Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, June 7, 2023
Table of Contents
- Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen
- Sergey Lavrov to participate in the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
- 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum
- SPIEF 2023 side events
- Explosion of the Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline
- Ukraine crisis
- Briefing by Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui following his European tour with a mission to assist the settlement of the Ukraine crisis
- Delivering Russian fertilisers to Kenya
- Update on Moldova
- Speculation in Moldova around the country’s participation in the CIS
- The Russian Foreign Ministry’s report on the human rights situation in certain countries
- British colonisers’ crimes against the Maori
- Senegal unrest
- Celebrating Russian Language Day
- International Forum of Ministers of Education
- 200th anniversary of Foreign Ministry’s school of foreign languages
- Russia Day
- Alexander Gorchakov’s 225th birthday
- Statements by Antony Blinken
- Indonesia’s initiative to settle the Ukraine crisis
- Pressure on Serbia
- Estonian NGO Glory to Ukraine
- China’s security initiative for the Asia-Pacific Region
- Situation around Japan’s Fukushima-1 NPP
- Statements by Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan
- Western countries stepping up efforts on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process
- Statements by Türkiye’s Foreign Minister
- Possible supplies of weapons with nuclear warheads to Ukraine
- Air service with Georgia
- Statements by Germany’s Defence Minister
- EU’s involvement in the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement
- Cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan
- Russia-Egypt discussions on arms control and the non-proliferation of WMDs
- Sergey Shalashov
- Statements by the United States on Russia-India cooperation
- Threats against Russian service personnel in Transnistria
- The use of Belgian weapons on Russian territory
- Russia reformatting the work of its diplomatic missions in Nordic countries and the UK
- Russia’s activities within the Arctic Council
- Situation around the Zaporozhye NPP
- Russia’s initiatives on global cybersecurity
- “Russia’s withdrawal from the USSR”
Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen
On June 8, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen. They expect to continue their traditional exchange of views on the range of issues around Syria’s settlement with an emphasis on promoting the political process by the Syrians themselves with UN support and comprehensive humanitarian assistance for all Syrians in need of it in line with UN Security Council resolutions 2254 and 2672.
We will publish more detailed information on the Foreign Ministry’s official website following the talks.
On June 13 of this year, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). It will take place online under Serbia’s chair.
During the session, the participants are expected to discuss a broad range of issues on the BSEC agenda, including interaction in trade, transport, food security and logistics.
A new regional economic strategy should play an important role in promoting effective socio-economic cooperation. Joint work on drafting it is underway and participants are expected to conduct a detailed exchange of opinions on the essence of this issue.
26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum
The 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held on June 14-17, 2023. It will be attended by many foreign participants from over 120 countries. The main guest country this year is the United Arab Emirates.
The event will be attended by heads of state and government, industry ministers, public figures and politicians, speakers of parliament, heads of international organisations and leading companies, as well as representatives of expert and academic communities and the media.
As per tradition, President of Russia Vladimir Putin will address a plenary session. Sergey Lavrov will represent the Foreign Ministry. His agenda includes numerous bilateral meetings with foreign partners.
The theme of this year’s forum is Sovereign Development as the Basis of a Just World: Joining Forces for Future Generations. This concept is a comprehensive reflection of the main development trend in international relations: the formation of a multipolar world order. It also reflects a unifying driving force that will turbo charge the atmosphere at the forum.
The constructive role of the SPIEF is growing manifold in the current circumstances of geopolitical risks, the fragmentation of the global economy, the collapse of transportation and logistics chains, and problems in mutual settlements.
The forum’s Business Programme is divided into five thematic blocks: World Economy at a Global Turning Point; Russian Economy: From Adaptation to Growth; Building Technological Sovereignty; Protecting the Population and Quality of Life as the Main Priority; and The Labour Market: A Response to the New Challenges.
The participants will focus on the financial, economic, industrial and technological cooperation. They will discuss practical aspects of cooperation in healthcare, food and energy security, trade and investment, transport (including the advantages of transcontinental transport corridors), digitisation and technological innovations.
There will be a series of discussions on country- and region-specific current issues of global politics and economy, such as Russia-UAE, Russia-India, Russia-China, Russia-the Arab World, EAEU-ASEAN, and Russia-Latin America business dialogues.
Russian and foreign companies and entrepreneurs will be offered a new dialogue format, the Day of International SME Cooperation, aimed at making broader use of the SME potential, creating conditions for establishing fruitful contacts and offering access to practical instruments for business development.
The traditional side events at the forum will include the Business 20 Regional Consultation Forum (B20), the Youth Economic Forum, the SME Forum, the Creative Business Forum, the Drug Security Forum, and the SPIEF Investment & Business Expo.
St Petersburg residents and visitors will be able to enjoy a rich cultural programme. I took advantage of this personally in 2022 and recommend everyone to travel around the city and its environs. We must give credit to our Ministry of Culture, which carried out a cultural revolution in the past few years when it comes to offering access to museums and parks in St Petersburg and its suburbs. I encourage everyone who can do this without compromising their obligations to use this opportunity. As for the sport programme, it includes competitions in 16 sports. There will be premieres, exhibitions, theatre performances, classical and popular music concerts, an art fair and many more events.
I would like to add that an onsite briefing will be held on the SPIEF sidelines. We will make the announcement later. I invite media representatives to attend it. You can receive personal accreditation with the event’s hosts. A special discussion this year, Digital Dictatorship vs Digital Sovereignty, will be held to see if these are mutually exclusive or are interchangeable trends in their development. We will discuss problems, risks and opportunities arising in this context at a round table to be attended by prominent Russian political and public figures, representatives of civil society, experts and businesspeople.
On June 15, a roundtable discussion on Digital Dictatorship vs Digital Sovereignty: Problems, Risks, Opportunities will be held on the sidelines of the Business Programme of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The participants will discuss the current state of the global digital environment, the main scenarios of its evolution, the most dangerous trends in the development of Russia’s digital sovereignty and the best ways to neutralise them. One of the main issues they will address is finding a balance between the needed amount of autonomy and self-sufficiency of the global network’s national segment and the preservation of the advantages of access to the global net. Many discussions were held on this subject. I believe that the one we plan to hold will not only be interesting but also helpful.
I invite all participants and guests of the forum to join this discussion, and those who have no accreditation or will not travel to St Petersburg can join us online.
Explosion of the Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline
One would think that nothing could possibly surpass yesterday’s terrorist attack on the Kakhovskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant (today, we will discuss this issue in greater detail). However, another civilian infrastructure facility has now been hit.
According to the available information, the Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline was blown up on June 5, 2023 in the Kupyansk District of the Kharkov Region, which is controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Over the past months, this civilian infrastructure facility was frequently mentioned in the context of a package agreement known as the Black Sea Grain Deal. A pumping station was disabled, and blocking valves were activated; however, a certain amount of ammonia leaked out. According to preliminary estimates, it will take between one and three months to repair and relaunch the pipeline. This will only be possible if access is granted to the damaged section. Indicatively, Vladimir Zelensky said after the incident that he can eliminate the problem, but that this does not mean that he is ready to resume ammonia deliveries.
We will do our best to clarify the circumstances of the incident. However, we can already say that the Kiev regime is the only party that has never been interested in reactivating the pipeline.
First, representatives and accomplices of this criminal ring did not allow for the pipeline to be relaunched. Then they started advancing various political pre-conditions, including prisoner of war exchanges, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant issue, as well as commercial profits for expanding their maritime exports. Finally, in the context of greater pressure (both Istanbul agreements stipulate Russian ammonia deliveries), the Kiev regime’s inner circle or their handlers must have decided that the destruction of the ammonia pipeline would solve the problem. One can shrug off those not very insistent reminders voiced from time to time by the UN Secretariat, and one does not have to report to the international community or to bother with the needs of those who are hard pressed for this product. They just went and destroyed the pipeline.
We know the scenario of their actions: it was streamlined during the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Considering the current collapse of the collective West’s mainstream media, it would be good to see whether they will tread the same road and manage to accuse Russia and look for the Kremlin’s hand. Or perhaps their pangs of conscience or their self-preservation instinct will tell them that it is high time to search for saboteurs closer to Bankovaya Street. Why do I mention the self-preservation instinct? Does anyone in the West still harbour hopes that these so-called people on Bankovaya Street and the Kiev regime will stop at anything? Do they really have any doubt that they will start acting, rather than talking, at a time when they are blackmailing the collective West and demanding more and more money and weapons (as well as stimulants to boot)?
I would like to recall that this is what happened with all terrorist and extremist organisations. First, the West spoon-fed, nourished and fattened them. Later, it turned out that the West was fattening its own demise. At a certain stage, those monsters started devouring their own creators. Those members of the public, experts, political analysts and security professionals who have even the slightest doubt that the essentially terrorist Kiev regime will not turn against its creators are making a tragic mistake. Unfortunately, it will be too late. The situation will repeat itself, just like with Osama bin Laden, ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, which are banned organisations. Everything will repeat itself down to the minutest detail.
Experts and journalists at the leading US, Canadian, UK, and EU TV networks will analyse the situation and wonder where they had made a mistake? Why have the very same “democratic forces” they “protected” with so much zeal in the hope that they would become the vehicle of democracy in Ukraine dashed their hopes? When was the moment of their transformation into uncontrollable, inhuman monsters? But actually that moment came long ago. We have talked about this for years. The precursors were clear as day. They are people ignorant of their own history, who negate it lock, stock, and barrel, and rewrite it anew to the dictation of alien beneficiaries. They are people that have no relation whatsoever to society and the political segment of Ukraine as a state. In principle, they know nothing about governance and were brought to power in an unconstitutional way paid for with a huge sum of money. Next, they pushed the button of total destruction. And this was how those freedom-loving forces turned into forces of devastation. Yet, all of this would come later. We will watch the TV series and talk shows in the West that will attempt to answer when this happened and how they blew it. For now, however, let us go back to the Kiev regime’s routine. I am referring to the destruction of civilian infrastructure on the European continent by Zelensky and his team of cutthroats.
