🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions following the 20th Session of the Valdai International Discussion Club (Sochi, October 2, 2023)

#MultipolarWorld

Today we talked about changes taking place in the international arena. The world is becoming multipolar. The expansion of BRICS is the main evidence of this. BRICS is seen as a reliable partner and as a structure that will not disappoint and will help each member feel more confident.

#UN

UN reform must reflect the reality of a multipolar world where the West can no longer claim the role that it is seeking to maintain either fairly or otherwise. The process is underway. We are taking an active part in it.

#Russophobia

What strikes me most is the speed with which the outward civility has fallen away from practically all Europeans, the front they have been hiding behind in recent years, retaining not only the remnants of diplomacy but also traces of elementary ethics. This is a manifestation of what is usually called Nazism – just in relation of Russians.

#SouthCaucasus

We are working with our Azerbaijani colleagues and neighbours to stabilise the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, to strengthen trust, and create conditions for the Armenians and Azerbaijanis to resume their normal life together. I hope that Yerevan should also have a stake in that and will undertake efforts to this end.

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🇷🇺🇮🇳 President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, on an official visit to Russia, held talks in the Grand Kremlin Palace.

💬 Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, this is your first official visit after your reappointment following parliamentary elections. I would like to congratulate you on this once again.

Our countries have long-time friendship and good relations that have evolved over the decades. This year, we are marking the 77th Anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Today, our relations have the status of a specially privileged strategic partnership. We are in permanent contact, and we prioritise the development of trade and economic ties. Certainly, their development meets the interests of the people of India and the peoples of the Russian Federation.

📈 Last year, our trade soared by 60 percent and even more, by 66 percent; it increased by an additional 20 percent in the first quarter of 2024.

🌐 We cooperate closely on the international arena, including at international organisations, primarily the #UN and such associations as the #SCO and #BRICS.

Yesterday, we had an opportunity to discuss virtually all practical issues in an informal setting. I am grateful to you for devoting attention to the most acute issues and for trying to find some options for resolving the Ukraine crisis, primarily by peaceful methods.

Mr Prime Minister, we will be delighted to see you in Kazan this autumn at the upcoming BRICS Summit.

At the end of my opening remarks, I would like to wish you new successes in facilitating the development of the Indian state. You and I know each other for a long time, and I know that your entire life is devoted to implementing the idea of strengthening the Indian state and improving the life of the people of India.

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#RussiaIndia

🎙 An excerpt from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answers to questions at a meeting with students and faculty of MGIMO University (Moscow, September 2, 2024)

❓Today it is difficult to overstate the importance of information in world politics. Recently, we have witnessed the destructive impact of fake news and deep fakes on its development. Do you think it is possible to tackle this problem through international law? Are there any talks in progress with other countries on this matter, despite the complexity of the current geopolitical situation? What is Russia‘s perspective on this issue?

💬 FM Sergey Lavrov: Ideally, we need to find solutions that will suit everybody and help regulate the newly emerging formats of communication. First of all, this is important because we must prevent the use of these formats for malicious purposes, be it military and political purposes, criminal intent or simply damaging certain politicians or any person, in fact.

I have talked about the West’s approach to globalisation. Advertised as a common achievement of humanity, the West simply uses its positions in this old system of globalisation as a weapon to remove economic competitors. This is a clear objective of the West.

As for the area you mentioned, Pavel Durov turned out to be too free. He listened to Western advice on “moderating” his brainchild too slowly or did not listen at all. What is happening now did not happened only to him. Mark Zuckerberg was previously summoned to the US Senate and agreed to cooperate, as he admitted himself. The West has not been particularly lenient with other major platforms either.

What the West has been trying to do to Telegram and other platforms that everybody is talking about in the wake of the incident in France, is similar to its abuse of globalisation.

❓ How can Russia contribute to settling the Palestinian situation in light of the recent aggravation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? What practical steps are being taken to maintain and strengthen peace in that region?

💬 FM Sergey Lavrov: Russia has been closely involved in these processes since the time when regional countries attained independence, trying to promote positive developments.

As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Russia was a member of the quartet of international intermediaries alongside the United States, the #UN and the EU. In 2003, we presented a roadmap with monthly actions to be taken towards creating a Palestinian state and ending that protracted conflict.

We have recently focused our attention in the Middle East on restoring Palestinian unity. If anything, the restoration of unity depends exclusively on the Palestinians rather than on the conduct of Israel or the actions of its patrons (primarily Washington).

We invited all Palestinian factions to Moscow several times. During their meeting in February 2024, they signed a document sealing their agreement to unite on the basis of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. This is important because the PLO recognises Israel.

