#Announcement

📺 Coming soon: Ambassador Andrei Kelin's interview on BBC's flagship programme HARDtalk, hosted by Stephen Sackur.

Key Topics:
• Ukraine crisis
• Attack on the Kursk Region
• Russia-DPRK military cooperation
• Prospects for Ukraine peace talks
• US elections

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations for this conversation.

🗓 Monday, 4 November
🕧 00:30 GMT

Find out more

🎙 Excerpt from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at a high-level plenary meeting of the International Conference on Eurasian Security (Minsk, 31 October 2024)

💬 President Vladimir Putin suggested establishing the Greater Eurasian Partnership in 2015 as the broadest integration framework in the interests of expanding and liberalising trade and investment ties, implementing trans-border infrastructure projects, developing the logistic network and harmonising integration processes.

In turn, the Greater Eurasian Partnership will lay a solid economic and material foundation for building a system of equal and indivisible Eurasian security shielding the continent’s countries from common threats and challenges. <...>

Our perception of the Greater Eurasian Partnership and the system of Eurasian security presupposes their openness for all countries and associations of our continent without exception.

☝️ This means that no one intends to shut the door to countries of western Eurasia. We will welcome their involvement in processes of common Eurasian cooperation but, certainly, on the basis of equality and provided that they renounce the hostile bloc policy and neo-colonial practices.

This is an absolutely indispensable condition because things had worked out differently for a long time. For example, all schemes without exception that relied on the Euro-Atlantic security concept aimed to preserve the dominant position of the United States and to contain its rivals, including Russia. NATO played the main role in this context.

Everyone realises that NATO has completely subjugated the European Union that had apparently been established by Europeans for the sake of Europeans.

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🇷🇺 Russia celebrates National Unity Day on 4 November.

Marking one of the most defining moments in Russia's history, the date commemorates the resolve and spirit of the Russian people who, more than four centuries ago, stood together to bring an end to a period of profound turmoil known as the Time of Troubles.

During those tumultuous years, Russia was on the brink of losing its sovereignty, threatened by foreign occupation and deep internal discord. Yet the people of Russia did not yield.

Rallying behind Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, they formed a volunteer army to expel the invaders, end civil strife and restore order and stability. Their efforts laid the foundation for Russia's revival, setting the stage for a unified, stronger state.

National Unity Day is thus not only a commemoration of past heroism but a celebration of enduring values: unwavering devotion to the Motherland, reverence for the legacy of ancestors that transcends generations, and a steadfast commitment to work for the nation's progress.

☝️ The readiness to stand in defence of their homeland remains a defining trait of Russia's diverse, multi-ethnic people.

📺 Watch Ambassador Andrei Kelin's interview with BBC's HARDtalk, hosted by Stephen Sackur (4 November 2024)

Key talking points:

🔸 It is a coalition of Western countries that is waging a proxy war against Russia using Ukraine. It is a hybrid war, a very serious one, and we have every right to defend ourselves with all the means at our disposal.

🔸 I don't think that there will be a compromise, it will be the endgame. It is quite clear that Ukraine will be a non-aligned, non-nuclear country with normal relations with its neighbours. It will not be a NATO member, it will be demilitarised and it will finally abolish all the racist laws that it has adopted during all these years.

🔸 Even if it happens [the deployment of the DPRK's forces in the zone of the special military operation], we have thousands of mercenaries from different [Western] countries fighting on the side of Ukraine. We have thousands of instructors teaching the Ukrainians how to deal with foreign weapons, tanks and so on, intelligence being provided to the Ukrainians.

🔸 The international community does not consist only of Western countries, it is only a tiny number of Western nations that support this kind of accusation [that Russia is considered an outlaw].

🔸 The UK government has decided to spend another 3 billion pounds on defence. That is quite a lot for a country with a huge hole in its budget. Is it a good thing? I'm not sure.

🔸 The Georgian people have elected a party that is disliked in the EU, and Brussels has started to intervene in [the internal affairs of] Georgia. <...> Georgians now understand that the "rosy" American project that was developed with Mikhail Saakashvili in the early 2000s has failed and caused serious damage to Georgia.