The ammonia pipeline was central to implementing the package agreements signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. The facility was of key importance from the point of view of global food security. It delivered 2 million tonnes of raw ammonia per year, enough to produce as much fertiliser as to feed 45 million people. Thus, the Kiev regime has not only destroyed the physical capacity to deliver ammonia to the world markets but also wreaked havoc with the international efforts to fight the threat of hunger and provide aid to the destitute countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Moreover, they have compromised the personal effort by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who advanced a separate initiative on the ammonia pipeline and proposed the Istanbul package, whose humanitarian dimension, regrettably, is losing any sense before our own eyes.
Do you remember the hysteria concerning global food security that was kicked up by the Washington-, Brussels-, and London-controlled media and mainstream press a year ago? Not a single day passed without correspondents from Western news agencies and TV channels asking speakers at international press centres about food supplies to destitute countries and who would be brought to account if the food and fertilisers failed to reach the regions that needed them so much. This was happening every day, on every TV channel, in every newspaper, and on every website.
This global PR campaign involved the UN, a huge number of related international organisations belonging to the UN Family, NGOs, and civil society. Now I have a question to ask. Has the PR campaign come to an end? Have they used up their advertising budgets? Is international food security no longer a problem? Is no one interested in who gets what supplies and how? Are there still destitute countries and famine-stricken communities in the world? Have they solved all problems within one year? Yes, they certainly have. On the one hand, the problems are solved indeed, but on the other, new problems have cropped up in the EU countries. They are so gorged up with the year-long grain exports that some countries pleaded, based on their producers’ demands, for a closure of their markets even to Ukrainian grain transit. But what about Asia, Africa and other regions? How much grain did they get? We will talk about this somewhat later.
Yesterday, June 6, targeted shelling by the Ukrainian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam resulting in an uncontrolled discharge of water from the reservoir and massive flooding of neighbourhoods and territories downstream along the Dnieper River all the way to the Black Sea.
Please note that our law enforcement agencies are conducting an investigation and a criminal case has been opened. The investigation will determine the circumstances of the case. All the necessary qualifications will be provided. At the moment, the situation can be described using any of the following words: terrorism, extremism or sabotage. What we are talking about now is a political assessment based on the existing evidence. Importantly, the deliberate and purposeful destruction of civilian infrastructure to inflict damage on civilians constitutes a terrorist attack.
Kiev planned this attack in advance. As we know from a French hydrological website, the water level in the has been artificially raised from 14 m to 17.5 m over the past month. No. This is not the hidden hand of the Kremlin, but a Western monitoring service that the West should trust. Right before the attack, the Kiev authorities issued a command to discharge extra amounts of water from the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant which is located upstream. As a result, even 10 hours after the dam burst, the water level in the reservoir has not fallen, but keeps growing.
In this context, Ukrainian General Andrey Kovalchuk’s remarks during an interview with The Washington Post on December 29, 2022 are quite telling. Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Vasily Nebenzya mentioned this on an earlier occasion. So, Kovalchuk said that back then the Ukrainian forces delivered a “trial strike from the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system on one of the Kakhovka Dam locks to make a hole in it and see how high the water would rise in the Dnieper.” I have a question. John Kirby, Karine Jean-Pierre and everyone who is in charge of communications in the White House and the State Department, this directly concerns you, and you must provide an answer. Did you know about this? Did you know how the American weapons were used?
Did you know how the weapons supplied to Ukraine and paid for with American taxpayers’ money were used? Did you know that similar “tests” were being made using American weapons to commit a terrorist attack against civilian infrastructure in third countries? It's impossible not to notice that. This was published by an American newspaper six months ago. All the talk about the lack of information in the White House raises concerns about mental health. If American newspapers and journalists publish and print materials that are not read in the White House and which it cannot compare with the facts, then, indeed, it is time to call the ambulance. These are the questions that we are raising before the White House directly in the public space. You must answer them.
This latest terrorist attack perpetrated by the Kiev regime has led to an environmental and humanitarian disaster. Dozens of localities have been flooded, the Kakhovka Reservoir and the North Crimea Canal, which supplies water to the Crimean Peninsula, are losing water. Farmlands, nature reserves and the region’s ecosystem will suffer enormous damage. Now, the second question. Did it just start yesterday? Didn't the White House, the State Department, the EU, NATO, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and all the other organisations whose hearts are bleeding for the Kiev regime know that it had been committing acts of sabotage against civilian infrastructure, such as cutting off water supplies to Crimea for many years now? Didn't they know that power lines had been mined? Didn't they know that civilian infrastructure was the main goal of the strikes on Donbass for long years? The answer is they knew. The question remains. If they knew, then why did they remain silent about it for many years and even encourage the Kiev regime to commit these terrorist attacks?
The Kiev regime and its Western masters clearly planned to create problems for Russia's Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. Good work. I’m perfectly aware of the fact that the educational level of most people in the United States is so low that they can buy this story, which the White House and the State Department are trying to sell them now. As a matter of fact, the EU and NATO are right there with them even though they are in Europe. There is a fine detail here, though. We are talking about a nuclear power plant. You cannot build a dam or a protective cover for it. No. It will happen in the blink of an eye (if it does) and impact everyone. After all, a drop in the water level can jeopardise the operation of the ZNPP reactor cooling system. Unfortunately, we are well aware of the consequences. Clearly, this terrorist attack also had a military goal, which the leadership of the Russian Defence Ministry spoke about yesterday, and it is to set the stage for the Ukrainian army to force cross the shallow Dnieper in order to deliver a strike in the Azov direction as part of the “counteroffensive” which is clearly stalling despite the large-scale military assistance of the United States and their NATO allies. I’ll come to that later.
We call on the international community to denounce this latest barbaric crime by the Ukrainian military and all those who have been sponsoring it for many years now. These developments clearly show the terrorist and extremist nature of Zelensky and his Washington-based curators. They are also destroying monuments and everything else that does not fit into their narrow outlook on the world. All they can do is destroy. This is the only thing they have been trained to do with American money during all these years.
The Ukrainian forces have intensified their activities in the past few days.
It has been reported that the units that are attacking Russian positions include a large number of foreign mercenaries, including the so-called Polish peace corps. Vladimir Zelensky said in his interviews with the Western media that they are ready for a counteroffensive, which Ukrainian information resources have been speaking about for the past six months. He also said that many Ukrainian soldiers would perish in this counteroffensive. However, his Western handlers do not care about the possible death of thousands of Ukrainians and continue to demand that Kiev provide value for the resources invested in the regime. The death of people is a goal of those who are protecting the interests of the “golden billion,” which does not care for human lives. As Josep Borrell said, they are a “jungle.”
In this context, I would like to quote a recent statement by German political scientist Wolfgang Merkel, who said that Kiev’s problem is not weapons, considering that more and more arms are sent to it. Ukraine will run out of people, he said. “Run out of people”? Their real plan is to continue fighting to the last Ukrainian. All these years, they made no secret of their intention to reduce the global population. They used various methods to attain it. They are doing this in Ukraine now, and they believe that they are doing well, killing people, lining their pockets by producing weapons and using corruption schemes for arms supplies, even though they don’t always reach the destination but are diverted to other parts of the world and used for different purposes. How long will Zelensky’s puppet regime continue to deceive its own people? They have been doing this for a long time. How much longer will it continue?
High-ranking EU officials are calling for an escalation. They are not satisfied with what they have done. They probably see that there are still too many Ukrainians left, which is not what they want. I would like to remind you that it is the Euro-Atlantic institutions that are talking about the “golden billion.” On May 31, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, at the GLOBSEC 2023 Forum in Bratislava, spoke about the need to provide more long-range artillery and weapons systems to Ukraine and to keep doing this as long as it takes.
We have taken note of the real Western attitude to Zelensky. It is revealing. I would like to tell those who think that they want to divide the “undesirable” citizens of Ukraine and Ukrainian soldiers (as NATO officials point out in their ideological deliberations) from a “political elite”: Don’t kid yourselves. During the Second European Political Community Summit held in Moldova on June 1, Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel gestured to the Ukrainian president to shut up because they were sick and tired of his blabbering, which was becoming irritating. This will happen to everyone who sells their soul for a dime, a million or even a billion dollars. The amount doesn’t matter. This will happen to anyone who sells out their country, people, history and even predecessors. Not their forefathers, but those who nurtured Zelensky. He has sold them out too. And now he has been shown to his historical place: Shut up, you are boring.
This is how they “respect” the Kiev functionaries who go on world tours to beg for money or loans. The question is who will repay them. They used to say that the future generations of Ukrainians would have to repay the huge debts the current administration is making. But I think that the EU and NATO, as well as London and Washington, have a different plan. I don’t see these Euro-Atlantic institutions wanting Ukraine to have future generations.
On June 2, we commemorated the victims of the 2014 Ukrainian air attack on Lugansk. Nine years ago, war came to a peaceful city that did not have a single military facility. The bombs were dropped on residential and administrative buildings, a park, and a car park. Overall, about 20 unguided air-to-surface missiles were launched at the city, killing eight people and wounding 28. It was a shock for us. But many others (a majority) did not notice that tragedy, as if nothing happened. People in the West asked: Where? Lugansk? Many of those who claim to be liberals claimed not to know about it. Nobody in Ukraine has been punished for that crime. This is normal for modern-day Ukraine. The crimes committed in Odessa and Donbass: was anyone called to account? No, the perpetrators were encouraged to continue, even though the fact of the shooting has been confirmed by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.
