🔴 #LIVE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of #Syria Faisal Mekdad commence bilateral talks in Moscow 🇷🇺🇸🇾

🔗 https://mid.ru/en/press_service/video

🔴 #LIVE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of #Syria Faisal Mekdad hold a joint news conference following talks in Moscow 🇷🇺🇸🇾

🔗 https://www.ruptly.tv/en/events/202208231000-LIVE11677-Lavrov-and-Syrian-s-FM-Mekdad-give-joint-press-conference-in-Moscow

🔗 https://mid.ru/en/press_service/video

#RussiaSyria

🇷🇺🇸🇾 Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of #Syria Faisal #Mekdad meet on the sidelines of the of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly.

📹

#RussiaSyria #UNGA77

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
(Moscow, February 17, 2023)

🔹 Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 #UkraineCrisis
🔹 Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland’s statements on the possibility of Ukraine striking targets in #Crimea
🔹 The US policy of #DoubleStandards
🔹 Celebrating International #MotherLanguageDay
🔹 Results of the #NATO Council meeting at defence minister level
🔹 US practice of forcing neutral countries to comply with anti-Russian #sanctions
🔹 Earthquake relief efforts in #Syria
🔹 British intelligence services hacking mobile phones
🔹 New findings in #TwitterFiles investigation
🔹 #WhiteBooks about crimes committed by the modern Anglo-Saxon and their accomplices
🔹 The 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations #RussiaMyanmar
🔹 The 185th anniversary of diplomatic relations #RussiaSerbia

And many more...

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🔴 #LIVE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of #Syria Faisal Mekdad and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu hold talks in Moscow

🔗 https://www.ruptly.tv/en/events/202305100800-live14237-lavrov-holds-meeting-with-fms-of-iran-syria-and-turkey-in-moscow-

🔗 https://mid.ru/en/press_service/video

🇷🇺🇮🇷🇹🇷 Joint Statement by the Representatives of Iran, Russia and Türkiye on the 20th International Meeting on Syria in the Astana Format (Astana, 20-21 June 2023)

Excerpts:

The representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Türkiye as guarantor countries of the Astana Format:

• Reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic as well as to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

• Noted the constructive spirit of the consultations of Deputy Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Türkiye, which took place on 20 June 2023 in Astana, where they discussed progress in preparing the roadmap for the restoration of relations between Türkiye and Syria.

•Expressed their determination to continue working together to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.

• Condemned the ongoing Israeli military attacks in Syria, including those targeting civilian objects. Considered these actions as a violation of international law, international humanitarian law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.

• Expressed serious concern over the humanitarian situation in Syria. Denounced all unilateral sanctions that violate international law, international humanitarian law and the UN Charter,.

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#Syria #AstanaFormat

🇸🇾 Today #Syria is celebrating its #NationalDay, aka #EvacuationDay!

📅 #OTD in #1946 the last French soldier left #Syria's territory.

🎉 Our warm congratulations and wishes of peace, well-being and prosperity go to the friendly people of this country!

🎙 Interview with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for 'Bridges to the East' documentary (Moscow, August 31, 2024)

Key talking points

#Syria

• In 2011, the United States decided to send the Syrian people along the same path as Iraq and Libya which countries they had devastated by their aggressive policies. We were strongly against seeing this scenario replay. In 2015, by President Putin’s decision, we sent a contingent of our armed forces to defend the Syrian Arab Republic against direct aggression.

❗️ The US invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein gave rise to ISIS, which posed a real threat to Syria’s existence.

• When the Russian armed forces moved into Syria, ISIS was on the outskirts of Damascus, and Western countries, led by the United States, were attempting to assert their dominance in eastern Syria. We stabilised the situation and since then most of Syria’s territory has been controlled by the legitimate government.

#Iraq

• In 2003, led by the United States, NATO invaded Iraq under a false pretext, a false flag. Later, the Westerners admitted there was no reason for an invasion. No need to eliminate weapons of mass destruction whatsoever. They broadcasted to the whole world the hanging of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, allegedly for possessing weapons of mass destruction. This is a disgusting turn of events.