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🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s article for Russia in Global Affairs magazine «The UN must recover its central role in coordinating actions by nations» (October 4, 2024)

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💬 The 79th Session of the UN General Assembly has recently completed the general debate, where President Vladimir Putin tasked me to represent the Russian Federation.

Does the Pact for the Future have a future?

Held as usual in the last week of September, the UN’s High-Level Week included the so-called Summit of the Future. The idea to convene it came from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Russia has met this idea with understanding considering that the UN is sinking deeper and deeper into a crisis, and something has to be done about it. Russian diplomats joined efforts to prepare this meeting and acted in a sincere and honest way, even if we did not have any illusions in this regard. In fact, there were quite a few major UN events in the past which failed to go beyond bombastic declarations that were forgotten soon after their adoption.

<...>

In 2015, the UN Summit on Sustainable Development adopted grand plans to fight poverty and inequality. In the end, they turned out to be empty promises in the face of the unwillingness of the Western countries to give up their neo-colonial practices of siphoning off the riches of the world for their own benefit. <...>

The current UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, just like Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon before him, has put forward an initiative under the slogan of giving a new start and resetting global cooperation.

This is a wonderful idea. Who could disagree?

But what global cooperation is there to talk about, when the West has trampled all those unshakeable values of globalisation we have been hearing about from everywhere for so many years. These perorations were designed to convince us that they would give everyone equal access to the goods of modern civilisation. Where is the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence, freedom of expression, access to information, fair market competition under fair and constant rules?

How can we discuss global cooperation when the Western countries have unleashed a real war of sanctions against more than half, if not the majority, of the countries of the world, and the US dollar has been crudely turned into a weapon against undesirable countries? <...>

Key talking points:

• It is not too late to give the UN a new lease on life.

• It has gotten to the point where the West wants to turn the UN into an instrument for attaining itself-seeking goals.

• [The West is] hindering the badly needed change in the system of forming the UN Secretariat, where the key posts have been seized and are “inherited” by representatives of the Western minority.

• There must be an honest discussion by all UN member states, and not like a process in which the Pact for the Future was prepared – without a single plenary session of talks attended by all countries.

• Establishing a space of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia is crucial amid the all-encompassing processes unfolding in the macro-region.

• Our initiative is based on the understanding of the need for states and multilateral organisations of the Eurasian region to assume responsibility for ensuring their own security under the ‘Eurasian solutions to Eurasian problems’ formula.

***

❗️ Today, the international community once again faces massive challenges, just like during World War II, which require united efforts rather than confrontation and desire of global dominance. Russia will always advocate collective efforts, truth and the rule of law, peace and cooperation in the interests of reviving the ideals set forth by the UN’s founding fathers.

🇺🇳 Working for the honest balance of the legitimate national interests of all countries, we can bring to life the purpose of the #UN as stated in its Charter: “To be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.”

🎙Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview to Newsweek magazine (October 7, 2024)

❓Question: As the Ukraine conflict continues, how different is Russia's position than in 2022 and how are the costs of conflict being weighed against the progress made toward strategic objectives?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: Our position is widely known and remains unchanged. Russia is open to a politico-diplomatic settlement that should remove the root causes of the crisis.

It should aim to end the conflict rather than achieve a ceasefire. The West should stop supplying weapons, and Kiev should end the hostilities.

👉 Ukraine should return to its neutral, non-bloc and non-nuclear status, protect the Russian language, and respect the rights and freedoms of its citizens.

<...>

On 14 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin listed prerequisites for the settlement as follows: complete AFU withdrawal from the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson Oblasts; recognition of territorial realities as enshrined in the Russian Constitution; neutral, non-bloc, non-nuclear status for Ukraine; its demilitarization and denazification; securing the rights, freedoms and interests of Russian-speaking citizens; and removal of all sanctions against Russia.

Kiev responded to this statement by an armed incursion into the Kursk Oblast on 6 August. Its patrons – the US and other NATO countries – seek to inflict a «strategic defeat» on Russia. Under the circumstances, we have no choice but to continue our special military operation until the threats posed by Ukraine are removed. <...>

❓Question: How likely do you think it is that a military or diplomatic solution can be achieved, or do you see a greater risk of the conflict spiraling into something even larger with Ukrainian forces receiving more advanced NATO weaponry and entering Russian territory?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: Making guesses is not my job. What I want to say is that we have been trying to extinguish this crisis for more than a decade, yet each time we put to paper agreements that suite everyone, Kiev and its masters would backpedal. <...>

At present, as far as we can see, restoring peace is not part of our adversary's plan. Zelensky has not revoked his decree banning negotiations with Moscow. Washington and its NATO allies provide political, military and financial support to Kiev so that the war would go on. They are discussing authorizing the AFU to use Western long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory. "Playing with fire" in this way may lead to dangerous consequences. As stated by President Putin, we will take adequate decisions based on our understanding of the threats posed by the West. It is up to you to make conclusions.