As for how Ukrainian thugs are acting, you can see it in the Russian border city Shebekino in the Belgorod Region. Once again, there is not a single military facility in that city, but the Ukrainians are delivering massive bomb attacks on residential buildings, streets and social facilities. They are not firing dozens but hundreds of bombs at the city. The neo-Nazis want to spread panic and to kill as many civilians as possible. This leads to the conclusion that the Kiev regime is fighting against civilians and that it is making no secret of its goal of killing as many Russians as possible. This is their task. This is what US Senator Lindsey Graham and former US President George W. Bush said. It is the task they have set the Kiev regime, as they have said publicly without mincing words.
We receive reports about other terrorist attacks, too, as well as foul play and the plans that the Ukrainian functionaries are not averse to. Because of the lack of military achievements in its confrontation with Russia, the Kiev regime is contemplating the possibility of blowing up a storage facility with spent nuclear fuel in Kharkov so that it can later accuse Moscow of firing missiles at a nuclear site. The city boasts several nuclear reactors, including at the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology National Science Centre, which could also become targets for provocations by the Kiev Nazis.
The Kiev regime is experiencing absolute political agony. This is as clear as day. They have brought themselves to the edge; they are in a blind alley and unable to emerge from it or acquire new strength. They cannot admit that after selling their country, people, and national history, they have sold their own selves. They are incapable of doing that. And now, they are engaging in large-scale terrorist and sabotage attacks.
The Kiev regime needs this carnage to show at least something to their desperate population that has been thrown into an abyss of poverty, disgrace and apathy.
Almost all the money from Western loans is used to sustain military spending. Much of this money is stolen. There is no financial future for Ukraine as a state; it is falling down a bottomless well, dragging with it everyone associated with present-day Ukraine.
Ukrainian economic news is imperceptible against this background. There is not a single encouraging trend to cheer up the population. This summer, the Verkhovna Rada is planning to approve a number of unpopular laws directed against the Ukrainian population and businesses. They seem set to finish them off. There will be a sharp rise in electricity, gas, heating and fuel prices. Tax benefits for entrepreneurs will be slashed. Next, the grivna exchange rate is expected to take another deep plunge.
The Kiev regime has been indifferent to the wellbeing of its own people for a long time. There is no question about that. Its functionaries could have prevented all this by merely implementing their international obligations. But it is clear that they neglected the interests of the Ukrainian population and Ukraine right from the start. Their country is being controlled by external forces.
The Western patrons of the Kiev regime are pursuing their own strategic aims and occasionally let the cat out of the bag in public. I have mentioned the remarks by Senator Lindsey Graham and former President George W. Bush.
Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki said the other day that the events in Ukraine were a chance to expand the EU to the geographical limits of Europe. Is that about Ukraine or someone else? In that case, Poland will allegedly enjoy border security and Europe as a whole – “centuries of peace without the Russian threat.” In other words, Poland seeks to use Ukraine as a cat’s paw to achieve its own geopolitical goals that boil down to destroying Russia as an independent state.
I want to draw your attention to the fact that the EU includes countries lying outside of Europe’s geographical borders. I am fully aware of the impotence of Western education and the low level of those who come to power over there. They are ignorant of geography.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian politicians, in particular Alexey Arestovich, who for a long time served as an adviser to the head of Vladimir Zelensky’s Executive Office, have revealed their true attitude to the residents of Donbass and Crimea. They plan to unleash massive violence – a campaign of political repression against 5 million people, involving the division of people into categories and creating a “special zone.” This is quote from Alexey Arestovich: “those who collaborated (with the Russians) will be disenfranchised – 10 years without voting rights, something like that.” He promised to use fines, arrests, and confiscation of property. Moreover, according to him, presumption of guilt will be applied to civilians. I want to say that this is not even barbarism. Barbarians did not know of the existence of the presumption of innocence. They were unaware of a lot of things that these people are quite familiar with. They have outdone everyone mentioned on the blackest pages of history books.
It is clear that such plans, alien to a normal democratic legal state, are common for occupiers, invaders, fascists, terrorists, extremists, that is, everything the current Kiev rulers are.
Yesterday marked the International Day of the Russian Language, celebrated on June 6, the birthday of the great Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin. The Russian poet’s monuments continue to be demolished in present-day Ukraine. So yesterday, the UN observed Russian Language Day, as did many countries and international organisations. For that reason, the Kiev regime became hysterical. Every official Ukrainian channel erupted in a verbal spew on this account. This involved every resource identifying and associating itself with the Kiev regime. On the other hand, for some reason, they preferred to be less vocal about how many monuments to Pushkin they had demolished over the past 12 to 18 months. Please note that the Russian Language Day is an international holiday recognised by the UN. It is observed in many countries out of love, respect, and admiration for that great culture that was created and described by the Russian language.
When the Kiev regime once again began to let fly a torrent of foul abuse, spouting curses against the Russian language yesterday, they should have been honest enough to tell the world and everyone who truly loves and appreciates Pushkin’s legacy, how many of his monuments they had destroyed. I will fill this gap. In just a year and a half, about 30 monuments to Pushkin were torn down by the Kiev regime in the territories it controls. This only covers recorded cases, with media coverage and factual evidence. One can only guess how many more of them have been defiled or destroyed without getting into the media. This is not the limit. After all, there is no doubt the Kiev regime will continue in the same vein. Why keep a low profile? They could hold an exhibition at the UN Secretariat. Some states showcase how they preserve monuments, including those to Pushkin, and hold conferences on this one person’s influence on world culture, and the Kiev regime could make a display of how it destroys monuments and share experience with other extremist organisations.
ISIS destroyed monuments in Palmyra in Syria, and now the Kiev regime is doing the same. The only difference is that ISIS (a banned organisation) was not destroying what it had created or what its own immediate ancestors had created in recent history. Not that this justifies them in any way. But the Kiev regime has been destroying what was created by the hands of the previous generations, literally in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s. This is impossible to understand, accept, or explain in any way. But why are they so shy? The Kiev regime needs to show all the details, with pictures and videos. We will fill this gap. It is imperative to hold such educational exhibitions at international venues. We will show what such rulers can do to a nation, rulers who have never been elected by the people but were brought to power with American money.
The Kiev regime has been fighting everything Russian, and especially the Russian language since 2014. Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Alexey Danilov has made some noteworthy statements of late. He promised to “throw out of the country” Verkhovnaya Rada member Maxim Buzhansky for speaking Russian on air, calling him: the underdog of the so-called “Russian world” and threatening to clean up all pro-Russian and Russian-speaking people and discard them as “toxic Moscow trash.” This is how the Kiev regime is talking about living people. This is normal for them.
Alexander Pushkin’s works have been removed from the school curriculum in Ukraine. Indeed, why would they need them? Educated people create problems. An uneducated crowd is easier to manage.
In this context, an interesting fact comes to mind. Vladimir Zelensky’s native language is actually Russian. He learned to speak Ukrainian when he became president. Former adviser to the head of the Pentagon Douglas Macgregor said in one of his interviews this year, verbatim: “The funny thing about Zelensky is that when he was elected he could not speak a word of Ukrainian. That was an embarrassment to our State Department, as I learned when I spent some time there, and they worked hard for several months to bring him up to speed.” This reminds me of Heart of a Dog, a novella by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. Do you remember how Sharikov was trained? Well, it seems to me, they have been “training” Zelensky in much the same way. It is also noteworthy that the linguistic skills of the newly elected Ukrainian president were of more concern to the United States than to Ukraine. It is clear why – it was their project. The puppet had to speak enough of the “right” language.
In late May 2023, members of the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on pensions for rendering special services to Ukraine. This document spits in the face of history, or more exactly the remnants of history that remain on Ukrainian territory and insults the Great Patriotic War veterans who fought Nazism. From now on, supporters of Stepan Bandera and anti-Soviet dissidents shall receive the status of persons who provided special services to Ukraine and who deserve to be rewarded for this in the form of extra pension bonuses. It turns out that there are no other worthy persons besides these characters in Ukraine. They are the new heroes, and the well-forgotten old heroes have now been reincarnated. Accomplices of Nazi Germany will be called fighters for the independence of Ukraine in the 20th century. One should not doubt that former service personnel of the SS-Volunteer Division “Galicia” will certainly be listed among those who rendered special services to Ukraine.
Consequently, they are lashing out against veterans, advanced production workers and all those who defended, liberated and created Ukraine, which, not so long ago, ranked among the wealthiest post-Soviet republics. Regarding the new post-Soviet states, no one is saying that everything was spic and span, and that there were no problems during the Soviet period. We have admitted many mistakes and repented for many things. We have completed quite serious work. This does not mean that we should completely glorify that period as a time of absolute prosperity, high morality and spirituality. However, there are some objective and obvious things. Certain elements that created Ukraine as a young and prosperous state and that have now been victimised by Vladimir Zelensky’s terrorist machine.
The new law also has certain financial implications. Obviously, neo-Nazis and treacherous followers of Stepan Bandera are outnumbered by genuine veterans and merited heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Hence the following conclusion: even considering how meagre Ukrainian pensions are, this is another attempt to save money at the expense of senior citizens.
No matter how hard Western sponsors may strive to saturate the Kiev regime with weapons in order to inflict the maximum possible harm on Russia, their efforts are in vain. Even more people will perish, if they continue doing this. Unfortunately, the Kiev regime will not calm down and will continue to perpetrate extremist and terrorist attacks all over the world. I assure you that the Kiev regime will never be able to change. This is their true face. No cunning ploys and provocations by the Anglo-Saxon political world will be able to globally impact the goals and tasks mentioned by the Russian leadership.
During the second half of May, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui toured several European capitals to gauge the possibility of launching the peace process for the crisis in Ukraine. On May 25-27, 2023, he visited Moscow, where he was received by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and met with deputy foreign ministers Mikhail Galuzin and Andrey Rudenko. We consider these contacts helpful and substantive.