Watch the interview on our YouTube channel or listen on BBC podcasts

🗓 On 5 November, President Vladimir Putin received the letters of credence from 28 newly appointed ambassadors of foreign nations at the Grand Kremlin Palace.

💬 President Putin: As for our country, it is open to mutually beneficial cooperation with all states without exception, based on the principles of equality, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and strict adherence to international law.

We support the establishment of a fair system of global economic relations, free from unfair competition, unilateral sanctions, and politically motivated restrictions.

Russia is actively engaged in international affairs and follows a constructive foreign policy that considers both our national interests and the objective trends of global development.

This was underscored by the recent large-scale BRICS Summit held in Kazan, which marked the peak of Russia's chairmanship of the group and was a significant event in the global political calendar.

Russia has approached its responsibilities as BRICS chair with a strong sense of duty. Throughout the year, more than 200 events were organised at the highest levels, including ministerial and expert discussions, as well as engagements across business, parliamentary, and public sectors. <...>

Regarding Ukraine, we truly value the genuine commitment of our BRICS partners to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the current situation.

I have repeatedly stated that Russia is not only open to negotiations but, at the beginning of this conflict, actively engaged in talks that resulted in a mutually acceptable agreement, which was even initialled by the Ukrainian side.

However, the Ukrainian government, influenced by external advice, as they have acknowledged, ultimately rejected this agreement.

☝️ The fundamentally hostile approach taken by certain Western countries to escalate and prolong the Ukrainian conflict, aiming to achieve a "strategic defeat" for our country, is profoundly misguided.

Such unrealistic expectations can only come from those who are unfamiliar with, or unwilling to acknowledge, Russia's history, as well as the unity, resilience, and solidarity of the Russian people.

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🎙 Excerpt from Ambassador Andrei Kelin's interview with BBC's HARDtalk (4 November 2024)

❓ Question: Here are the recent words of David Lammy, the UK Foreign Secretary, quote: "[Russia's President Vladimir] Putin and his mafia state are trying to poison the world with disinformation, division and disorder, not least in the United Kingdom". You are the Russian Ambassador in the UK. Has he said that to you directly? What would you say to him?

💬 Andrei Kelin: I have never seen Mr Lammy, but I can say that if I were in his position I would control my language more because it is very impolite. And I do not know any politician in the world, especially a foreign minister, who uses that kind of words. Especially in Russia, if you listen to what President Vladimir Putin or Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov say. This kind of accusation, this kind of labelling is absolutely not a characteristic of us.

It is Mr Lammy who allows himself [to do that], but he should know that he is no longer a member of the opposition. He is now Foreign Secretary and it is much better for him to stick to the diplomatic rules.

Russia's Foreign Ministry:

☝️ The victory of Donald Trump in the presidential election and his return to the White House after a four-year break obviously reflect Americans' disappointment in the performance of the Biden administration and the election programme of the Democratic Party formulated by Vice-President Kamala Harris, who was hastily chosen to replace the incumbent president in the race. <...>

We have no illusions about the president elect, who is well known in Russia, or the new Congress, where Republicans have reportedly won control.

The US ruling political elite adheres to anti-Russia principles and the policy of "containing Moscow". This line does not depend on changes in America’s domestic political barometer, no matter if it is Trump and his supporters' "America above all" or the Democrats' focus on a "rules-based world order".

❗️ Russia will interact with the new administration when it comes to the White House, firmly upholding Russia's national interests and working to achieve all the goals of the special military operation.

Our conditions have not changed, and Washington is well aware of them.

Read the full statement

📰 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Rossiya Segodnya media group (Moscow, November 5, 2024)

🔹 The 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan came as a landmark international event not only of the year, but in recent history as well. Its success highlighted the futility of attempts to isolate Russia internationally, which some of our foreign policy opponents have recurred to in an attempt to put our country under pressure.

🔹 Since the onset of this unprecedented Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023, the BRICS countries have come together to support the rights of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. The quicker this crisis is resolved, the sooner the situation in the Middle East will begin to improve.

🔹 Kiev continues to exert pressure on Antonio Guterres, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the UN Charter in an attempt to compel him and the entire UN Secretariat to align completely with Ukraine and its Western sponsors. This approach directly contravenes the constituent instrument of the Organisation, specifically paragraph 2 of Article 100 of the UN Charter, which prohibits any member state from attempting to influence the Secretary-General or other UN representatives.

