Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund, Moscow, March 27, 2023

Members of the Board of Trustees,

We have come together for a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund.

Colleagues,

This meeting is taking place at a difficult time, which some call a fateful, a decisive, or a breakthrough period. The entire international order is at stake. This is not only about the developments in a particular region of the world that may be close to our borders or far from them. The issue is about taking a long view of the future international order and our country’s place in this world.

As was the case many times over the past several centuries, Russia faced blatant aggression from the collective West. This time, the Western countries used Ukrainian neo-Nazis as a spearhead of the attack. Using the Nazi theory and forces that are willing to put this theory into practice has become their method of working against Russia. They found that the current Nazi regime in Ukraine is a capable executor of their will. Its roots go back a long time ago. President Vladimir Putin mentioned this more than once in his remarks. However, this regime obtained real authority after the bloody February 2014 anti-constitutional coup in Kiev that was facilitated by the West.

The West is providing massive military, financial, material and political support to the criminal Kiev regime with one goal in mind. Its goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, to destroy our economy, to foment public discontent resulting from an unfavourable social situation and thus to upset political stability in our country. In fact, today – President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly made it clear – what we are fighting for is not just our security or the lives of the Russians and Russian-speaking people residing in the new territories. We are fighting to not just eliminate threats to our security that are being created right on our borders, but to uphold Russian statehood as well. Make no mistake, we will respond in a tough manner to any and all unfriendly actions and use all the means that are available to us.

In an interview with the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin. programme, President Vladimir Putin once again outlined our goals and clearly showed that the Western calculus and forecasts to inflict instant damage on us failed. The Russian economy and social system turned out to be resilient, and the Russian leadership – the President and the Government – remain committed to fulfilling all the economic and social goals which will be achieved without undermining our country’s defence capability.

I’m not going to discuss in detail how and why our opponents failed to isolate Russia in the international arena despite their Herculean efforts. The unfriendly countries’ ruling circles have admitted it, albeit unwillingly. The modern world is a multipolar place, and few out there are willing to pull their chestnuts out of the fire for former parent countries, or to sacrifice their national interests for the benefit of the infamous golden billion.

It makes perfect sense that about three-quarters of the countries around the world chose not to join the sanctions against Russia and adopted a balanced position on the situation in and around Ukraine despite the unprecedented pressure, blackmail and threats coming from the United States and, in general, the Anglo-Saxons and their satellites in order to make them change their minds and to force them to oppose Russia and join the anti-Russian coalition.

Today, many countries from the Global South and the Global East, a.k.a. the Global Majority, see Russia as a reliable and predictable partner that is open to interaction based on equality, balance, and mutual consideration of interests. They are well aware of the fact that the issue is about the nascent international order. Their place in the future world depends on the outcome of this confrontation. This outcome will also determine whether they will be able to retain their ability to follow their traditions and values, to profess their religion, and to provide instruction to their children in their native language as part of this new multipolar world, or whether they will find themselves in a subordinate position where any prime minister or president from a Western capital will tell them how to go about their lives and run their economies, and in which ways they must sacrifice their own people in order to appease the West. The latter remains determined to live at the expense of other countries, who in turn demonstrate that their colonial mentality is still alive and well. Like 500 years ago, the West is trying to promote its colonial and neo-colonial methods in order to maintain its hegemony.

Countries like China and India, as well as many countries from Eurasia, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Latin America are well aware of what is at stake. They are unwilling to give up their legitimate national interests in order to help the Anglo-Saxons and their minions maintain their hegemony or, more accurately, try to maintain their hegemony in the international arena.

The results of President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia just a few days ago clearly showed the entire international community that any attempts to pursue divide-and-conquer policies are doomed.

Notably, despite the dirty campaign to cancel everything that is Russian, we still have many friends around the world, including in the West. We know that they are sympathetic to our multi-ethnic country, love Russian culture, and share the traditional moral and family values that we promote. The creation of the International Russophile Movement – its constituent congress took place a couple of weeks ago – with members coming from scores of countries from the East and the West, is a case in point.

We see that the current leaders of the United States and their allies are mired in Neanderthal Russophobia and are ignoring the outcries of their own societies. If and when they come to their senses, we will decide on our position regarding prospects for our relationship. It will be our own decision based on our terms.

The role of public diplomacy and civil society dialogue is now a mere multiple of what it used to be. We are pleased to note that the Gorchakov Fund has gained massive positive experience in this area and holds lots of promise. Clearly, our detractors do not like it, as evidenced by the sanctions they imposed on the fund, which can be regarded as a manifestation of impotent rage, on the one hand, and as recognition of the energetic and productive activities of this common entity of ours, on the other hand.

Importantly, the fund’s staff and members of the Board of Trustees are taking into account the current geopolitical situation and keep adapting their projects to ongoing changes. The existing proposals concerning further activities are well balanced and consistent with the approved foreign policy priorities as defined by President Vladimir President. We will discuss and, hopefully, approve these proposals today.