At the briefing for the foreign diplomatic corps and the media on June 2 in Beijing, Special Representative of the Chinese Government Li Hui spoke about the main aspects of that trip, focusing on the fact that “fuelling the war will bring even more calamity.” We share this conclusion and urge NATO countries to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine as this is leading to further escalation of the conflict and more victims, primarily among Ukrainians themselves.
We welcome China’s readiness to play a positive role in a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and the constructive observations set forth in the document released by China and titled China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis.
On March 21, 2023, in a press statement following the talks with President of China Xi Jinping, President of Russia Vladimir Putin noted that “many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when the West and Kiev are ready for it.”
As concerns the settlement of the Ukraine crisis, it is important to understand that there is no need to encourage Russia to negotiate because Russia has never blocked talks. Today, resuming the talks interrupted last year by the Kiev regime depends solely on the readiness of the Ukrainian officials and their Western curators (perhaps mainly the latter) for a serious discussion of the new geopolitical reality. We have not seen any signs that they are ready.
Let me remind you once again, although everybody should know this by now: the Kiev regime adopted a law that bans any talks with Russia.
Delivering Russian fertilisers to Kenya
On May 29, 2023, the Kenyan port of Mombasa received the second batch of 34,000 tonnes of fertilisers as part of Russia’s initiative to donate Russian mineral fertilisers to countries in need free of charge. In September 2022, Russia announced its pro bono offer to deliver around 300,000 tonnes of our products that were stranded in the ports of Latvia, Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands to countries facing hunger. By “stranded” we mean that the products were blocked from further transit by local authorities and regimes that make up stories about sanctions, etc.
It should be noted that, despite the solely humanitarian nature of this effort, the involvement of the UN World Food Programme and the owning company, Uralchem-Uralkali, covering all shipping and delivery expenses, the shipments have been hindered by serious obstacles and delays. Only two batches, 20,000 tonnes to Malawi and this current batch (34,000 tonnes) to Kenya, have been shipped in almost ten months. The next is a batch of another 34,000 tonnes to Nigeria.
In this context, the hypocritical, deceitful and false claims by the Westerners about global food security and the threat of hunger, related exclusively to the shipment of Ukrainian fodder and fodder corn, sound particularly absurd. Not only do the countries in need receive the absolute minimum, less than 2.5 percent of the Ukrainian cargo (around 772,000 tonnes out of 31 million – just to show who Ukraine feeds for free). The Americans, Europeans and Ukrainians continue to block Russia’s supplies of grain and fertilisers, blatantly speculating on the rising prices and the physical shortage of these essential goods on the global markets. Now, another act of sabotage has been conducted, this time threatening nitrogen supplies, which we covered in the beginning of this briefing.
However, Russian agricultural producers and exporters will continue to fulfil their commercial and humanitarian obligations, responsibly and in full. The free supplies of Russian mineral fertilisers to the countries in need constitute a telling example.
We continue to follow the developments in Moldova and are compelled to state that the situation is evolving towards an open confrontation between the country's leadership, which is pursuing a policy of rapprochement with the West to the detriment of traditional ties with Russia and the CIS countries, and a larger part of Moldovan society which does not support this policy. This is not because it is a political course tainted by a hue that someone may not agree with. This is a course of destruction that runs counter to the interests of the majority of the Moldovan people.
The authorities are trying to use every avenue to show they are part of the collective West, and the people of Moldova are increasingly against this policy.
I will give you some examples. On May 24, deputies from the ruling pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity submitted a blasphemous draft law to the Parliament of Moldova to abolish Victory Day on May 9 and replace it with Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War on May 8. This attempt to erase from memory the holiday that is sacred for the majority of the Moldovan people evoked a sharp rejection in Moldovan society. Numerous rallies to protest against this anti-people initiative were held in Chisinau on May 26 and June 3. The people behind this initiative yielded to the pressure and amended the draft, this time calling it the Day of Victory over Nazism and Remembrance of the Fallen in World War II.
My question is: what is this for? Why would the Moldovan authorities rename the holiday celebrating the people who defended not just the interests of the people, but the life and future of the citizens of Moldova? Why has it suddenly become a matter of urgency? What is it being done for? Are there no other problems left? Have corruption, poverty, red tape, security issues, health care and public accord been taken care of? Is everything up to standard? Making things right in the holiday department will make life sparkle with new bright colours? Of course, not. This is preposterous. There are more problems than there were ever before, even during the most difficult years. Then why do something that will bring even more confrontation into society, not even a split, but confrontation? A split is not the worst thing that could happen. Confrontation is when people are involved in wall-to-wall fighting for themselves and their ancestors alike. What is this whole thing for? Would someone who is thinking about the people and claiming the leadership of Moldova act like this, pitting the citizens of the country against each other? No, never. They are fake leaders of Moldova. They only pretend to be the leaders of the country. In fact, they are operating in the interests of other states. This is why everything that is part of the identity of this nation, people, culture, customs, traditions, and historical dates − everything that the people of Moldova find important − must be destroyed from the point of view of the current leadership. They are systematically destroying Moldova’s identity as a people and a nation. It is clear why they are doing this. They are not even hiding it. They are simply acting disingenuously when they call it European integration. What kind of European integration is it? It does not require reformatting of the days that are important for the people of that country. That country has an international legal basis to exist as a legitimate state. This basis includes the Nuremberg Tribunal, UN General Assembly resolutions, and a large number of documents adopted in Moldova over the past decades. This kind of requirement can come only from someone seeking Euro-destruction or Euro-absorption which is something different, isn’t it?
On May 29, Moldovan President Maia Sandu announced the creation of a National Centre for Combating Propaganda titled “Patriot.” The authorities are open about the fact that it is about combating “Russian propaganda.” The idea is to protect Moldovan citizens from its influence. Probably, they will go about it the same way they did when they “protected” them from the Moldovan language. The other day they tried to “protect” them from Victory Day. They are now “protected” from almost everything, including work, money, and bonds with their brothers, sisters and other relatives in Russia. Now, they have decided to “protect” them from “propaganda.” Pro-Western and Ukrainian media are above suspicion. They never engage in propaganda, so they can broadcast in Moldova without restrictions. At the same time, Moldovan citizens have already dubbed the new structure the “Ministry of Truth.” Its real goal is to mop up the public space and remove dissent where “everything that is not about European integration is disinformation.” People are well aware of the fact that they are witnessing the creation of another tool to suppress the freedom of speech, which they voted for during presidential and parliamentary elections in November 2020 and July 2021.
I’m speaking with confidence about the destructive role of the leadership of Moldova for the Moldovan people because I can back it up with evidence. Had the things that the leadership of Moldova is doing now been announced before the elections, the situation would have been different. In that case, it would have been the choice of the citizens. Had the citizens of Moldova been told what they were going to do to them before the elections, no one would have any questions. No one would doubt that this is done in the interests of the people who voted for it. But Maia Sandu and her “group” never said anything like that before the elections.
On June 1, Mimi Castle outside Chisinau hosted the second summit of the European Political Community, which met with the rejection of the Moldovan general public. The people were blunt about the fact that “celebrating Eurosolidarity” in a country that is experiencing financial and economic straits was at the very least a false and hypocritical idea.
Without a doubt, relations between the authorities and the people are Moldova’s internal affair. A small reservation is in order: the Moldovan authorities have been using Russia as a factor for a long time now. We are responding.
Unlike the collective West, Russia is not interfering with Moldova’s internal affairs. It is not asking for anything, nor is it suggesting that it changes or rewrites anything. Russia does not come up with any pre-conditions. Russia complies with existing agreements and works to promote the relations that have not yet been blocked by Maia Sandu and her team. Unfortunately, Russia is witnessing a situation where the people that came to power in Chisinau under completely different slogans are destroying the country. However, I would like to believe that the official Chisinau will eventually show common sense and abandon the policy that is splitting Moldovan society. After all, we are living in the same region.
Speculation in Moldova around the country’s participation in the CIS
Moldova claims to be fighting Russian “propaganda,” but I have something to counter their fake news. Speculation continues around Moldova’s participation in the CIS. Representatives of the Moldovan officials at different levels keep claiming that the Commonwealth is redundant and the country must exit.
In particular, President of Moldova Maia Sandu announced that there would be no more CIS summits in Moldova. My question is more than when? We would like to note that there have been no CIS meetings at the highest level in Moldova since 2009 – so, clearly, the Commonwealth has long and successfully done without Maia Sandu and Chisinau as a hosting platform, unfortunately. It is presumptuous for a president to say “never” and “no more.” Since pro-Western forces came to power in that country, Moldova has embarked on a course to wind down its involvement in CIS affairs. In the past 18 months, Chisinau has not attended a single meeting of CIS heads of state, heads of government or foreign ministers and did not join a single decision, initiated the exit procedure from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, refused to host the Cultural Capitals of the Commonwealth programme in Comrat, refrained from paying its contribution to the CIS budget and started the withdrawal process from several CIS treaties. Has there been anything contrary to the interests of the Moldovan people? Or did Maia Sandu fail to ask the nation’s opinion, as usual?
This being said, the Moldovan officials’ course is duplicitous. While indicating its intention to part with the CIS, Moldova, however, is not rushing to give up the existing socioeconomic benefits of being a CIS member – primarily, visa-free travel, the free trade zone, the labour, social and other privileges for guest workers. Perhaps they failed to erase, from their short historical memory, the fact that to this day, the CIS countries still account for almost one-fourth of Moldova’s trade. We see this as only good news. It is not a problem for us. Why is it a problem for Maia Sandu? She does not like the fact that her people still earn money?
