🇷🇺🇪🇹 On June 10, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Foreign Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Taye Atskeselassie on the sidelines of the #BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in Nizhny Novgorod.

The discussion focused on key areas for enhancing mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation, trade, economy, science, technology and humanitarian ties.

Moscow and Addis Ababa reiterated their commitment to strengthening political dialogue and close coordination of approaches within the #UN and #BRICS, including in the context of the Russia’s BRICS presidency.

The two Ministers held a confidential discussion on engagement at the UN and other international organisations. Detailed discussions were held on conflicts in Africa, with a specific emphasis on the situation in the Horn of Africa.

#RussiaEthiopia

🇷🇺🇹🇭 On June 10, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Maris Sangiampongsa on the sidelines of the meeting of the #BRICS Foreign Ministers in Nizhny Novgorod.

During the conversation, prospects for the development of Russian-Thai cooperation in priority areas were discussed, including promoting political dialogue, further building up trade and economic ties and cultural exchanges, as well as issues of combining efforts on international platforms.

Current issues on the regional agenda were discussed.

#RussiaThailand

🇷🇺🇪🇬 On June 10, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Foreign Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt Sameh Shoukry on the sidelines of the #BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in Nizhny Novgorod.

During their conversation, the Officials discussed various important aspects of the Middle East agenda, with a particular focus on the current escalation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They emphasised the urgent need to increase international efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and provide sustainable humanitarian access to the area, ensuring necessary assistance to the population of the Palestinian enclave.

The Ministers also explored ways to further strengthen the traditionally friendly Russian-Egyptian relations, including efforts to maintain political dialogue and advancing trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties.

#RussiaEgypt

🇷🇺🇸🇦 On June 10, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the #BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in Nizhny Novgorod.

The two countries’ Ministers focused on the prospects of further cooperation in various areas of bilateral relations.

They had an in-depth discussion on topical issues on the global and regional agendas and reaffirmed their shared position on the need to consolidate collective efforts to ensure political and diplomatic settlements of acute crises on the Middle East, including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as quickly as possible.

#RussiaSaudiArabia

🇷🇺🇹🇷 President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Türkiye Hakan Fidan (June 11, 2024).

💬 Vladimir Putin: I am aware that you were in Nizhny Novgorod and met with foreign ministers from the #BRICS countries who came to Russia in the run-up to the BRICS summit. We welcome Turkiye’s interest in BRICS.

Of course, we will support this interest and the push to be closer to the countries of this association and to address common problems, especially so since the situation calls for, I believe, a more thorough and close interaction, particularly for the countries of the region which we live in, in order to act effectively across all areas both in terms of ensuring security and in terms of economic cooperation and in order to adjust our actions in the international arena. Everything that I just mentioned is one way or another among our priorities which we work on painstakingly.

🤝 We note with satisfaction progress in our relations with the Republic of Türkiye. All of that is happening, of course, under the leadership and with the direct support of our friend, the President of the Republic of Türkiye.

<...>

We are grateful to our Turkish friends for their commitment to contribute to the settlement of crisis situations, including the Ukraine crisis. I would also like to thank you, in your former capacity, for supporting the negotiating process and for providing the Istanbul venue for negotiations with Ukraine to resolve the crisis.

<...>

☝️ Türkiye and Russia played a significant role in settling the Syria crisis, and I think continuing the Astana format will be the right thing to do, to fight terrorism, and to do everything we can to return the situation back to normal in this most important area.

Overall, the situation is unfolding in a positive manner. Please convey my best regards to President Erdogan. I hope that soon, in July, I think July 3–4, he will arrive in Astana, as far as I know, as part of an international event, and we will have an opportunity to sit down and discuss all current issues.

#RussiaTürkiye

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions following the meeting of Foreign Ministers from BRICS and Global South and Global East countries (Nizhny Novgorod, June 11, 2024)

💬 We have just completed our two-day programme. Yesterday, we worked with the #BRICS countries, and continued our discussions today with the invited countries which have yet to join BRICS. They expressed their firm commitment to forging closer ties with this association. Apart from the ten BRICS countries, another 12 nations of the Global Majority representing Asia, Africa and Latin America joined us today.

