#Announcement

🎙 On January 16, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold a briefing on current foreign policy issues:

🕙 10.00 am MSK
🕖 7.00 am GMT
🕗 8.00 am CEST
🕒 3.00 pm Beijing

For accreditation inquiries, please contact the MFA Press Centre. Accredited journalists will receive details on the technical aspects of submitting questions.

The Russia's Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman will answer media questions received by the call centre.

❗️ Accreditation is open until 09:00 am on January 15.

📄 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has compiled and issued a Report 'On Violations of the Rights of Russian Citizens and Fellow Citizens in Foreign Countries'

☝️ We note with regret that the problem of violation of the rights of Russian citizens and compatriots abroad still has no signs of any improvement so far and, moreover, the negative trends continue due to the efforts of the collective West. <...>

All such violations of the rights of Russians, such as denial of a wide range of services (educational, medical, banking, etc.), the introduction of measures against Russian business and seizure of property of Russian citizens, suspension of Russians from sports and culture events, hypocritically forcing them to public repentance and condemnation of the actions of Russian authorities (here one should also point out double standards applied by international sports organizations against Russians and representatives of some other countries in similar situations). <...>

In the light of the support for the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev demonstrated by the “collective West”, Poland, the Baltic states, Ukraine itself and some other countries pursue the most Russophobic course.

The common feature for all of them was, under the pretext of “condemning Russian aggression,” to fight against monuments and memorials commemorating the Red Army soldiers who perished in the battles for the liberation Europe from Nazism. That fight they, as the genuine followers of the ideology of Nazism, brought almost to paranoia and manic persecution of any symbol commemorating fighters against fascism.

We would like to note in this regard, that, in addition to this report, the above-mentioned actions, which contradict the decisions of the Nuremberg Tribunal, are also covered in the Ministry's report on the manifestations of the glorification of Nazism in the world. <...>

In a number of countries (first of all in the Baltic states, the United States, Canada and Ukraine), members of the Russian-speaking community who promote the preservation of cultural, linguistic and historical ties with Russia and advocate constructive relations with our country face pressure and repression on the part of the authorities.

In addition, the authorities in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine intensified their efforts to squeezing the Russian language out of all educational institutions, thus trampling on the right of the residents (and citizens among them) to education in native language.

Furthermore, the threat of mass deportation of Russian-speaking residents by the authorities of the Baltic states is still maintained: the first attempts on their part to solve, once and for all, the "Russian problem", as well as the unprecedented – especially for the XXI century – issue of widespread statelessness in their territories, have already been recorded. <...>

We continue to record cases of foreign authorities' obstructing the activities of Russian journalists and persons representing Russian media. <...>

⚠️ We would like to emphasize: all such actions demonstrate the desire of the Western countries to eradicate alternative points of view and prevent the realization of one of the basic rights of their citizens, i.e. the right to freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of state borders.

This report has been prepared based on the information and analytical materials provided by Russia's missions abroad using data from both Russian and foreign media and other open sources, including the conclusions and recommendations of the international human rights organizations and mechanisms. It takes stock of and systematizes the reports of hundreds of compatriots about the infringement of their rights abroad, including those received through hotlines organized by diplomatic missions.

We also continue to exchange information with Russian specialized non-governmental organizations that conduct relevant monitoring within their purview.

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👥 Meeting of Consul General with President of Tamil Chamber of Commerce

📅 On January 13, 2024, Mr. Valerii Khodzhaev, Consul General of Russia in Chennai, held a meeting with Mr. Chozha Naachiar Rajasekar, President of the Tamil Chamber of Commerce.

🤝 Discussed issues of strengthening Russia-India trade and economic cooperation.