Maybe this circumstance will, after all, bring Chisinau to reason, and Moldovan leadership will choose to be pragmatic in the interests of its own citizens and will remain an active CIS member. We’ll see. Time will tell. We have heard “never” transform into something else many times. It remains to be seen.
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s report on the human rights situation in certain countries
The latest report on the human rights situation in certain countries was published on the Foreign Ministry website today. These “certain countries” traditionally include the self-proclaimed “exemplary” Western democracies that granted themselves the right to “export” their own human rights standards as universal. At one time they decided they had the privilege to criticise and lecture the rest of the world and judge other governments’ domestic and foreign policies. Nobody could stop them before, but now, times are changing.
All in all, human rights have become a matter of speculation to serve momentary opportunistic needs, an instrument of presumptuous and unrestricted interference with the domestic affairs of sovereign states and, most crucially, an instrument inflating confrontation. The principle of universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights is suddenly forgotten. The West declared freedom of opinion and of expressing an opinion, the notorious freedom of speech, an absolute right. Exercising this right now serves to justify certain officials’ lack of action when it comes to a wide scope of manifestations of intolerance, racism, discrimination and, finally, glorification of Nazism and neo-Nazism. As a consequence, we are witnessing radical nationalists pervasively raising their heads in countries that went through the horrors of probably the bloodiest war in human history, World War II, and intensifying attempts to break down societies on ethnic and language grounds. Unfortunately, this is becoming a global problem.
We should specifically mention the efforts of the Western countries and their allies to rewrite the history of World War II and revise its outcome, along with cynical attempts to exonerate war criminals and their henchmen. We are seeing a distortion of historical facts, attacks on culture and traditional values, war against monuments and memorials, and persecution of religious organisations. All this is happening despite the mechanisms developed by international bodies to condemn and prevent the idea of supremacy of one group of people over another. Today, nobody is hiding the fact that, from the perspective of the European Union, NATO, Washington and London, there is a “golden billion” while others exist to serve it.
Nevertheless, representatives of the Western political elite remain hostage to colonial and neocolonial mindsets, which was recently clearly illustrated by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell’s meme-worthy statement when he divided the world into a beautiful garden and jungles. Attempts to impose a rules-based order, as opposed to international law, is in line with this mindset. Now they are trying to backtrack by saying that the rules-based international order is, in fact, international law. If the international order promoted by the West is indeed international law, then leave it be and don’t make up new terms for it. If you create a new term, then it refers to something different from what international law means.
Today all these manifestations are clearly visible. The events of 2022 demonstrated that the West used duplicitous approaches with the sole goal of causing as much damage as possible – and now deliver a strategic defeat – to Russia and the Russian world. Nobody is hiding this fact anymore. Any means are considered fair. Then again, the history of the 20th century has some very indicative examples to this effect.
We believe that, in the forming new world and more just system of international relations, the principle of genuine respect for the sovereignty, historical, cultural, religious and ethnic characteristics of different countries will be fully realised. There will be no place for colonialism, neocolonialism, racism, racial discrimination and associated intolerance. Attempts of specific countries to usurp the system of international law and exploit its universal human rights protection mechanisms for sordid motives will be unacceptable. As will be attempts to privatise the concepts of democracy and freedom – and consider some societies exceptional and others eternally submissive.
The purpose of the research developed by the Russian Foreign Ministry is not to lecture or moralise, unlike similar US or EU publications. This research vies for being considered objective as it is based on the materials from non-government human rights organisations and takes into account recommendations of international, universal and regional mechanisms of human rights protection – specifically, the treaty bodies (committees) of the UN system and regional (especially European) human rights protection institutions. First and foremost, our report summarises facts of human rights violations in specific countries. We leave it to readers, experts and analysts to judge the moral implications.
The Foreign Ministry’s report and a similar study by our Belarusian partners will be presented at an international conference on June 22, held on the sidelines of the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council.
British colonisers’ crimes against the Maori
People around the world remember the cruelty of the colonial methods used by the British who now lecture, demand and teach morality to everyone else. At the very least, those who studied the issue know about it.
A huge colonial empire was an inexhaustible source of miraculous wealth for the British ruling classes. The merciless exploitation of the conquered territories paid for the socioeconomic development of the country. London has not expressed regret for many of its crimes, let alone offered a compensation for them.
Historians recall that when British colonisers came up against the indigenous people’s resistance, they either tried to come to an agreement with them or at least revised their policy. The Maori people in New Zealand are one example of this.
When Britain set its eyes on the New Zealand islands in the first half of the 19th century, it wanted above all their fertile land. This led to clashes with the Maori, who stood up to defend the land of their ancestors. The British colonisers, who were less numerous and far away from the metropolis and their arms depots, decided against aggravating the situation and tried to give a semblance of legality to their predatory plans.
In February 1840, they signed the Treaty of Waitangi under which Maori accepted the rule of the Crown in return for the recognition of the ownership of their lands and the rights of British subjects in courts. In terms of human rights, it was a revolutionary solution, which was not in line with Britain’s cruel colonial policy in other parts of the world. But it actually was nothing more than a cover, one of the games about which Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wrote in an article for the newspaper Izvestia in July 2022. London did not ratify the Waitangi agreement, which is indicative of the current policies of the collective West as well, and the British court declared it null and void. It is a smart trick to deceive the local population while knowing that the metropolis will disavow any documents.
The agreement gave the British some breathing room, and after a pause they started to seize the lands of the indigenous people, which led to an uprising. Over 2,100 Maori and nearly 800 British died during the New Zealand Wars of 1845-1872. The most dramatic part of the wars was the Titokowaru uprising, which lasted from June 1868 to March 1869. The British used every method available to suppress it, acting ruthlessly and setting Maori tribes against each other. Although London attained its goal, confiscating about 16,000 square kilometres of fertile Maori lands in favour of the colonial administration, British units were called back from New Zealand. A while later, London had to resume compliance with the Waitangi Treaty and began paying compensations, a process it has not finished to this day. It is a wonderful story.
These same people are demanding compensations and reparations from Russia now and have invented a tribunal. Settle your financial problems with the Maori first. They have been waiting since the 1840s. The next thing I’d like to tell London is that after paying off Maori it also needs to do the same with regard to the Iraqis, that is, express regret, ask forgiveness and start paying compensation. After that, we will be ready to discuss their complaints about us. There are many things we will be ready to tell London.
But this is not the most important thing, as we see it. What matters is that the Maori combat spirit, courage and perseverance helped them avoid the fate that befell many other victims of British colonisation, like the aborigines of Tasmania who were killed off, or North American Indians who the Americans fenced off in reservations. The Maori people have won considerable rights by fighting resolutely for their national independence. They make up nearly 17 percent or 850,500 of New Zealand’s 5 million people now. They have retained their lifestyle, language and culture and have guaranteed representation in the country’s legislatures. Maori also hold high posts in the New Zealand government.
Maori support anti-colonial initiatives, including those aimed at giving financial compensations to the people who suffered the arbitrariness of British colonisers. One of the latest petitions demanding a formal apology and compensation, signed by representatives of 12 countries, was sent to King Charles III in early May 2023.
We are sure that now is the time for London to acknowledge the errors of its colonial past and to start mending them.
Moscow is concerned about the riots that have been ongoing in Dakar and several other cities in Senegal since June 1, 2023, as the result of tensions that flared up between the opposition and the authorities when Ousmane Sonko, the leader of PASTEF (African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity), was given a prison term. According to the Interior Ministry, 16 people have died, over 350 have been injured and 500 have been detained following street clashes.
The Russian Embassy in Dakar has reported that there are no Russians among them. We recommend that Russian citizens refrain from travelling to Senegal, unless absolutely necessary, until the situation normalises.
We hope that peace will be restored in friendly Senegal as soon as possible, that the violence will stop, and that differences are settled through dialogue within the framework of the law.
Celebrating Russian Language Day
On June 6, the birthday of the outstanding Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, the world traditionally celebrates Russian Language Day. By a decision of the UN Department of Public Information, this day has been marked every year since 2010 as part of the UN programme, which seeks to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the Organisation. Russian has been used since its inception and plays an important role in promoting a dialogue between world nations.
For the Russians, this is a special holiday. Alexander Pushkin, a great poet and writer, is rightly regarded as the creator of modern literary Russian. Throughout the centuries, the Russian language facilitated the emergence of a unique multi-cultural and multi-faith community of peoples in this country, and made a great contribution to world civilisation. Moreover, Russian has become a communicative link between people in many countries and regions, and helps build up mutual understanding and respect.
Heads of the CIS member states note the importance of supporting and promoting Russian throughout the CIS, which declared 2023 the Year of Russian Language as Language of Interethnic Communication.
The Russian Federation makes consistent efforts to protect and support Russian in the world. We appreciate our partners and compatriots’ interest and participation in versatile events aimed at popularising the language.
For example, An Anthology of CIS Literatures was presented at the 9th Red Square Book Festival on June 5. This is the first attempt since 1991 to acquaint friendly countries with cultural landscapes existing in CIS states, with new literary names and important works, and to strengthen cultural and humanitarian ties, where Russian is the intermediary language.
Festive events dedicated to Russian Language Day are held annually both in Russia and all over the world. Russian diplomatic missions, Russian Houses, Russian compatriots, and graduates of Soviet/Russian universities living in different parts of the world would traditionally hold numerous events at various levels, including gala concerts, literary recitals, conferences, meetings of creative intellectuals, contests, quests, lectures, exhibitions, and open Russian language lessons. Please have a look at the Russian Foreign Ministry accounts in social media. They contain a huge amount of relevant information.
