🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry's Deputy Spokesperson Alexey Zaytsev (Moscow, October 20, 2023)

🔹 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 Palestinian-Israeli conflict
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Russia denounces Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
🔹 Poland’s visa-related harassment of the Russian civil society
🔹 Russophobic action of the Australian authorities
🔹 50th anniversary of oil production limits imposed by OPEC countries to protest US policy in the Middle East
🔹 BRICS+ International Municipal Forum
🔹 75 years of United Nations’ work in Moscow

and much more...

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#MiddleEast

We are prioritising steps to provide security to Russians in Israel and in the Palestinian territories. We are in constant contact with them via Russian diplomatic missions and consulates and are working with our partners to organise the safe evacuation of Russian citizens, who have applied for help, from the zone of hostilities. As of today, about 1,000 persons, including citizens of CIS countries and their family members, have submitted relevant applications.

We want to emphasise once again that the current spiral in the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation is the direct consequence of the West disregarding the existing UN and Security Council resolutions and actually blocking the performance of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators, which includes Russia, the US, the EU and the UN.

#Ukraine

Today, the Ukrainian neo-Nazis follow in the footsteps of their ideological predecessors from the Third Reich. They deliver artillery and missile strikes at peaceful Russian cities and villages with particular cynicism, causing pain and suffering to local residents and ruthlessly destroying civilian infrastructure. It is not accidental that the notorious Nazi from the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), Yaroslav Hunka, described Vladimir Zelensky as a “worthy successor” to his cause.

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, October 26, 2023)

🔹 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 Palestinian-Israeli conflict
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 EU industrial production
🔹 The threat of expulsion of Russian citizens living in Latvia
🔹 Moldova

and much more...

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#Ukraine

On October 23, 2023, The Washington Post carried a detailed story about the involvement of Ukrainian security services in the assassination of Darya Dugina, the explosions of the Crimean Bridge and other crimes.

According to the paper, since 2015, the CIA spent tens of millions of dollars on training Ukrainian security services and turning them into America’s allies in the fight against Russia.

It also mentions the UK’s MI-6 in the same context. Those Anglo-Saxon intelligence services reportedly established the No 5 and No 6 divisions at the Security Service of Ukraine. Both divisions were directly subordinated to them and were expected to focus on active measures (acts of sabotage) against Russia.

According to the publication, the CIA was behind Ukrainian security services’ operations all the time. The Ukrainian side coordinated all high-profile operations with the CIA which provided the perpetrators with all the essentials.

#MiddleEast

We are deeply concerned about the reported geographical expansion of fighting in the West Bank. The potential for conflict is growing along the Blue Line on the Lebanese-Israeli border. We are watching with concern as Israel steps up air strikes on Syrian territory. We are extremely concerned about the military manoeuvres by non-regional parties in the Eastern Mediterranean. These factors, along with the increasing bellicose rhetoric from various sides, heighten the risks of the conflict escalating into a region-wide one.

In this regard, we reiterate the need for an early ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors for evacuation and delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. We also reiterate our call for the release of the hostages.

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, November 2, 2023)

🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Palestinian-Israeli conflict
🔹 Israeli airstrikes on a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip
🔹 Situation in Moldova
🔹 Statement by International Olympic Committee on Israeli athletes
🔹 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists

and much more...

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#MiddleEast

The situation in the conflict zone has taken an extremely negative turn with the confrontation entering a new dangerous phase on October 28, 2023. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched a ground operation in Gaza Strip

The number of victims is growing exponentially. The humanitarian disaster has been gaining momentum against the backdrop of the military escalation. It is in its early days and its ramifications will be felt for years and decades to come unless concrete steps are made to de-escalate.

There is a growing risk of this conflict spilling over across the region. The provocative military manoeuvring by the US in the Eastern Mediterranean is having a destabilising effect on the Middle East.

#IOC

We have noted the statement by a representative of the International Olympic Committee, who urged officials and athletes to not allow discrimination against Israel against the backdrop of the Gaza Strip conflict. It was said that the IOC adheres to the concept of individual responsibility and that athletes cannot be responsible for the actions of their governments. It was stated as an official position of the International Olympic Committee.

We cannot help but regard this statement as out of touch with the IOC’s deeply discriminatory attitude towards Russian and Belarusian athletes.

<...>

We strongly insist that the rights of all Russian and Belarusian athletes who suffered from the IOC’s deliberate politicisation of the sports agenda be restored.

🎙 Briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, November 9, 2023)

🔹 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 Palestinian-Israeli conflict
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Rise of nationalism in the world
🔹 Antisemitism in the United States
🔹 Nord Stream terrorist attack
🔹 Treaties to which the US is not a party
🔹 Moldova
🔹 Russophobia in Latvia
🔹 Tokyo Trial

and more...