🔹 The Americans are attempting to attribute to us actions they themselves are engaged in. Washington continues to actively perpetuate its own myth of Russian interference in any election, whether "at home" or in any third country. If an election results in a victory for forces undesirable to the United States, Russia is immediately blamed for the "wrong" electoral choice of the voters.

🔹 We must not overlook the fact that NATO has long ceased to hide its aggressive policies towards Russia. In the event of aggressive actions by NATO or its individual member states against our country, an appropriate response will ensue, in full compliance with Russia's sovereign right to self-defence and the use of any means necessary to ensure its security, as stipulated in the UN Charter.

🔹 We are open to an equal dialogue if and when the American side demonstrates a serious commitment to hold honest talks based on recognition of Russia's national interests and the principle of reciprocity. We are mindful of the fact that our two countries, as major nuclear powers, bear a special responsibility for the future of the world.

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🗓 On November 6, 1943, during the Battle of the Dnieper, the Red Army liberated Kiev, the capital of the Soviet Ukraine, from Nazi occupation.

The Kiev offensive operation was a major milestone in liberation of the entire Soviet Motherland from the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. The expulsion of fascists, along with their Ukrainian collaborators and henchmen, from Kiev – and subsequently from the entire Right-Bank Ukraine – enabled the Red Army to seize back strategic initiative, ultimately clear the USSR's territory of German occupants and launch an offensive in 1944 to liberate Eastern Europe from Nazis.

⚔️ Early in the morning on November 1, 1943, the units of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Army General Nikolai Vatutin, launched an offensive on Kiev.

The Red Army faced a formidable Wehrmacht troops of up to 500,000 soldiers and officers, equipped with approximately 6,000 cannons and mortars, and over 500 tanks and aircraft.

In certain sectors of Nazi fortification line on the right bank of the Dnieper river – the so-called "Ostwall" – the enemy had installed deep defences ranging from 200 metres to 1.5 (!) kilometres in depth, exploiting captured local villages in rural areas as strongholds.

By November 4, Soviet forces advanced 2-6 kilometres to the north and northwest of Kiev. On November 5, heavy fighting for the city began. The battle continued until the following morning. The fascists, realising their defeat was inevitable, began withdrawing their rear and auxiliary forces westward.

By 4 am on November 6, Kiev was completely liberated by the Red Army.

❗️ Expelling the invaders, victorious Soviet forces entered Kiev left by Nazis almost entirely in ruins. Kreshchatik Street was devastated, even the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra had not been spared by the enemy. During retreat, the Germans destroyed the Conservatory Hall, the building of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, schools, hospitals.

▪️During the dark times of the occupation, Nazi criminals and their Ukrainian nationalist collaborators carried out a policy of mass terror in Kiev. Before the Great Patriotic War, the city had approximately 900,000 citizens, but at the moment it was liberated, only 180,000 people survived in Kiev. Those who fell victim to the occupation were left beneath the city's ruins, in the mass graves of Babi Yar, where the fascists murdered over 120,000 individuals of various nationalities, primarily Jews, Poles, as well as Soviet POWs and concentration camp detainees.

The victory of the Red Army at the battle for Kiev marked the liberation of one of the largest political, economic, scientific, and cultural centres of the USSR. Hitler's forces suffered yet another major defeat on the Eastern Front, finally and irrevocably losing the strategic initiative.

🎆 In honour of the victory, a salute of 24 volleys from 324 guns was fired in Moscow.

🎖65 units of the Red Army, for their distinguished war merits, were awarded the honourable “Kievsky” title. Almost 17,500 soldiers and officers of the 1st Ukrainian Front received orders and medals.

On May 8, 1965, Kiev received the highest honour in the USSR – the title of Hero City – in recognition of the mass courage and heroism showed by its people in defence of Motherland during the Great Patriotic War.

#Victory79

💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: It was the West's reaction to the independent policies of Russia and other countries, leading to unlawful and aggressive economic sanctions, that fragmented the globalisation system it had crafted and propelled the regionalisation of global life.

We believe this is a corrective process. It will yield positive effects by ensuring the multipolarity that is increasingly discussed and actively championed by Russia, China, and other BRICS countries, alongside other associations with our participation on the international stage.