The tradition was observed this year as well. In many countries, where there are monuments to Alexander Pushkin, heads of Russian foreign missions and members of the public laid floral tributes to the memorials as a sign of respect and remembrance. There were also roundtables and literary soirees (events in this format took place, for example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Malta), as well as concerts and Russian lectures at local universities (Abkhazia, Syria, and Cuba). Besides, associations of Russian compatriots were actively involved in themed events, creative contests, poetry marathons, and Russian quests, held in Argentina, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Romania and Türkiye. This is just a small part of relevant undertakings. Their geographical scope is too vast to mention everything. I would like to refer you to the Foreign Ministry’s website and social media accounts, where you can find the details.
As usual, the Russian Language Day events have generated a lot of interest at international organisations. In the UN headquarters in New York, the Russian Federation mission showed a documentary entitled Hailing from Babylon, while the UN Russian Translation Service sponsored the lecture “The Amazing History of the Russian Alphabet.” The Vienna International Centre hosted the Pushkin State Museum’s exhibition entitled “Travelling in Moscow with the Characters of the Novel Yevgeni Onegin.” The Russian Mission to UNESCO came up with the first ever initiative to celebrate Russian Language Day by presenting an extensive cultural programme at the UNESCO headquarters, which involved Head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Igor Barinov and permanent representatives of the CIS states to UNESCO.
I would like to note in particular that despite the West’s continued attempts to “cancel culture,” the tradition of holding festive events dedicated to Russian Language Day was maintained in unfriendly countries as well. Many people ask: How come, these countries are unfriendly towards Russia, but they host events all the same? It is the regimes that we call unfriendly, but people do uphold their right to admire the Russian language and Russian culture, and our common multiethnic and multi-faith history with its roots in antiquity (as was evidenced by the congress of the International Russophile Movement that Moscow hosted in March of this year).
Schools, universities, and cultural centres held reciters contests, Pushkin readings, festivals, and quests. Russian compatriots were proactive in organising these events, and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for their sincere, genuine and authentic struggle for our common legacy and our common future. The Russian compatriots play a key role in initiatives to popularise the Russian language and Russian culture and to preserve the great poet’s heritage abroad.
International Forum of Ministers of Education
On June 7, the International Forum of Ministers of Education: Shaping the Future opened in Kazan. The forum brought together more than 100 participants from almost 40 countries, including about 20 ministers of education who came to attend the event in person. It is the largest event of its kind in Russia this year, which has been declared the Year of Teachers and Mentors.
The forum’s mission is to strengthen ties and promote the exchange of best practices in education. Russia is open to cooperation and ready to share innovative developments and promising educational projects. The Russian education system can be rightfully proud of the country’s remarkable teaching traditions and strong scientific schools that have laid the foundations for many technological breakthroughs and successes in various spheres of life.
Much attention during the forum will be paid to educating the new generation while preserving spiritual and moral foundations and family values.
As he was greeting the participants and guests, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted: “In the context of the tectonic shifts on the world stage, constructive and mutually respectful international cooperation in education makes a very real contribution to building a more just and democratic multipolar world order, reflecting the cultural and civilisational diversity of nations in the world.”
200th anniversary of Foreign Ministry’s school of foreign languages
June 11 marks the 200th anniversary of the Foreign Ministry’s foreign language training service and 95 years of the Higher Foreign Language Courses of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
The foreign language training service was officially established on May 29, 1823 by the royal decree of Emperor Alexander I as part of the Asian Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Named the Educational Department for Oriental Languages, it was tasked with preparing dragomans (interpreters and translators between the Middle East and European embassies and consulates) for Russian embassies, missions and consular offices. The teaching of foreign languages emphasised the practical aspect of helping students to become fluent enough to carry out official assignments when they were posted to the Middle East.
Initially, the school taught only Arabic, Turkish and Persian. In 1825, French was added by a royal directive. At different times, the school additionally offered Italian, modern Greek, English and Tatar (mainly different Turkish dialects, in particular Azerbaijani).
Since 1930, completing a course at the Ministry’s foreign language school has been mandatory for all employees, especially in positions of responsibility; before that, it was voluntary. But now, attending the classes is equated with the performance of official duties.
At all times, the Foreign Ministry paid great attention to its employees’ fluency in foreign languages. Classes continued even during the Great Patriotic War. Moreover, by 1945, the number of languages taught had increased to 19.
In September 1992, languages of the CIS and Baltic countries were introduced by decision of the ministry leadership. The ministry also reformed its system for professional growth and improving foreign language fluency for its employees. The Foreign Ministry’s Higher Courses was one of the first Russian schools to develop the concept of foreign language proficiency levels relying on international experience and a system of respective proficiency certification (1992-1994).
Currently, the school trains employees for the ministry’s central office and overseas missions and runs qualifying exams in 73 foreign languages.
I would especially like to note that the book Essays on the History of the Language Training Service at the Foreign Affairs Department in Russia has been published on the occasion of the anniversary.
Let us wish all the best to our colleagues, but I suggest we start preparing in advance for June 11, this most important day for our foreign policy service. No diplomatic service can operate without foreign languages (not only as in speaking a language, but also in the broader sense of a communication system).
On June 12, Russia will celebrate a public holiday. On this day in 1990, the First Congress of People’s Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and on December 25, 1991, our country became known as the Russian Federation, or Russia, under a newly enacted law.
In 2002, the holiday was officially given the name Russia Day, as symbolising the sovereignty of our Motherland. This day arouses such feelings as patriotism, national unity of all the peoples of Russia, and a sense of common responsibility for the country’s present and future.
Today, Russia is preparing to celebrate the holiday during the all-out hybrid war that has been unleashed against it. The Western states, led by the United States, are aggressively working to thwart the creation of favourable external conditions for our internal development. Ukrainian neo-Nazis, followers of Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich, are being used as the vanguard of this new crusade in the East. The Anglo-Saxons, the EU and NATO are not hiding their true goals – to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia “on the battlefield,” to turn it into an international pariah, undermine the Russian economy, and weaken or even destroy its centuries-old statehood, national identity, traditions and culture.
However, the plans of the West to isolate us and fence Russia off with a “cordon sanitaire” have failed. Our country, together with the global majority, continues to build relations in the spirit of cooperation, based on the principles of openness and mutual respect.
As before, on June 12, Russian missions abroad will host various Russia Day events such as state receptions for friendly foreign guests, public and political figures and compatriots. Russian diplomatic missions will post Russia Day materials, addresses by ambassadors, will publish photos and videos on their websites and social media, and will broadcast live events.
As is traditional, awards will be presented to Russian Foreign Ministry employees who have made significant contributions to achieving the ministry’s foreign policy objectives.
The Russian diplomatic service will continue to do everything necessary to strengthen national sovereignty, to address external challenges “by early-on engagement,” and expand the scope of its peace-loving international partners.
Alexander Gorchakov’s 225th birthday
June 15 marks the 225th birthday of the outstanding Russian statesman, politician and diplomat Prince Alexander Gorchakov. It is impossible to overestimate his role as head of the Russian Empire’s foreign policy agency. Gorchakov devoted 65 years of his life to diplomacy, including 25 years as Foreign Minister.
He came to head the Foreign Ministry in 1856, at a difficult and pivotal period in Russia’s history. His efforts largely made it possible to restore Russia’s international prestige using political and diplomatic methods. He uttered the famous phrase: “Russia is focusing.” This meant that the country would regain its strength following the Crimean War, wait for a while and enter the international scene as a full-fledged player. By 1870, Russia had achieved its goal and no longer viewed the provisions of the 1856 Treaty of Paris (that restricted its sovereign rights on the Black Sea) as binding. Poet Fyodor Tyutchev wrote in this connection:
Yes, you have kept your word,
Without moving a cannon or spending a rouble,
Our Russian land regained its rights.
Through the efforts of Alexander Gorchakov, the Russian Empire secured a favourable foreign policy environment for implementing sorely needed reforms. They facilitated its grandiose economic surge in the last three decades of the 19th century. Gorchakov believed that national foreign policy interests had absolute priority over everything else, and this principle remains topical for Russian diplomacy.
Gorchakov worked hard to streamline the Russian diplomatic service. He strove to make it more compact and effective, and demanded professionalism, erudition and independent, unbiased assessments from his employees. Gorchakov remains an example of competence, dedication and selfless service to the Fatherland.
The Foreign Ministry continues the immensely rich legacy of the last Chancellor (Foreign Minister) of the Russian Empire, and honours and preserves the memory of him. Its website features an online exhibition dedicated to Gorchakov. Russian Post will issue an official postage stamp in the run-up to the prominent diplomat’s birthday.
Maria Zakharova: We mentioned many historical dates earlier today. There is one more. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on the night of June 5, 1968. He was a senator. This year marks the 55th anniversary of his assassination. Before that, as you are aware, his brother, US President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. That same year, in 1968, Martin Luther King was also assassinated. He was more than a US public figure, he was a fighter for civil rights in the true sense, and he is known all over the world. He gave the world a lot. I cited just three political killings. All of them were committed in the United States and targeted top officials, representatives of the legislative and executive authorities and civil society. Just three.
You’re right. Indeed, Washington is accustomed to lecturing everyone about democracy, liberal values and freedom. They prefer not to remember the fact that out of 46 US presidents, four were assassinated – and not by mythical “hackers” who no one has ever seen, but everyone is talking about – but their own killers. At least, it hasn’t been proven otherwise. Two more presidents were targets of attempted murder. The Kennedy family speaks for itself in this regard: just four years after the 35th President, John F. Kennedy, was killed on November 22, 1963, his brother Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the night of June 5, 1968, 55 years ago today. As a reminder, he was considered the frontrunner of the presidential race that year. I’m not sure I should provide more facts to make things look even worse. I don’t think I should. But the mere fact that he was a representative of the US legislature and someone from a family that had lost a US president, also a Kennedy, is enough to understand what the American moralising on human rights (as they say), freedoms, or protection of “liberal values” is all about.
As US Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy unleashed a war on the mafia and, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, did everything he could to overcome it. He was killed at the peak of his political career.
