> The West has “lost” Russia at this point of history.

🔹 The dominant trend today is the awareness of the need to regionalise the development processes. This includes the #SCO and, in a wider sense, the Greater Eurasian Partnership, which President Vladimir Putin mentioned at the #RussiaASEAN Summit a few years ago.

🔹 The Anglo-Saxons and their ilk are bringing pressure to bear across the board, including on our closest #CSTO allies. The Gulf Arab countries are not an exception. I would say that the Western methods are boorish. I cannot think of another word.

🔹 Our relations with the Africans and our other partners are not based on money. What we are trying to do is identify projects that meet the interests of both sides.

🔹 #BRICS will expand, with the countries representing major Arab, or Islamic civilisation in a broader sense, joining it. This will strengthen the multipolar principles that we are discussing now and that are objectively taking shape.

Read in full