🇺🇳 On the adoption of UN General Assembly resolution on eradicating colonialism in all its forms and manifestations

🗓 On December 4, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution titled Eradication of Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations, which was drafted by the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter with the guiding role of Russia. A total of 113 countries voted for it, 63 states abstained, and none of the UN member states voted against it. The document was previously approved by the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (C-24) and the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly.

☝️ This convincing support shows that this initiative fully meets the fundamental interests of the Global Majority.

🌐 Its representatives are resolved to join forces in the struggle against the relics of the shameful colonial era and the modern manifestations of colonialism, which are seriously hindering the development of a more just multipolar world that will provide conditions for the comprehensive and sovereign development of states without any form of coercion.

The core of the abstaining group is made up of the former Western parent states, which bear the brunt of responsibility for centuries of colonial oppression of Asian, African and Latin American countries. This resolution was extremely unsuitable for them. However, they decided against opposing the Global South and East.

The main goal of that initiative is to ensure the full implementation of the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. In this context, it provides for declaring December 14 as an annual International Day against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations (marking the day when the Declaration was adopted) and preparing thematic information awareness and educational programmes.

This resolution will help organise systemic efforts to eradicate all manifestations of colonialism. Moreover, it will serve as a solid foundation for advancing new anti-colonial initiatives within the UN framework and at other multilateral platforms.

🇷🇺 Russia is fully ready for this work together with the many countries that think likewise.

🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview to Tucker Carlson (Moscow, December 6, 2024)

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Key talking points

#RussiaUS

• We would like to have normal relations with all countries especially with the United States. We don't see any reason why Russia and the United States cannot cooperate for the sake of the universe.

• The Ukrainians would not be able to do what they're doing with long-range modern weapons without direct participation of the American servicemen. We don't want to aggravate the situation, but since ATACMS and other long-range weapons are being used against mainland Russia as it were, we are sending signals. <...>

[The US and its allies] must understand that we would be ready to use any means not to allow them to succeed in what they call strategic defeat of Russia. They fight for keeping the hegemony over the world on any country, any region, any continent. We fight for our legitimate security interests.

• We don't want to aggravate the situation, but since ATACMS and other long-range weapons are being used against mainland Russia, we are sending signals. We hope that the last one, a couple of weeks ago, the signal with the new weapon system called #Oreshnik was taken seriously.

• When the United States and other Western countries recognized unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, they said this is the self-determination being implemented. There was no referendum in Kosovo — unilateral declaration of independence. <...> And when a few years later, Crimeans were holding referendum with invitation of many international observers, not from international organizations, but from parliamentarians in Europe, in Asia, in post-Soviet space, they said that they cannot accept this because this is violation of territorial integrity 🤷‍♂️

The UN Charter is not a menu. You have to respect it in all its entirety 👉 #UNCharterIsOurRules

• I think [Donald Trump] is a very strong person. A person who wants results. Who doesn't like procrastination on anything. But this does not mean that he's pro-Russian as some people try to present him. The amount of sanctions we received under the Trump administration was very big.

#Ukraine

• We strongly prefer peaceful solution through negotiations on the basis of respecting legitimate security interest of Russia, and on the basis of respecting the people who live in Ukraine, who still live in Ukraine being Russians. <...>

No military bases, no military exercises on the Ukrainian soil with participation of foreign troops. <...> We cannot tolerate a deal which would keep the legislation which are prohibiting Russian language, Russian media, Russian culture, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, because it is a violation of the obligations of Ukraine under the UN Charter.

• We are not talking about exterminating anybody's population. We don't have any intention to exterminate Ukrainian people. They are brothers and sisters to the Russian people.

• It is becoming clear that there is a fatigue in some capitals, and there are talks every now and then that the Americans would like to leave [Ukraine] with the Europeans and to concentrate on something more important.

#Syria

• The Americans in the east of Syria groom some Kurdish separatists using the profits from oil and grain sold, the resources which they occupy. <...> The information [on who's backing Islamist groups] which is being floated and it's in the public domain mentions among others the Americans, the Brits. Some people say that Israel is interested in making this situation aggravate. So that Gaza is not under very close scrutiny.