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#Ukraine

Not only have the people across the ocean opted to ignore the cruelty with which the Kiev regime has been using American weapons against civilians, but they even view this as something rather normal. We used to say that they probably failed to notice these developments. But no, they believe them to be the norm. This is the new normal for them, together with the fact that supplying more and more weapons to Ukrainian neo-Nazis causes hostilities to escalate and increasingly draws the United States into the conflict in and around Ukraine.

#MiddleEast

The Gaza Strip is under a ruthless blockade, which primarily affects the civilians. Gaza is experiencing a critical lack of fuel, food, and medications. The clean water shortage is fraught with a sharp deterioration in the sanitary and epidemiological situation.

We appreciate the initiation of the process for evacuating foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip to Egypt through the Rafah Border Crossing.

Along with addressing immediate de-escalation tasks, we consider it important to take steps to lay the foundation for relaunching a full-fledged political process in order to provide a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue on a recognised international legal basis.

📰 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s written interview with RIA Novosti (December 31, 2023)

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#RussiaUSA

Our readiness to restore a full-fledged dialogue with the United States should not be taken for granted. Russia-US relations have become strained to the maximum due to Washington’s strategic objective of inflicting a decisive blow on Russia. We will only be able to develop a formula for peaceful coexistence and cooperation in certain areas when Washington acknowledges our core national interests and engages in sincere negotiations.

#INF

If the United States does not take any extraordinary steps to exert pressure through other means, Russia will not be the first to deploy missiles that were previously prohibited under the INF Treaty.

However, judging by the preparations made by the Pentagon, practical actions by the Americans to deploy ground-launched intermediate and short-range missiles in different regions of the world should not take long. Therefore, the time when we will have to make necessary political decisions is fast approaching.

#MiddleEast

Russia consistently advocates for the initiation of Palestinian-Israeli talks. The lack of Palestinian unity remains one of the obstacles to this.

We also assist our Palestinian friends in finding a solution. We have provided them with a venue for holding meetings in Russia. We call for unification based on the platform of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

#KievCrimes

The crimes of the Kiev regime are already under investigation. Russian law enforcement authorities are meticulously recording and documenting the atrocities committed by Ukrainian neo-Nazis, which extend beyond the timeframe of the special military operation.

Based on the evidence gathered by the Investigative Committee, the courts of the Russian Federation have already sentenced over 200 members of Ukrainian armed groups to long prison terms for their crimes. The remaining criminals will face the same fate and will be held accountable.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions following a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine and an open debate on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question,” (New York, January 24, 2024)

Key talking points:

• Terrorist attack by the Kiev regime on Il-76 plane
• Middle East
• Prospects of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement
• Ukraine
• Double standards of Western media
• Russia-US relations
• Nuclear security
• Korean Peninsula

💬 Sergey Lavrov: I am compelled to begin by stating yet another fact of the Kiev regime’s use of terrorist methods.

A terrorist attack was perpetrated on January 24, at 11:15 am Moscow time, resulting in the downing of a Russian Il-76 cargo plane in the Belgorod Region. The aircraft was en route from the Moscow Region to Belgorod, carrying 65 prisoners from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Three Russian officers and a crew of six people accompanied them. All of them died. The Ukrainian prisoners of war were being taken to the Belgorod Region for a prisoner exchange agreed between Moscow and Kiev.

Instead, Ukraine targeted this aircraft from the Kharkov Region using surface-to-air missiles, causing a fatal strike. <...>

#US #MiddleEast

As for the present crisis, everyone seems to have a similar understanding of the consequences of US policy in the region. None of the reckless attempts Washington has engaged in over the last few decades to defend its “core security interests” ten thousand miles across the Atlantic led to a situation where people’s lives improved in a country that the US attacked.

#US #Santions

They should not assume that just because they are strong, because they have the dollar, they can use it to “strangle” others: disconnect them from the SWIFT system or deny them access to the IMF and World Bank loans at whim. The US actually invented the system and made the world accept it.

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🎙 Briefing by Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (October 9, 2024)

🔹 Developments in the Middle East
🔹 Israeli air strike on Damascus
🔹 Kiev regime crimes
🔹 Violations of the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine
🔹 Honouring Nazi collaborators in Canada
🔹 British investigation into the Skripal case
🔹 Situation in Moldova
🔹 Investigation into Nord Stream terrorist attacks
🔹 EU’s new sanctions regime against Russia


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#MiddleEast

• On October 7, 2023, Israeli citizens suffered a bloody terrorist attack, resulting in civilian casualties. It was followed by a chain of horrific, monstrous and bloody developments across the Middle East. Over the past year, dozens or even hundreds of people have died there.

• All this has been taking place against the backdrop of the unrelenting efforts by the West to add even more fuel to the fire in its determination to block any attempts to settle the conflict that is currently raging there through political and diplomatic means.