❓Question: What concrete plans does Russia have in line with its strategic partnerships with China and other powers to achieve changes in the current world order and how do you expect these ambitions to play out in areas of intense competition and conflict, including the Middle East?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: What we have in mind is that the world order needs be adjusted to the current realities. Today the world is living through the "multipolar moment". Shifting towards the multi-polar world order is a natural part of power rebalancing, which reflects objective changes in the world economy, finance and geopolitics. The West waited longer than the others, yet it has also started to realize that this process is irreversible.

<...>

Multipolarity manifests itself in the increasing role of regional associations, such as the #EAEU, #SCO, #ASEAN, #AfricanUnion, #CELAC and others. #BRICS has become a model of multilateral diplomacy. The #UN should remain a forum for aligning the interests of all the countries.

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🎙 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's interview to the newspaper "Arguments and Facts" (October 21, 2024)

Key Points:

#BRICS

• BRICS epitomises the shifts that have long been underway in the global economy. New centres of economic growth are emerging, and alongside them comes financial influence, which in turn brings political influence.

• BRICS is a consortium where no single nation leads or is led, devoid of the bureaucratic machinery akin to that observed in Brussels, where EU officials impose decisions that contravene the will and interests of several member states, failing to align with the aspirations of voters across many countries.

• BRICS does not stand in opposition to any entity, nor does it orchestrate operations or initiate projects. BRICS is committed to enhancing the combined potential of its nations and devising collaborative strategies for harnessing these potentials for mutual benefit.

• What makes BRICS and other World Majority or Global East associations that do not include Western countries stand out, is that they are not created for the purpose of struggling or fighting with anyone. They are established to collectively benefit from their competitive advantages such as geographical location, shared history, cultural and humanitarian proximity <...>.

#USA

• The US is unwilling to relinquish the reins of power that they have held since World War II through the Bretton Woods institutions and through the role assigned to the US dollar in the international monetary system, even after free exchange of US dollars for gold had been cancelled.

• The key goal of the US ruling class is to make sure no one can undermine their dominance. This goal is illusory. The historical process is objectively heading in a different direction, and this has to be reckoned with.

• We are ready to interact with any administration voted in by the American people, but only if such a dialogue is mutually respectful, and both parties listen and hear what the other party has to say.

#Ukraine

• On multiple occasions, European leaders from Brussels have repeatedly made it clear that they must support Ukraine for as long as it takes, because Ukraine is fighting for the European values.

• It turns out that European leaders are still willing to uphold Nazi values, which is why denazification is not just a motto, but an objective of utmost importance.

#UN

• The United Nations is not a valiant knight expected to “charge in and extinguish the fire” upon witnessing injustice. The UN is an assembly of its member states, each with established rules, including the Security Council's veto rights. The United States has effectively exercised this right five times over the past year, blocking a resolution proposed by several countries, including Russia, demanding an immediate ceasefire. <...> Presently, the United States is taking every measure to avoid antagonising Israel.

• Nations such as India, Brazil, and African representatives should have long held permanent seats on the Security Council. This is essential to ensure representation of the World Majority.

#Finland #Sweden #NATO

• The zeal that the Finns and Swedes are showing in NATO, advocating for defeating Russia, is not only rooted in their historical instincts. They are also eager to show their Big Brothers in the North Atlantic Alliance that they have brought added value <...>.

• I am confident that reasonable people in Europe, who have learned the lessons taught by history, see this too, including in Finland and Sweden.

#Europe

• To reiterate, the so-called right-wing conservatives are loyal to their countries and their people. We will engage with anyone who approaches us with a proposal to talk, to seek common ground, and to think about how we can jointly make the lives of our citizens better.

#EurasianSecurity

• We suggest discussing the Eurasian continent-wide security architecture, emphasising the fact that its doors will be open to everyone, including countries from the West of the Eurasian continent.

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🗓 On December 17, during the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the resolution titled “Combatting glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance” was adopted at the Russian Federation’s initiative.

In addition to Russia, 39 countries from various regions of the world co-authored the document, including Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Venezuela, Vietnam, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Kyrgyzstan, China, the DPRK, Congo, Cuba, Laos, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Serbia, Syria, Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, the Central African Republic, Sri Lanka, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

The resolution was supported by 119 states, with 53 delegations voting against and ten countries abstaining.