Just like in other cases, in particular, with the “shots in Dallas” in November 1963, there are still many “blank spots” (as they call it) in the case of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination. In fact, what we have here is nothing but questions. I will not go over every theory now. Many scientific papers have been dedicated to this matter. I can only say one thing: US politics is full of unseemly facts that are deliberately hushed up by the US authorities. Washington itself is a far cry from the standards of democracy that it continues to publicly declare. The high-flown and hypocritical rhetoric that it broadcasts around the world is a cover for its neo-colonial ambitions and its pursuit of geopolitical interests and evanescent global influence.
I strongly suggest that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken muster up some courage and publish the materials regarding the political assassinations of the presidents of the United States of America, in particular John F. Kennedy, and tell, above all his own people, the truth about what happened in Dallas and Chicago at the Democratic National Convention following Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination.
As soon as they put these political murders to bed with facts and court rulings in hand, they can start straightening things out in other countries. However, for as long as these egregious crimes remain unsolved and the killers have not been found and convicted, I, if I were in the American leaders’ shoes, would keep my mouth shut with regard to other countries and stop lecturing others on how to run their lives.
First solve the Kennedy assassination cases, and then maybe – or maybe not – people will start listening to what they have to say as an authority of high standing.
Maria Zakharova: We treat all countries, organisations and even individual officials who seek to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis with respect. As you may be aware, there have been at least 20 such proposals, initiatives, and attempts. I’m only talking about the official proposals, without expert assessments.
We remember the initiative of the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, who insisted on the importance of a ceasefire, ensuring humanitarian assistance and food security.
We took note of the most recent initiative advanced by Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto. The steps he came up with resonate with the Minsk agreements, which, as everyone is aware, the Kiev regime, with the support of the West, ignored for eight years. The issue is about a ceasefire and withdrawing forces and armaments from the contact line. As you know, the Ukrainian side failed to comply with either one and went on to fire on Donbass and kill its people. Why would Kiev do things differently now? I think what it did was confirm, first, that it was not going to act on the Minsk agreements and, second, it revealed its true terrorist and extremist nature for everyone to see. This ideology is not going away. This is not even so much about the ban on talks that the Kiev regime imposed on itself, but rather the inner ideology that is supplied by their Western curators and that permeates every figure on Bankova Street.
We do not see the need to repeat referendums in our new regions on their accession to Russia. The decision that the people of the DPR, LPR, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions made in September 2022 is final and not subject to revision.
The main problem is that the Kiev regime is not only unwilling to cease the hostilities, but has also declared its plans to defeat (as they say) Russia “on the battlefield,” thus completely precluding any political or diplomatic way to resolve this conflict. The time is now to remind them of their self-imposed ban on conducting any talks with Russia on this.
With these circumstances in mind, we recommend that all countries and organisations wishing to contribute to a peaceful settlement direct their efforts at the Kiev regime and its Western sponsors, who severed the negotiating process in April 2022 and continue to bank on drawing the conflict out. This includes the ban on holding talks with Russia which was imposed in Ukraine on the legislative level, arms supplies, terrorist activities, and statements to the effect that there will be no negotiations and no peace, only the battlefield, etc. These recommendations go to everyone who, with the best of intentions, would like to make a contribution.
The Zelensky regime must be convinced to cease the hostilities and sit down at the negotiating table. The Westerners must be convinced to stop flooding the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons, sending mercenaries and training the Ukrainian military. I think this is what these efforts should be aimed at.
Maria Zakharova: As you know, being a sincere and honest friend of Serbia, Russia does not interfere in its internal affairs. We are always ready to offer our support and have always offered help and assistance to Serbia. However, we have never interfered in its internal affairs. This is our basic statement. Obviously, we are interested in stability in the Balkan region in general and in that sister country, in particular.
We are confident that the Serbian people and their elected leaders are capable of dealing with their own domestic agenda. No evil-minded external factors should stand in the way – in particular, those who are trying to pit radicals from Pristina against Belgrade and making attempts to influence the legitimate authority in Serbia by exploiting “the resource of the streets” and provoking West-favoured colour revolutions as a tool for toppling undesirable governments and replacing them with puppet regimes.
I wish the Serbian people staunchness. I have never doubted and do not doubt the strength of their spirit.
Maria Zakharova: We have already commented on this matter. I can only repeat that the fraud itself does not surprise us at all. The key informant exposing this rogue firm, fabricating backdated price quotes, exporting cash from Estonia allegedly to help those in need in Ukraine (I am talking about them misappropriating more than 6 million euros in donations for that country) not only vividly describes this Estonian-Ukrainian fraudulent scheme but also gives an obvious answer to the question about the actual value and genuineness of the notorious aid from the collective West. Now, there are reports about this non-profit entity. And it is not the largest one. The amounts that went through them are a drop in a bucket compared to the billions and billions of dollars. This incident exposes the scams involved and the essence of what the West calls “assistance” for Ukraine. This is their assistance in action. Just raise money (the collection scheme is irrelevant, be it from governments, the public, donations, taxes or budgets) and send it out there, bypassing the people of Ukraine who never see any of it.
You see the laws being changed in many EU countries to toughen up restrictions imposed on the Ukrainian citizens who arrived as refugees or displaced persons and fell hostage to the West’s regime change policy in Ukraine. You can see that they (the EU countries), one after another, say that it is economically difficult for them to support the Ukrainian refugees and that they must tighten their belts.However, those are not their own belts but the Ukrainians’ belts and these belts are being tightened not around their waists but around their necks. The European countries claim that they cannot receive, house, feed and clothe any more people. I am curious: where are all the raised funds, the hundreds of millions and billions? The answer is, they always find the money to sponsor the killing of Ukrainian citizens but there is never enough for actual humanitarian aid. And when there is, this aid goes to completely different pockets through these sorts of fraudulent schemes.
Only recently, director of the non-profit organisation Glory to Ukraine Johanna-Maria Lehtme, who now is facing criminal charges filed by the Estonian Prosecutor General’s Office, was declared – how funny! – the Person of the Year in Estonia. I completely agree. She is the person of the year in Estonia, NATO, the EU and the entire Western world. She symbolises persons of the year in their NATO-centric system. Last March, she was granted a deputy mandate in the parliament. Interestingly, in her previous job, Johanna-Maria Lehtme distinguished herself by appropriating a pretty big amount of money by fabricating financial reports. But Estonian politicians seem unaware of this fact, of course. Now everybody refuses to have anything to do with this story.
The most important thing is that she barked the Nazi chant. The Nazi salute is the password to many doors and wallets. The money flowed like a river in the right direction. It would be interesting to read the documents and agreements concerning those “humanitarian campaigns.” And yet, despite numerous requests from journalists in Estonia, they have not been disclosed.
I would like to remind the government and leaders of Estonia that they proclaimed their country a democratic state. They pride themselves on being a “special” democracy. So, disclose these papers. The public is demanding them; journalists want to see them. We would be curious to see them as well. It is wonderful. For many years, you have been injecting so much money and so many opportunities into this structure. We would like to understand how exactly it happened.
In the wake of this story that once again proves the criminal nature of both the peculiar donors and recipients alike, I would like to address the population of the Western countries. How much longer will you blindly and naively believe that the money extorted, squeezed and forced from you actually goes to the citizens of Ukraine? How much longer will you believe that and repeat it like a mantra to convince yourself? It is a blatant lie.
At best, this money is spent on weapons and ammunition for the Kiev regime. I am saying “at best” figuratively and not because I consider it a better option. At least, this spending is documented. But for the most part, the money goes to the pockets of these alleged “public activists.” They are of the same kind as the White Helmets in Syria, the non-government organisations in Estonia, Germany (where there are plenty) and northern Europe. Not long ago, similar groups called themselves Syrian humanitarians – the White Helmets is one example. A couple of decades ago, terrorists from the North Caucasus also passed the hat around in London, Paris and Brussels, trying to raise donations for a democracy in Chechnya, when, in fact, they were true cutthroats. This is the same thing. It is a horrific and bloody case of collecting money under the guise of humanitarian aid, while in reality you know where this money goes: it is either stolen or spent on weapons that are later resold on the black market
Not long ago, we reported on the black market for human organs. One should not forget that many of the organisations calling themselves humanitarian or non-government groups are involved in this business.
One should know history, including recent history, and be sure to avoid this shining but very sharp hook.
Maria Zakharova: Let me remind you that Russia and China are closely cooperating on security matters both in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. We pay a great deal of attention to the relevant initiatives proposed by China.
The experience of interaction with our partners in Asia and in the pan-continental Eurasian space confirms that there is a stable demand in the world for creating open zones of safe development with a high dynamics of cooperation processes. A comfortable international environment is needed, in which states could successfully cooperate based on things that are of interest to all parties, things that are mutually attractive and pragmatic, and lack a political dimension, aggressive confrontational strategies, and ideologies.
This is the framework that the key multilateral associations in Eurasia work in, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which is currently a centre of attraction for the neighbouring regions. The variety of areas of cooperation in the seamless SCO space is considerable: the number of areas of sectoral interaction has reached 28. There are other issues under development. Given the growth rate of the organisation, this is not the limit. There are many areas of mutual interest.
In this regard, we are concerned about the West’s unending attempts to hinder the main trends of creative co-development, its constant desire to shatter, break and deform the architecture of interstate relations that has been forming for decades, and break stable ties between countries and regions. We see this in the examples of the destructive activity by Washington and its satellites in Asia, the part of the world where the ASEAN-centric system has always been the foundation of safe cooperation.
Maria Zakharova: On the one hand, Japan says that the planned discharge of radioactive water from Fukushima into the ocean by TEPCO will not pose a significant threat to the health of people living in that region, or to the environment. In principle, we believe this could be true. But there are certain issues that worry us.