❗️ We consider the Lebanese operation as a component of the current unprecedented escalation in the Middle East. We strongly condemn any hostilities that aim to inflame tensions across the entire region. <...> We stand for an immediate ceasefire.

#Ukraine #KievRegimeCrimes

• Russia referred the materials on reprisals by the Ukrainian Nazis against civilians in the Kursk Region to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This and other specialised international agencies will have to provide their substantive responses regarding the Ukrainian neo-Nazis atrocities.

• Both the Ukrainian neo-Nazis and the foreign mercenaries have been hunting down civilians intentionally and knowingly. They clearly understood what they were doing and fully realised who their targets were. It did not matter for them if they targeted a child, a woman or an elderly person. These people are terrorists who are intent on killing civilians, which reveals the very essence of Zelensky’s regime.

❗️ These crimes lie on the Kiev clique’s conscience, if we suppose that it has one, and that of its Western masters. Russian law enforcement agencies collect evidence and report all these crimes, so that everyone who was involved in perpetrating them is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

#Canada #NeoNazism

• Fifteen years ago, the authorities in the capital of Canada decided to erect a monument to the victims of Communism. There were plans to unveil it a year ago. However, the official ceremony was put off indefinitely following an international scandal with standing ovations for former Waffen SS member Hunka at the national parliament. They decided to sit it out, so as not to become involved in an even greater scandal.

• A new scandal around the odious monument once again highlights official Ottawa’s double standards and hypocrisy. By portraying Nazi criminals and their servants, who obtained political asylum after World War II en-masse in accordance with a simplified procedure, Canadian politicians are trying to portray them as “victims of Communism.”

#BRICS2024

🎙 President of Russia Vladimir Putin's remarks at the Plenary Session of the XVI BRICS Summit in the BRICS Plus/Outreach format (Kazan, October 24, 2024)

👉 In full

💬 Vladimir Putin: I am delighted to welcome all of you to the BRICS Plus/Outreach-format meeting. This inclusive platform has proven its worth by enabling the BRICS group participants to engage in a direct and open dialogue with their friends and partners. <...>

According to our agenda, we will discuss the most pressing issues the international community is facing today, including sustainable development, eradication of poverty, climate change adaptation, exchanging technology and knowledge, fighting terrorism and transborder crime.

We will focus particularly on the peaceful resolution of conflicts, certainly including a serious discussion of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.

<...>

#MultipolarWorld

🌐 All our countries share similar aspirations, values and a vision of a new democratic world order that reflects cultural and civilisational diversity. We are confident that such a system should be guided by the universal principles of respect for the legitimate interests and sovereign choice of nations, respect for international law and a spirit of mutually beneficial, honest co-operation.

☝️ The transition to a more just international system is not easy. Its development is being hampered by forces whose thinking and actions continue to be aimed at dominating everything and everyone. Under the guise of a rule-based order they are imposing on the world, they are actually attempting to contain growing competition and prevent the independent development of countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that they cannot control.

<...>

#MiddleEast

The current round of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation is probably one of the most sanguinary in the long list of conflicts. Over 40,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip. I would like to emphasise that we have always come out against the use of terrorist methods. <...>

Since the start of the escalation, we have joined forces with our BRICS and other partners to contribute to a settlement. <...>

I would like to repeat that the main condition for restoring peace and stability in the Palestinian territories is the realisation of the two-state formula approved by the UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.

<...>

#EurasianSecurity

The countries represented in this room have immense opportunities and resources at their disposal and play a prominent role on the international stage. They have been using their standing to enhance global security and promote sustainable development around the world. <...>

Russia advocated the idea of creating an inclusive system of equitable and indivisible security for Eurasia free from any discrimination.

<...>

#UnitedNations

🇺🇳 The UN must retain its central role in efforts to maintain peace and security and facilitate sustainable and steady development.

To ensure the effective functioning of the UN in the future, we believe it is important to adapt its structures to the realities of the 21st century, expanding the representation of countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, including those whose leaders are present here, in the Security Council and other key international bodies.

An effort to reform UN development institutions and global financial structures has long been overdue. <...>

The founding fathers of the United Nations believed that its purpose was to enable nations to come together and agree on joint actions.

***

❗️ Russia, like all BRICS countries, is open to cooperation with all countries of the Global South and East to promote inclusive and sustainable development and ultimately build a better world.

📰 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with the Türkish newspaper Hürriyet, November 1, 2024

#BRICS

We welcome Türkiye’s interest in strengthening ties with BRICS. This reflects the appeal of the group that is based on respect for the UN Charter, openness, pragmatism, and non-directedness against third parties.

We support the expansion of BRICS relations with countries of the Global Majority, particularly those committed to upholding multilateral approaches, pursuing a sovereign foreign policy, and refraining from participating in unilateral sanctions.

