🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview for the documentary series Oil (Moscow, March 21, 2024)

Key points:

🔹 All natural resources on which economic development, influence and might depend are instruments of political struggle. <...> The Americans have been using oil and oil prices as a weapon.

🔹 What is the oil price cap imposed on Russian oil by the Americans, which the West was pressured to adopt as well? It is flagrant interference in the workings and principles of the free market, which the Americans have been promoting for decades.

🔹 The pinnacle of using hydrocarbons as a weapon was the explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines. <...> It is evidence of the current German government’s impotence and inability not just to think independently but to even protect its vital interests.

🔹 Everyone is well aware of Washington’s methods. <...> When talking with Washington, you need to firmly press for your own advantage and never expect it to fulfil its sweet promises.

🔹 The OPEC Plus, where both Iran and Russia are members, has a clear formula for reaching agreements and finding compromises. It has been used for years, and nobody has been disadvantaged or dissatisfied.

🔹 In Syria, the oil and grain production is concentrated in the northeast, and the Americans have occupied this area. They are producing oil there and are stealing it. <...> This is colonialism pure and simple.

🔹 Oil, gas and hydrocarbons in general will continue to play the key role in the development of the global economy and in ensuring the well-being of nearly all countries for a long time to come, for many decades.

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⚡️ Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

The Russian Foreign Ministry is receiving phone calls with condolences from ordinary citizens from all around the globe following the horrible tragedy at the Krokus City Hall venue in Moscow. They are expressing the strongest condemnation of this bloody terrorist attack, transpiring right before the eyes of the entire world.

As the Russian authorities have already stated, all efforts at the current moment are devoted to saving the people [still at the site of the attack].

❗️ The international community is obliged to condemn this horrendous crime!

⚡️ Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

💬 The White House has announced that it sees “no indication at this time that Ukraine, Ukrainians were involved” in the terrorist attack in Moscow.

On what basis are officials in Washington drawing any conclusions about who was involved during an unfolding tragedy? If the U.S. has or had credible information, it should have been shared with Russia immediately.

❗️ If no such information exists, the White House has NO RIGHT to absolve anyone.

Russia’s leaders have declared that the proper authorities will identify all those involved.

The Secretary-General condemned in the strongest possible terms today’s terrorist attack at a concert hall outside Moscow, in which at least 40 people were reportedly killed and over 100 others injured.

The Secretary-General conveyed his deep condolences to the bereaved families and the people and the Government of the Russian Federation. He wishes those injured a speedy recovery.

💬 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova: We thank the Secretary-General for the timely correction and articulation of a clear position!

🇷🇺 🇮🇳 Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi condemned the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall venue in Moscow:

🔗 x.com/narendramodi/status/1771357097390719438