#MiddleEast #Libya

• Western Jerusalem is ramping up military actions against the entities that they believe support the Palestinians and do so with an extremist slant, namely, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. Israel wants to destroy the latter which is an exercise in futility. The sides must come to terms instead. Hamas is part of the Palestinian people, just as Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese people.

• Lebanon remains in a situation where it is facing new challenges largely due to the crisis in the Gaza Strip and, more broadly, the Palestinian territories.

• We remain in contact with our Israeli colleagues through the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, and the respective security councils from both countries. We are trying to drive home the futility of the attempts to address issues by force without considering alternative paths.

• Washington stands behind every decision made by Israel. The US blocks all agreements at the UN Security Council that would lead to a full and permanent ceasefire. The Americans continue to supply weapons to Western Jerusalem, which are then used to commit even more violence against the Palestinian people. Over 40,000 civilians (!) have died in the ten months of hostilities since October 7, 2023 which is a horrifying number.

#Iran

• Iran is outright unwilling to fall for a provocation or to get embroiled into any kind of large-scale hostilities. Iran is facing provocations. The assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran during the inauguration ceremony of the new president is, without a doubt, a provocation.

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🇷🇺🇪🇬📞 On December 4, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt Badr Abdelatty spoke over the phone.

During their conversation, the Ministers engaged in a detailed exchange of opinions on key Middle East issues, focusing particularly on current developments in #Syria. They expressed serious concern over the major escalation of the conflict in the country and reaffirmed their support for Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. They highlighted the need to prevent the spread of the terrorist threat, as this could destabilise the entire region.

Additionally, Sergey Lavrov and Badr Abdelatty discussed the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, emphasising the urgent need to end hostilities in the Gaza Strip and to create favourable conditions for a fair resolution of the Palestinian issue in accordance with generally accepted international law.

🤝 The Ministers also reviewed promising projects and guidelines for expanding Russian-Egyptian cooperation. They reaffirmed their mutual interest in maintaining an intensive political dialogue and expanding trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties.

#RussiaEgypt

🎙 Briefing by Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (December 4, 2024)

🔹 FM Sergey Lavrov's schedule
🔹 Kiev regime crimes
🔹 Situation in Syria
🔹 Situation in South Korea
🔹 Situation in Georgia
🔹 Russian media’s petitions in connection with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay’s draft report on the safety of journalists
🔹 Italy's duplicity regarding mercenarism
🔹 We Accuse photo exhibition

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***

#Ukraine

In the pursuit of an illusory victory over Russia, the administration of the outgoing US President, alongside European “hawks” – more akin to “lame ducks”– have gambled on intensifying conflict. They are endeavouring to arm the Kiev regime to the fullest possible extent before the new US President assumes office, thereby seeking to ensure the perpetuation of hostilities into 2025. <...>

The inadequate Ukrainian leader, Zelensky, makes statements every day on the impossibility of any talks with Russia, while NATO Secretary General Rutte says that weapons deliveries are vital for strengthening Kiev’s negotiating position. Do the NATO and other Western leaders ever look out of their windows? Do they know what their predecessors or allies mired in the NATO negativism said two days ago and what statements and decisions they made? They are out of synch.

#Syria

On November 27, militants from the international terrorist organisation Hayat Tahrir al-Sham operating in the Idlib de-escalation zone, alongside other armed groups, including the ones that are part of the Syrian National Army, launched a large-scale offensive in northwestern Syria.

We strongly condemn this attack led by terrorists recognised as such by the UN Security Council. Notably, there are many foreign combatants among them, including those from the former Soviet Union. Clearly, Ukraine was also involved, based on the information we are receiving about cooperation between the Kiev regime’s special services and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, including the transfer of UAVs and sharing the experience of using them. This is not the first or the last region where the Kiev terrorist regime is using its criminal experience. Before that, there were African countries, and now it’s Syria.