In a multipolar world, without a single hegemon but with multiple centres of global development, operations will naturally harmonise through mutual contacts.

BRICS, as a global rather than regional structure, offers an excellent platform for such harmonisation and the establishment of contacts among regional integration associations.

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Комментарий Посольства в связи с новыми британскими санкциями

💬 Очередное натужное исполнение наскучившего санкционного ритуала Лондоном приурочено к проходящей сегодня в Будапеште встрече «Европейского политического сообщества».

Невнятные меры, принятые на подложных основаниях, позволят британскому руководству недолго покрасоваться перед своими европейскими партнёрами и убедить самих себя в сохранении за страной реноме «лидера», хотя бы на поприще антироссийской кампанейщины.

Звучащие при этом в адрес России обвинения – будь то в контексте выборов в отдельных европейских странах, украинского кризиса или ситуации в государствах Африки – традиционно пронизаны фальшью и лицемерием. Впрочем, ничего иного от британского официоза уже давно ждать не приходится.

❗️ Как известно, именно Британия и её западные единомышленники набили руку на манипулировании зарубежными демократическими процессами в своих корыстных геополитических интересах.

Для этого западники, руководствующиеся отработанными до мелочей «методичками», окормляют широкую сеть подконтрольных им НПО и СМИ, партийно-политических организаций, научно-академических и правозащитных структур, пиар-агентств и прочих «инфлюэнсеров». Чего стоит недавний скандал с активистами британских лейбористов, отправившимися за океан поддержать не только словом, но и делом предвыборную кампанию одного из кандидатов в президенты США.

Масштаб трагических последствий, к которым ведёт подобная социально-политическая инженерия, весь мир увидел на примере Украины, превращённой с помощью прозападных «майданов» в антироссийский таран НАТО.

То же касается и Африки. В ХХ веке во встававших с колен молодых государствах этого континента беззаконие чинили западные наёмники – не без поддержки европейских и американских элит. В новейшую эпоху к дестабилизации ведёт уже официальная политика евроатлантических столиц.

И речь не только о военной интервенции в Ливии, спровоцировавшей взрывной рост угроз безопасности и миграционный кризис во всём регионе. Пагубен сам по себе неоколониальный подход Запада к государствам Африки. В свою очередь, Россия относится к странам этого динамично развивающегося континента с уважением и в духе равноправия.

☝️ Вводимые напоказ и под ложными предлогами ограничительные меры против нашей страны не позволят Лондону замаскировать ответственность за собственные неприглядные действия на всех этих направлениях.

Embassy comment on the latest British sanctions

💬 London's yet another inept rendering of the tedious sanctions ritual was timed to coincide with yesterday's meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest.

The vague measures, based on flimsy grounds, offered the British government a brief moment to grandstand before its European counterparts and reassure itself that the country retains its reputation as "leader", at least in terms of anti-Russian campaigning.

The accusations against Russia – whether in relation to elections in certain European states, the Ukraine crisis, or developments in African countries – are predictably riddled with falsehoods and hypocrisy. Little else can be expected from British officials now.

❗️ It is well known that the UK and its Western associates have honed their skills in manipulating foreign democratic processes to serve their selfish geopolitical interests.

To this end, Western nations, guided by meticulously crafted "playbooks", have funded an extensive network of affiliated NGOs, media outlets, political parties, academic institutions, human rights organisations, PR agencies, and other "influencers". A case in point is the recent scandal involving British Labour activists who crossed the Atlantic to support the campaign of a US presidential candidate, not only in words but in actions.

The whole world has witnessed the tragic outcomes of such social and political engineering, most notably in Ukraine, which through pro-Western "maidans" was reshaped as NATO's anti-Russian battering ram.

The same holds true for Africa. In the 20th century, Western mercenaries, backed by European and American elites, sowed instability and lawlessness in the newly independent nations of the continent in process of rising from their knees. In the modern era, it is the official policy of Euro-Atlantic capitals that leads to destabilisation.

This goes beyond the military intervention in Libya, which has provoked a dramatic surge in security threats and a migration crisis across the region. The West’s neo-colonial approach towards African nations is pernicious in itself. By contrast, Russia treats the countries of this fast-growing continent with respect and in a spirit of equality.