The document strongly reaffirmed its condemnation of the glorification of the Nazi movement and the attempts to rehabilitate former SS members, including the Waffen-SS units, which were declared criminal by the Nuremberg Tribunal.

☝️ The participants of the resolution expressed grave concern over the continued targeting of monuments dedicated to those who fought against Nazism and fascism, as well as soldiers liberators – acts that have evolved into official state policies in recent years.

Additionally, the resolution voiced profound indignation at events glorifying Nazis and their collaborators, such as neo-Nazi marches, torchlight processions, and gatherings of radical nationalists.

The resolution highlights the trend of erecting memorials and renaming streets, schools, and other public places after individuals who fought alongside the Nazis or collaborated with them.

It expresses concern over efforts to glorify as national heroes those who fought against the Anti-Hitler Coalition during World War II, collaborated with the Nazis, and were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

❌ The resolution also condemns attempts by certain countries to prohibit symbols associated with the victory over Nazism. It underscores that such actions desecrate the memory of the countless victims of Nazism, have a detrimental impact on younger generations, and stand in direct contradiction to the obligations of UN member states under the Charter of the United Nations.

The collective West, particularly the EU countries where the aforementioned violations occur systematically, has abandoned even the pretence of justifying its refusal to support the resolution. Citing baseless arguments about freedom of assembly and speech, these nations have opposed international efforts to combat aggressive manifestations of racism and xenophobia.

The stance taken by Germany, Italy, and Japan deserves particular condemnation. Their vote against the resolution represents a dangerous trend, given the dark chapters in their XX-century history. It raises serious questions about the sincerity of their repentance for the numerous war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide committed during World War II.

❗️ The voting results clearly highlight the increasing support from the international community for Russia’s longstanding initiative, which is presented annually at the #UN General Assembly.

The adoption of this thematic resolution holds particular significance as it coincides with the approaching 80th anniversary of the Victory in World War II.

🎙Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with '60 Minutes' television programme (December 25, 2024)

💬 Sergey Lavrov: We have not had any illusions about the prospects [of 2025]. Resolving the Ukraine crisis doesn’t have any prospects, either. It has long been clear to everyone holding unbiased positions that it can be settled only in the context of agreements on lasting security and stability in Europe, which would take into account the interests of the Russian Federation and the legitimate interests of all other countries. <...>

President Putin has repeatedly stressed that we never walk away from talks. We need to see serious, concrete proposals. When we have them, we will decide on how to respond to them based on our national interests, the goals of the special military operation, and President Vladimir Putin’s June 14 speech at the Foreign Ministry.

Other key points

• The prevailing discourse we are hearing both in the West and in Ukraine today is about a truce and only truce. It is about buying time to allow the Kiev regime to regain strength, with the help of the West, and resume its attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, acting on their Western bosses’ instructions.

President Vladimir Putin has mentioned this repeatedly – during the Direct Line, at the Valdai Discussion Club meeting, and at the Russia Calling! investment forum. We will not be satisfied with a truce. We need reliable and legally binding agreements aimed at eliminating the root causes of the conflict, addressing problems such as common security in Europe, NATO expansion, the European Union’s recent decision to become an appendage of the North Atlantic bloc, in fact, erasing all differences between these organisations, and above all, upholding the rights of the people living in these territories who have supported reunification with the Russian Federation.

• We have never initiated a discussion regarding what should be done with nuclear weapons and whether they can be used. On the contrary, it was at Russia's initiative that in 2021, first at the level of Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, and subsequently among the leaders of the entire G5 nuclear-armed states – the permanent members of the Security Council – the 1987 Gorbachev-Reagan principle was reaffirmed: there can be no victors in a nuclear war, thus it should never be instigated. This was a Russian initiative.

We are not interested in escalating the issue of nuclear weapons usage risks. We firmly adhere to the principle I mentioned earlier: there can be no victors in a nuclear war.

• Regarding the incessant terrorist acts perpetrated by the Kiev regime, which deliberately targets purely civilian structures such as residential buildings, hospitals, clinics, shops, and places where people congregate and relax – this is outrageous. It is a blatant violation of all anti-terrorism conventions and relevant UN Security Council resolutions. We express our condemnation, although regrettably, almost no one in the West and none of the leaders of international organisations, including the #UN, the #OSCE, #UNESCO, and others, join us in this denunciation. Naturally, we do not stop there.

We regularly disseminate information and present relevant videos illustrating our efforts to dismantle facilities directly associated with the preparation and execution of activities by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

❗️We caution that any continuation of this path will be met with increasingly decisive responses on our part.

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