We discussed the most pressing and relevant international issues and challenges which all countries face today, as well as the present-day international environment and the role the Global Majority plays in shaping the global agenda.

During the BRICS segment of our meeting and today, in the presence of the invited countries, all delegations spoke out in favour of reforming the existing global governance framework by focusing on enabling the Global South to play a bigger role in it. We noted the need to undertake collective efforts in order to achieve the sustainable development goals, ensure security and foster economic growth.

Most of the delegations emphasised the destructive nature of protectionism in trade. The US and its allies have been sticking to this destructive policy.

<...>

❗️ All meeting participants without exception paid special attention to the developments in the Gaza Strip where the death toll stands at 37,000, while about 100,000 people were wounded. The military operation continues there, resulting in more and more casualties among innocent people.

We emphasised that there is no alternative to undertaking consistent efforts designed to support the emergence of a multipolar world order based on the sovereign equality of states as set forth in the UN Charter, as well as an equitable interstate dialogue free from any hidden agendas and aimed at coming up with collective solutions for addressing the objectives and issues the world faces today.

<...>

Following the BRICS meeting held yesterday, we have adopted an in-depth and explicit Joint Statement, which reflects the group countries’ stands on current international issues in the spirit of the assessments I have mentioned here.

🤝 It is highly satisfying that our work in the expanded format went smoothly. All participants tried to reach consensus even on the most complicated issues reflected in the text.

Read in full

🇷🇺🇻🇳 President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin met with Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh

💬 Vladimir Putin: The Russian-Vietnamese relations of trust and mutual understanding have come a long way <...> and have stood the test of time with honour.

The Soviet Union, as you also noted, provided effective assistance in the Vietnamese people’s heroic struggle against the French and later the American invaders, and subsequently contributed to the peaceful development of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In recent decades, we have significantly expanded the legal framework for cooperation. In addition to the cornerstone Treaty on Foundations of Friendly Relations, which just recently turned 30 years old, more than 80 interstate and intergovernmental agreements are now in place between our countries. A number of important bilateral documents were also signed during the current visit.

👉 Read in full

Educational cooperation continues; the government has established a quota of 1,000 university scholarships with state grants to admit Vietnamese citizens next year.

Russia will host Days of Vietnamese Culture this year. Vietnamese athletes took part in the #BRICS Games earlier this month.

Many Russian cities and regions, including Moscow, St Petersburg, the Kaluga, Rostov and Ulyanovsk regions, are active in cooperating with cities and provinces of Vietnam.

🤝 I would like to underscore that despite all the current challenges, we are committed to strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and we will do our utmost to advance it. I hope that this visit will serve to strengthen our ties; I have no doubt about it.

#RussiaVietnam

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions following his visit to the United States within the framework of Russia’s UN Security Council Presidency

📍 New York, July 17, 2024

💬 I came to New York for two key events – open debates – that were held yesterday and today within the framework of Russia’s UN Security Council Presidency. Not only members of the Security Council but all other delegations could attend them. You saw how many of them did so.

The first issue we proposed for discussion yesterday concerned the conceptual framework of international relations, multilateralism and multipolarity. We pointed out the gradual erosion of system that was created after the Second World War on the basis of the central role of the UN.

I hope that you listened to my statement and to the statements made by other participants. We did not expect to come to agreement on the majority of issues, considering the current tensions on the international stage and the state of relations between the collective West and the Global Majority.

☝️ Although we had no big illusions, I believe that it was a useful discussion. At the very least, the overwhelming majority of participants agreed that we have problems. Many of them expressed opinions that coincide with our vision of the objective development of a multipolar world order, which I presented in my statement.

