🎙 State Duma statement regarding the initiative to dismantle the Alyosha monument to the Soviet liberator soldier in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

❗️ Members of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation are outraged by the incendiary and cynical proposal of members of Plovdiv’s municipal council representing the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party to demolish the Alyosha monument to the Soviet liberator soldier by the end of 2024.

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This latest thoughtless initiative by DSB representatives clearly demonstrates their disparaging attitude towards the history of their own country and can be viewed as a shameless attempt to insult the shared historical memory of our brotherly nations, as well as a psychotically desperate effort to denigrate the heroic feat of Soviet soldiers and the decisive contribution by the USSR and the Soviet people to the cause of fighting Nazism during World War II.

Should Plovdiv’s municipal council support this barbaric initiative, it will be an indelible stain on those behind it, as well as on the city’s legislative and executive bodies, demonstrating how badly the authorities in Plovdiv have lost the plot and become politically short-sighted.

People in Bulgaria know well that it was Alexei Skurlatov’s image which served as the model for the Alyosha monument. Skurlatov was a Red Army soldier from Altai and holder of two Red Star orders who contributed to restoring telephone communications between Sofia and Plovdiv. In August 1982, Plovdiv offered Alexei Skurlatov a welcoming ceremony with honours, celebrating him as a national hero and awarding him the title of the city’s honorary citizen.

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👉 The State Duma calls on Plovdiv’s municipal council not to follow the agents of provocation and to make the necessary efforts to preserve the cultural and historical monuments <...>

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🔴Live: Watch Ambassador Andrei Kelin's interview to Andrew Marr on LBC News

🔗https://youtu.be/MtZlNNtWNTs?si=5W9RCIKQnRbbfTeI

#Ukraine
#MiddleEast
#UK
#NATO

🎙 Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comment following the latest Copenhagen-format meeting on Ukraine in Davos

💬 <...> Today, more countries from the Global South and East, including those that attended the Copenhagen-format meetings, are openly saying that discussing any possible contours of an eventual settlement of the Ukraine crisis does not make any sense without Russia.

There is a growing understanding that the ultimatums set forth in the Zelensky Formula cannot bring about a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. This framework is based on delusional demands, such as withdrawing Russian troops to the 1991 borders, holding Russia accountable and making it pay reparations. At the same time, the Kiev regime does not hide the fact that it demands the withdrawal of troops in order to launch a genocide against Russians who support reunification with Russia. Supporting these demands means endorsing ethnic cleansing, which is a crime.

All Copenhagen-format meetings, including the one in Davos and any future gatherings, are ineffective and undermine the prospects for achieving a settlement of the Ukraine crisis. The organisers have been trying to draft The Principles for Peace in Ukraine but they are inherently unviable since they are based on the Zelensky Formula, absurd and unacceptable as it is. Moreover, Zelensky has enacted a legal ban that prevents him from engaging in peace talks with Russia.

☝️ It is only by returning to the roots of its statehood, including neutrality, non-bloc and non-nuclear status while fully respecting the rights and freedoms of people of all ethnic backgrounds living on its territory, that Ukraine would be able to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace settlement.

❗️ Unfortunately, the Zelensky Formula and the agenda of the Copenhagen-format meetings fail to address these crucial matters.

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🇷🇺 Russia's EMERCOM aircraft delivered 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip

✅ Food products;
✅ Clothing;
✅ Blankets;
✅ Hygiene items.

The EMERCOM's IL-76 aircraft flew to the airport of El-Arish. In Egypt, the humanitarian aid will be handed over to representatives of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society. They will redirect it to the to the people of the Gaza Strip.

In total, since the beginning of the humanitarian mission, 18 flights of the Russia's EMERCOM have delivered ~420 tonnes of food products, medicines, clothing and other essentials to the people of the Gaza Strip.

📹 EMERCOM of Russia

#RussiaHelps

🎙️Интервью Посла России А.В.Келина с Ю.Д.Богдановым в эфире «Россия 24», 17 января 2024 года

Смотреть/читать интервью

▪Соглашение о безопасности между Великобританией и Украиной
▪Военная и финансовая поддержка Киева британцами
▪Обсуждение «Формулы мира» Зеленского в Давосе
▪Создание международной военно-морской группы в Черном море
▪Удары США и Великобритании по Йемену
▪Высылка незаконных мигрантов в Руанду из Великобритании

#Келин #Россия24 #Россия #Украина #Великобритания #США #Йемен #Руанда #ЧерноеМоре

💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:

⚡️ Afghanistan... Libya, Iraq. Look at any country where the US
& its satellites carried out their “misadventures”. Did the situation improve anywhere?

Ukraine will sadly suffer the same fate [as Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq].

If one relies on its master, unaware that the master always thinks solely of oneself, you cannot count on the interests of your people to be taken into account.

#Outcomes2023

⚡️ Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on tensions between Iran and Pakistan

💬 We are closely monitoring the growing tensions on the Iranian-Pakistani border areas with great concern. We urge both parties to exercise ultimate restraint and resolve the situation through political and diplomatic means. Once again, we emphasise the importance of conducting any counter-terrorist operations outside of sovereign territory only after reaching an agreement and coordinating with the authorities of the states involved.

It is discouraging that these events are occurring between friendly states, members of the SCO, with whom we are developing partnership relations. The further escalation will only benefit those who are not interested in peace, stability and security in the region.

☝️ We hope that Iran and Pakistan will soon find a way to settle the conflict in the spirit of traditional neighbourliness, including by addressing the elimination of terrorist threats originating from their respective territories. We underscore Russia’s unwavering readiness to cooperate in the fight against international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

✈️ On January 18, a special flight of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies delivered another shipment of humanitarian aid to Kabul, comprising 33 tonnes of food products.

This humanitarian action confirms that a special positive potential exists for interaction between the states, including via regional organisations that provide assistance to the friendly Afghan people who are suffering from the devastating earthquake in Herat province in October 2023.

🤝 Russia, for its part, will continue to provide free assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

💬Andrei Kelin to Andrew Marr on LBC News:

The document that signed by the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Zelensky is a memorandum of promises.

It outlines British policy towards #Ukraine and clearly states that Ukraine will not get negotiated settlement and should fight.

Find out more

The #UK government has followed in #Russia's footsteps and, after 20 years, finally listed Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist entity.

In the past the #US and the #EU, of which the UK was then part, made critical statements about Russia's sustained efforts since 2003 to investigate and prosecute Hizb ut-Tahrir extremists.

We invite the UK to continue to draw on Russia's experience and ban other terrorist groups, including the Ukrainian "Pravy Sector" and the neo-Nazi "Azov" regiment.

🇷🇺🇬🇧Dear subscribers, we invite you to join the official Telegram channel of the Russian Embassy in the UK.