Dear friends, have a good day! 🌅 भारतीय दोस्तों, आपका दिन मंगलमय और शुभ हो!

📸 Can you guess the location?

Indian participants are leaving from Mumbai to Sochi for World Youth Festival https://fest2024.com/en Good luck, friends! 👍

⚡️ President Vladimir Putin delivered his Address to the Federal Assembly (February 29, 2024)

Key talking points:

• Our Motherland is defending its sovereignty and security, defending the lives of our compatriots in Donbass and Novorossiya.

• The so-called West, with its colonial practices and penchant for inciting ethnic conflicts around the world, not only seeks to impede our progress but also envisions a Russia that is a dependent, declining, and dying space where they can do as they please.

• They [the West] want to replicate in Russia what they have done in numerous other countries, including Ukraine: sowing discord in our home and weakening us from within.

• We were not the ones who started the war in Donbass, but <...> we will do everything to put an end to it, eradicate Nazism and fulfil all the objectives of the special military operation, as well as defend sovereignty and ensure that our people are safe.

• They [the West] have recently made unfounded allegations, in particular, against Russia, regarding plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space. Such fake narratives, and this story is unequivocally false, are designed to involve us in negotiations on their conditions, which will only benefit the US. At the same time, they have blocked our proposal which has been on the table for over 15 years. I am referring to the agreement on preventing the deployment of weapons in outer space, which we drafted back in 2008.

• The West has provoked conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other regions around the world while consistently propagating falsehoods. Now they have the audacity to say that Russia harbours intentions of attacking Europe. Can you believe it? We all know that their claims are utterly baseless. And at the same time, they are selecting targets to strike on our territory and contemplating the most efficient means of destruction. Now they have started talking about the possibility of deploying NATO military contingents to Ukraine.

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⚡️ From President Vladimir Putin's Address to the Federal Assembly (February 29, 2024)

Key talking points:

• Just like any other ideology promoting racism, national superiority or exceptionalism, Russophobia is blinding and stupefying. The US and its satellites have, in fact, dismantled the European security system which has created risks for everyone.

• We need to shore up the forces in the western strategic theatre in order to counteract the threats posed by NATO’s further eastward expansion, with Sweden and Finland joining the alliance.

• A new equal and indivisible security framework must be created in Eurasia in the foreseeable future. We are ready for a substantive discussion on this subject with all countries and associations that may be interested in it. At the same time, I would like to reiterate (I think this is important for everyone) that no enduring international order is possible without a strong and sovereign Russia.

• We strive to unite the global majority’s efforts to respond to international challenges, such as turbulent transformation of the world economy, trade, finance, and technology markets, when former monopolies and stereotypes associated with them are collapsing.

• The principles of equality and respect for each other’s interests guide us in our interactions with our partners. This is why more and more countries have been proactive in seeking to be part of the activities of the #EAEU, the #SCO, #BRICS and other associations involving Russia.

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🎙 President Vladimir Putin's address to the participants in the opening ceremony of the World Youth Festival

💬 Our country has already held three of these large youth forums, and each time they confirmed that there are no borders or dividing lines for younger generations. Here you can interact with whomever you wish and find the knowledge and experience you need.

This was proven by the hundreds of thousands of applications to take part in the festival that we received from 190 countries. The only thing we regret is not being able to accept all of them.

Right now, representatives of almost 300 ethnic groups are gathered here, on this stage. Here in Russia, we know very well how valuable this diversity is, and what a powerful driver of progress and mutual spiritual enrichment it is. <...>

☝️ Multi-ethnic unity is our supreme value, and it has largely shaped the principles by which our state and society live and develop today.

I am speaking about equality and justice, traditions of a strong family and mutual assistance, about serving one’s Fatherland and feeling responsibility for its destiny. I know that these values are shared by the vast majority of the Earth’s inhabitants.

This is why we must take care of them and defend them together, fulfil our dreams together, and help each other to make the lives of billions of people better. We must work together for the generations to come, fight poverty and terrorism, diseases and drug trafficking, preserve the unique natural riches, cultural heritage, and all the beauty and diversity of the planet.

This world has no place for racism, dictatorship, double standards or lies, and people are free to speak their language and follow the beliefs and traditions of their ancestors. <...>

🤝 I am confident that you will get a colossal charge of positive emotion from the festival and return home with love for Russia.

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