#UNESCO #Journalists #DoubleStandards

ВWe continue to receive overwhelming numbers of petitions from the Russian federal and regional media outlets in connection with the controversial 2022-2023 draft report by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, which ignores the facts of targeted killings of Russian journalists by the Kiev regime. <...>

This destructive and inordinately biased policy of the UNESCO leadership undermines the credibility of this UN special agency and causes serious harm to its authority, while Ms Azoulay herself is in fact an accessory to the information aggression against Russia, the war on the truth. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov covered these matters when he met with ambassadors from the World Majority countries accredited in Russia. We will not put up with this.

🎙 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.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answers to questions at the 22nd Doha Forum session (07 December 2024)

Key points:

#Syria #terrorism

• It’s inadmissible to allow the terrorist groups to take control of the lands in violation of agreements which exist starting with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 which strongly reiterated the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of the Syrian Arab Republic, which condemned any attempts by terrorists to disturb the life of Syrians, and which called for the direct dialogue between the government and the opposition.

• We are absolutely convinced of inadmissibility to use terrorists like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to achieve geopolitical purposes, as it is being done now with the organization of this offensive from the Idlib de-escalation area.

• We are trying to do everything not to allow terrorists to prevail, even if they say that they are no longer terrorists.

#AstanaFormat

• We [Foreign Ministers of Russia, Iran and Türkiye] strongly reiterated territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity of the Syrian Arab Republic. We called for immediate end of hostile activities. We stated, all of us, that we want the Resolution 2254 to be fully implemented and for this purpose called for the dialogue between the government and legitimate opposition, as provided in that Resolution.

• I have no slightest doubt that the relations between Syria and Türkiye must be normalized and we will be doing anything to be helpful.

#Palestine

• We strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the 7th of October last year. But at the same time, we strongly condemned the way Israel reacted, basically by starting a collective punishment of the Palestinians.

• Unless Palestinian state is created (which was, by the way, a precondition for the creation of Israeli state), extremism would be breeding and breeding and breeding in the region, there is no doubt.

#Ukraine

❗️ Many initiatives have been put forward <...> But none of them mentions what President Xi Jinping of China proclaimed in his global security initiative, which he made public, I think, in February 2023. Not about Ukraine. It's a generic initiative on the principles which you must apply when you address any conflict. And one of the principles says - address and eliminate root causes of a conflict. This is key to any situation, be it lack of Palestinian state and what is going on in the Middle East, or be it Ukraine. The root causes of the Ukrainian crisis are not mentioned in any initiative.

#USA

• Everything they [the Biden Administration] do indicates that they persuade Europeans not to believe in Russian red lines. They push them farther and farther, providing an example like ATACMS to make the French and the British with their Scalp and Storm Shadow missiles more aggressively involved. They also pressure the Germans with Taurus, as far as I understand.

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🗓 On January 28, an official Russian inter-agency delegation, led by Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov visited Damascus.

This visit marked the first of its kind following the change of administration in the Syrian Arab Republic.

☝️ The delegation met with the head of Syria’s new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and engaged in substantive discussions with him. Participants also included members of Syria’s interim government: Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Minister of Health Maher al-Sharaa.

During a candid exchange on the comprehensive spectrum of Russian-Syrian relations at this pivotal moment, both sides underscored their commitment to advancing multifaceted bilateral cooperation founded on the principles of traditional friendship and mutual respect between Russia and Syria.

The Russian delegation reiterated its unwavering support for the unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic, along with its readiness to extend essential assistance to the Syrian people in their post-crisis national recovery.

In addressing the evolving situation in and around #Syria, emphasis was put on the imperative for Syrians themselves to resolve internal challenges through fostering a viable political process. This should be achieved via inclusive dialogue encompassing the entirety of the nation’s political forces and ethno-confessional groups.

🤝 Both Parties agreed to maintain bilateral engagement with a view to formalising pertinent arrangements, reflecting a mutual resolve to deepen comprehensive ties and understanding between Moscow and Damascus, including in foreign policy aspects.

#RussiaSyria