Another conclusion is that this discussion will most certainly be continued. There is an apparent interest for this, and it is growing. We will actively keep it up, and we will organise additional discussions on this issue not only at the UN but also at other multilateral platforms, including at the Group of Twenty, at associations such as #BRICS and the #SCO, as well as in the framework of our contacts with the regional organisations of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The restoration of trust is the top priority now, as the representative of Guyana pointed out yesterday. So far, there was no hint of dialogue. Another important statement he made was that trust could only be rebuilt if all parties without exception comply with the agreements reached. This is not the case so far. Examples of that were provided yesterday in my statement and in the statements of other participants.

Overwhelming evidence of that was also provided during today’s open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. The overwhelming majority of the UN resolutions on Palestine have not been implemented. The second debate I have mentioned is not over yet. Many speakers have called for taking resolute steps. We hold a similar view. The first steps must include the termination of hostilities, a permanent ceasefire, the settlement of critical humanitarian problems and, of course, the termination of Israel’s actions to create illegal settlements. We hope that if or when this is done, this will create conditions for resuming negotiations on the implementation of UN decisions on the establishment of the Palestinian state that would live in peace and security with Israel.

<...>

🤝 I have held a series of bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Arab countries, with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto, and with Head of the Federal Department (Minister) of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis.

📄 Read in full

🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Marina Kim for the New World project (Moscow, November 14, 2024)

Key talking points:

#InternationalAffairs

• Our main task now is to achieve all the goals formulated by President Vladimir Putin. You are aware of the West’s expectations. They are speculating about stopping the hostilities at a certain line and coordinating a truce, so that 10 years from now they will decide who Crimea and Donbass belong to. This is coffee cup reading. I won’t engage in it. We have our tasks, and we will fulfil them.

• Our job is to assert and promote Russia’s interests in keeping with its Constitution as well as the objectives defined by President Vladimir Putin. This goes beyond Ukraine and applies to Russia’s Foreign Policy Concept in general.

#USA

• Washington can’t allow Russia to prove that it is a strong player and undermine the West’s reputation. They don’t care about Ukraine. They only care about their reputation. They decided that Ukraine should have a government they like and didn’t expect anyone to protest. Russia? It’s a big country but it must be brought down a peg. That is what this is about rather than the future of the Ukrainian people. They don’t care about people.

• Sanctions have been imposed on over half of the world’s countries, even if they are not as drastic as those that have been adopted against Russia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran and Venezuela. The real reason behind the West’s current rage is that China is rapidly and confidently surging ahead of the United States.

• We can see through what the Americans want. Sitting somewhere overseas, they believe that they are beyond the reach, while leaving it to Europe to overcome the challenges they face in terms of encouraging and arming Ukraine to fight Russia, as well as footing the bill for the Middle East tragedy.

#Eurasia4You

• God gave us one continent, and we share it. This continent possesses immense and, in fact, the biggest natural resources, while several millennia-old civilisations inhabit it. Failing to benefit from these competitive advantages would be a mistake. This is what the idea of building a Greater Eurasian Partnership is all about, and the EAEU, SCO and ASEAN have already taken the first steps in this direction. We are establishing ties and promoting dialogue. If we succeed in fulfilling the plans we have, the Greater Eurasian Partnership will offer a solid foundation and serve as an economic and transport backbone for what President Vladimir Putin called a new Eurasian security architecture.

• There is a clear understanding that the Eurasian security architecture, just like the Greater Eurasian Partnership, must be open to all countries and continents, including Eurasia’s western part, even if so far the latter has been trying, as if by inertia, to ensure its interests within a Euro-Atlantic security concept instead of opting for the Eurasian framework, which would be natural and reasonable, considering the geography factor. This is their way of saying that they do not intend to do anything without the United States.

#BRICS

🌐 BRICS is about the new world order that is based on the main principle of the UN Charter – the sovereign equality of states.

• BRICS has no intention of dividing the world. It wants to bring together countries that desire closer relations so that they can live on the land they got from God and their ancestors just as they used to, as great civilisations.

#Africa

🌍 Decolonisation has taken place, in a broad sense. But being able to actually manage one’s freedom and resources is a different story. This is where neo-colonialism comes to the fore.

• The First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in Sochi, and the Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg in 2023 clearly put into perspective the trends that could be called Africa’s second awakening.