During the Summit in Kazan, a decision was made to strengthen the current composition of BRICS by including partner countries in the group. I am confident that Türkiye can make a meaningful contribution to the ongoing development of BRICS. The parameters for Türkiye’s participation in the group will be determined by consensus, respecting the sovereign choices of all BRICS countries and Türkiye itself.

#MiddleEast

The failure to settle the long-standing Arab-Israeli conflict has sparked a new wave of violence, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza. The number of casualties in Lebanon reaches thousands. More and more countries are becoming embroiled in this escalating confrontation.

Russia has condemned Israel for killing political leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as high-ranking Iranian military officials. We asked the UN Security Council to give its assessment of these deeds, but this initiative was blocked by opposition from Western members of the Council.

We urge all parties to refrain from actions that could further escalate violence and lead to a situation beyond control. There will be no winners in this conflict.

The way to normalise the situation lies in halting the bloodshed and creating conditions for a political resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on universal international legal principles. This includes the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. Only this solution can guarantee lasting peace in the Middle East.

#Ukraine

Russia is open to achieving a political settlement, but this should not merely lead to a temporary ceasefire; it must lead to a resolution of the conflict by eliminating its root causes. These include NATO’s eastward expansion, the creation of threats to Russia’s essential security interests, and the Kiev regime’s infringement on the rights of Russians and Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine.

At the moment, our opponents do not appear to want peace. Ukraine’s reaction to President Vladimir Putin’s peace initiative proposed in June was an invasion of the Kursk Region by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, along with airstrikes on targets in other border areas. Washington and its allies continue to provide extensive support to Kiev, discuss the possibility of using Western long-range missiles for strikes deep into Russian territory. Vladimir Zelensky has not revoked his order prohibiting negotiations with Moscow. Given these circumstances, it seems unlikely that any country, including Türkiye, will succeed in mediation efforts.

#RussiaUS

Whoever wins the election, we see no real prospects of the United States changing its Russophobic course. For our part, we will be ready for dialogue if and when the Americans demonstrate serious intentions to negotiate honestly, based on respect for each other’s interests and the principle of reciprocity.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with TASS news agency (December 30, 2024)

Key points:

#Ukraine #USA

• We have not received any official signals [from the USA] regarding a settlement in Ukraine.

• We are not happy with the proposals made by members of the Trump team to postpone Ukraine’s admission to NATO for 20 years and to station British and European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.

• What we need is reliable and legally binding agreements that would eliminate the root causes of the conflict and seal a mechanism precluding the possibility of their violation.

#RussiaUSA #NATO

• We are ready to renew the political dialogue which Washington terminated after the start of the special military operation, if the United States is ready for this. Since it was the Americans who cut it off, it is for them to make the first move.

• They [the West] have been long relying on efforts to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries, including our closest neighbours, as their foreign policy tool. For many years, Washington and its satellites have been acting this way in an effort to deter and contain their geopolitical rivals and do away with any unwanted actors, as confirmed by what happened in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine.

#Georgia

• The developments in Georgia stem from the double standards when caring for democracy and human rights serves as a pretext for overturning election results after even the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights with its tainted reputation recognised the election as being free and fair. Why do they want to change the results? Just because the puppet masters in Washington and Brussels did not find the way people voted there to their liking.

• The United States and the European Union are trying to impose a distorted vision on Tbilisi which consists of dividing everyone into those who are with us and those who are against us. Meanwhile, it seems that Georgian authorities have opted for a sovereign policy which meets the country’s national interests. They refuse to act as pawns manipulated by the West in its effort to destabilise Georgia, undermine its economy and incite escalation in its relations with Russia.

#Syria #MiddleEast

• The Syrians’ hopes for improvements after a convincing defeat of international terrorism, including with the help of Russia’s Aerospace Forces, have not materialised.

• Washington, which has effectively occupied the resource-rich north-eastern part of Syria and is putting serious sanctions pressure on Damascus together with a coalition of its satellites, bears a great deal of blame for this. This line for strangling the Syrian economy stirred up social discontent.

• Trying to maintain its influence [in the Middle East and North Africa], Washington actively interfered in the internal affairs of Arab countries and aggressively drew new dividing lines there. Iraq and Libya are still trying to clear up the consequences of the Americans and their satellites’ reckless behaviour.

#China

• The Americans are taking inciting actions in the Taiwan Strait and supplying weapons to Taipei while forging a quasi-political dialogue with the local authorities.

• It is clear to us that this policy pursued by Washington in violation of its obligations to Beijing on Taiwan is part of their strategy to step up military and political pressure on the PRC and eventually undermine regional security at the eastern end of the Eurasian continent.

• Russia reaffirms its adherence to the #OneChina principle, recognises that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China, opposes any form of “Taiwan independence,” and firmly supports China’s measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and achieve national reunification.

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