☝️ The restrictive measures against our country, imposed under false pretences and for show, will not allow London to evade responsibility for its own unsavoury actions in all these areas.

🎙 Excerpt from President Vladimir Putin's remarks at the plenary session of the 21st annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club (7 November 2024)

💬 The West's calls to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, a nation with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, reveal the reckless adventurism of certain Western politicians. Such blind faith in their own impunity and exceptionalism could lead to a global catastrophe.

Meanwhile, the former hegemons, who have been accustomed to ruling the world since colonial times, are increasingly astonished that their commands are no longer heeded.

Efforts to cling to their diminishing power through force result only in widespread instability and more tensions, leading to casualties and destruction. However, these efforts fail to achieve the desired outcome of maintaining absolute, unchallenged power. For the march of history cannot be halted.

Instead of recognising the futility of their ambitions and the objective nature of change, certain Western elites seem poised to go to any lengths to thwart the development of a new international system that aligns with the interests of the global majority.

In the recent policies of the United States and its allies, for instance, the principle of "You shall not belong to anyone!" or "You're either with us or against us" has become increasingly evident. Such a formula is very dangerous.

Chaos, a systemic crisis is already escalating in the very nations that attempt to implement such strategies. The pursuit of exclusivity, liberal and globalist messianism and ideological, military, and political monopoly is steadily depleting those countries that pursue these paths, pushing the world towards decline and starkly contradicting the genuine interests of the people in the US and European countries.

☝️ Unlike our counterparts, Russia does not view Western civilisation as an adversary, nor does it pose the question of "us or them". I reiterate: "You're either with us or against us" is not part of our vocabulary. We have no desire to teach anyone or impose our worldview upon anyone.

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🌍🤗 Russia's Sochi is ready for the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, which kicks off tomorrow!

🤝 Meanwhile Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already been hard at work, holding talks and meetings with 9 heads of delegations of the African nations!

🎙 Highlights from President Vladimir Putin's speech at the plenary session of the 21st annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi.

• The peril lies in the imposition of totalitarian ideologies and making them the norm, as exemplified by the current state of Western liberalism. This modern Western liberalism, in my view, has degenerated into extreme intolerance and aggression towards any alternative or sovereign and independent thought. Today, it even seeks to justify neo-Nazism, terrorism, racism, and even the mass genocide of civilians.

• The West made an unprecedented attempt to banish Russia from global affairs and from the international economic and political systems. The number of sanctions and punitive measures applied against our country has no analogues in history. Our opponents assumed that they would inflict a crushing defeat, dealing a knockout blow to Russia from which it would never recover. There is no need to remind you of what really happened.

❗️ The truth is the world needs Russia, and no decisions made by any individuals in Washington or Brussels who believe others should take their orders can change this.

• By distorting the results of the Cold War to suit their interests and reshaping the world according to their ideas, the West displayed flagrant and unprecedented geopolitical greed. These are the real origins of the conflicts in our historical era, beginning with the tragedies in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and now Ukraine and the Middle East.

• Today we are witnessing a conflict between the overwhelming majority of the global population, which wants to live and develop in an interconnected world with a great deal of opportunities, and the global minority, whose only concern, as I have said, is the preservation of its domination.

• The bloc policy and the legacy of the Cold War colonial era run contrary to the essence of the new international system, which is open and flexible. There is only one bloc in the world that is held together by the so-called obligations and strict ideological dogmas and cliches. It is NATO, which continues expansion to Eastern Europe and is now trying to spread its approaches to other parts of the world.

• Our country has never been the one to initiate the use of force: we are forced to do that only when it becomes clear that our opponent is acting aggressively and is not willing to listen to any type of argument. And whenever necessary, we will take any measure we need to protect Russia and all its citizens.

• Once again some have come to believe that the world would be better off without Russia. They think that this would make the world more obedient and pliant. However, Russia stopped those aspiring to global dominance in their tracks many times over, no matter who it was. <...> Russia’s very existence guarantees that the world will retain its diversity and complexity, which is the key to successful development.

☝️ Everyone should be clear that putting pressure on us is useless, but we are always prepared to sit down and talk based on consideration of our mutual legitimate interests in their entirety. This is something that we urge all international dialogue members to do.

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