Russia, like China, insists that Tokyo should show maximum transparency as regards its plans and provide the interested states with full access to the necessary information, as well as enable them to take water samples, if necessary. Unfortunately, we are not seeing this openness from Japan. It seems that the people in that country are not interested in knowing what kind of water will be dumped into their own water area. I understand that Russia and China are concerned about their people, and therefore ask these questions. Shouldn’t the Japanese people be interested in learning the truth and receive this information which should be made public? We are told that Japan is also an advanced democracy committed to freedom of expression, etc. I understand that freedom of expression is important in some theoretical research and it seems that Tokyo believes it should be used in other parts of the world. But use it on yourself. Disclose this information to your population and the entire world. I think this is what the Japanese government definitely must do.
Along with our Chinese partners, we have submitted a list of questions to Japan, twice, regarding their intent to dump this water. Some questions were answered, but several raised a nervous response instead of an explanation. This implies that our requests for Tokyo were justified. To reiterate: if the governments of Russia and China are asking these questions in the interests of their people, it would only be logical for the Japanese government to answer them publicly in the interests of their own citizens.
Given that the Japanese track record on nuclear security is far from ideal, we cannot let things slide, including because there are certain data related to TEPCO which has repeatedly concealed information about problems in this area. In particular, it was revealed in 2002 that for at least 15 years it had provided the Japanese government with falsified data about the safety of its nuclear power plants, including regarding the previous accidents. In 2007, there was an earthquake-related accident at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant owned by TEPCO. It proved possible to avoid grave consequences that time. However, TEPCO did not warn the authorities about the accident in due time.
Tokyo’s plans to dump radioactive water raise questions and not just on the part of Russia and the neighbouring countries. Once again, I reiterate that this causes concern in Japan itself, in particular among the environmentalists and the fisheries industry.
I would like to emphasise that we are not accusing Japan of anything in advance but we urge Tokyo to show greater transparency and provide information on all of its actions that could pose the threat of radioactivity. I think this is a fair request.
Maria Zakharova: First, you did not quote this statement in full. Indeed, it contained attacks on Moscow. We would like the mentioned high-ranking Armenian official to choose between normal dialogue (not just possible but appropriate dialogue; we maintain this dialogue with the Armenian side) and such statements. We are choosing the former option.
Second, regarding the issue of unblocking regional connections, Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani deputy prime ministers are working on various aspects of this issue. Consequently, I do not think it would be correct to respond to such comments as an onlooker. This is within the remit of the relevant representatives who were chosen by the leadership of each of the three countries and tasked with examining these issues.
Maria Zakharova: We have noted repeatedly that we are working to normalise relations between Baku and Yerevan in the trilateral Russia-Azerbaijan-Armenia format and in line with statements by the leaders of our countries. We believe that there is no alternative to the system of trilateral agreements (road map) for the process of reconciling the two nations, seen as fraternal by Russia. This work has its own tracks and negotiating process dynamics, formats and additional tools. We are not trying to rush anything. We are moving forward under a set plan and implementing all agreed-upon provisions.
We always prioritise efforts to reconcile the approaches of Azerbaijan and Armenia and to draft stable and well-balanced solutions. We are ready to continue facilitating precisely this approach and such work in the future.
Regarding US and EU actions, one certainly wonders why they unexpectedly got more involved in the sphere of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalisation. Earlier, none of them, primarily the EU, had displayed any substantial interest in South Caucasus affairs. It appears that the situation has now changed. Let us recall historical experience showing that so-called peace formulas imposed from the outside, especially solutions suggested and promoted post-haste, have never yielded any positive results. It is necessary to know the history of the region and the conflict, as well as that of local nations, and to gain deep insight. Most important, it is necessary to strive and achieve the main goal of a truly peaceful settlement. It is just as important that the concerned parties do not show any double standards in their actions, and they should sincerely strive to achieve precisely this goal and objective.
Maria Zakharova: This is more a question for the Turkish side, on their plans. We focus above all on the statements made by the elected President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Ankara intends to develop mutually beneficial comprehensive cooperation with Russia, which is in the fundamental interests of our nations. We welcome such a constructive attitude. For our part, we will promote the implementation of this bilateral course and follow the results.
Let me repeat that this question should be addressed (detailed statements from newly appointed members of the government) to the Turkish side. I am sure.
As for a visit, you can also contact the Turkish side on their meeting schedule. If we have additional information on this, we will definitely share it.
Maria Zakharova: If they want to unleash some kind of Armageddon, an apocalypse, then yes. If the Western regimes have any logic of self-preservation left, then no. We can talk a lot theoretically about this. The answer is simple. If they want an irretrievable global collapse, they will do it, but it will be the end of everything. This is completely obvious. You can see what’s happening. The Kiev regime is ready to destroy even its own land as it pleases. I mean, what they regard as their own. They think it is their land. These are their statements. It is clear that we will never question the status of the new regions. But Kiev claims this land as its own. They infect it with depleted uranium, and are ready to drown it with water and poison it with ammonia. Fertilisers are good in appropriate amounts. You have probably seen the footage that has spread around the world, about what is happening with the forest belt, where it all descended into fog. This is just the beginning. This is the logic of the banned terrorist organisation, ISIS. I am absolutely sure of it. We have seen this many times over the decades. Vladimir Zelensky and his gang are following exactly the same path. They are no longer just a gang, not just bandits, not just corrupt officials. This is a real international terrorist cell. Because there are foreign instructors, foreign mercenaries, they are associated with the global black market for weapons, this is illegal trafficking of money, people, organs: the entire package that characterises international terrorism. There is no doubt about it.
If someone in the West wants to turn the planet off – all light and our very existence – then they will start supplying the Kiev regime with nuclear weapons, too. Then it will be the end of everything. This must be admitted.
Maria Zakharova: I just answered that.
Question: You answered that they either might or might not.
Maria Zakharova: Ask your question. You are not asking about us. You are asking about the Western regimes’ plans. Ask them. It is so easy to do. Send your request to Brussels, London, and Washington. Or to all 40 countries. If I were you, I would have done that. An identical question. Get relevant answers. Ask them what their plans are. Let them say. Why should we comment on their possible insanity or some kind of control over their insanity. This is not a question for us.
Maria Zakharova: You are using the same style: hypothetical and provocative.
We build our policy based on existing realities, commenting on them publicly, and not on hypothetical assumptions. Why do this? What would be the point of this? Direct flights are a reality that has been commented on more than once. Flights were resumed to ensure contact between the Georgian and Russian peoples. This clearly meets the interests of ordinary people. I do not like this division, but for public use it will serve. I believe that all people are equal. Each person is individual in their complexity and simplicity. But what I mean is that this was done for people who do not have the opportunity to use detours, private aviation, and so on, but who, at the same time, need to cross the border regularly, visit relatives, do business, resolve problems. These were not individual requests, but an alarm that sounded for a long time from both sides.
We see that some external forces don’t like it. You know very well who we are talking about. I would also like to note that we hear a lot about the fact that these flights violate some kind of prohibitions. Flights between Russia and Georgia do not violate any existing sanction regimes, even if the sanctions are illegal. As you can see, this does not bother the representatives of the US or the EU, who do not stop trying to dictate their will, imposing double standards on sovereign states, and to undermine the situation in the region.
Maria Zakharova: Once again, it’s about the golden billion, a garden and a jungle. We can see here the practical dimension of these very theoretical concepts. This is neocolonialism.
India is not a colony of Germany. India is not a colony at all. There was a truly tragic period in the history of India, when the British monarchy, the British empire tried to “bring it to its knees” and make it its own appendage. But nothing came of it. London failed to break the civilisation that is called India. Where Defence Minister of Germany Christine Lambrecht goes, I cannot even imagine.
On the other hand, we know the historical jealousy of Germany towards those who had these colonies. Maybe these are old songs about what they consider the main thing.
Maria Zakharova: What centres? Open where?
I have not seen this information. I will look it up. I wonder what functional responsibilities are they talking about? Is this about the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, or are these episodes of bilateral interaction between Armenia and the European Union that are not related to other countries. I will clarify. There are no important details in this case yet.
I have already spoken about the general attitude towards the activity of the West in this direction. For this particular item, I need to know more details.
Maria Zakharova: I’ll clarify, because this is a sensitive issue for everyone. I want to give comments based on facts. I need to look into this.
Maria Zakharova: We welcome and praise the Republic of Azerbaijan’s interest in the activities of the Eurasian Economic Union. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for the first time took part in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on May 25 in Moscow as a guest. Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov is expected to attend the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, which will take place in Sochi on June 7-9. Perhaps he has already arrived. His presence is expected. Such contacts are useful.
We believe that the increasing level of cooperation between Baku and the EAEU will provide tangible economic benefits to all parties in such cooperation and have a positive impact on strengthening interstate ties and integration processes, which are mutually beneficial and based on a mutually respectful approach.
At the same time, we are in solidarity with our partners that this decision requires a preliminary, comprehensive and balanced analysis.
Maria Zakharova: There is nothing unusual here. Considering our traditionally friendly bilateral relations, Russia and Egypt maintain close contact and hold regular discussions on a wide range of issues of international security, including arms control and non-proliferation of WMDs.
In this case, the topics of creating a WMD-free zone and of their delivery vehicles in the Middle East were discussed, among other things, as well as other aspects related to the implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Such discussions are of particular relevance in the context of the launch of a new review cycle of the NPT and the holding of the first session of the Preparatory Committee of the Review Conference in Vienna this August.
Russia attaches great importance to maintaining the viability of the NPT and is open to dialogue on relevant issues with all interested parties.
Maria Zakharova: There were many problems here, including legal uncertainty, until the moment these regions became part of Russia. Many problems and questions stem from this.
Second, you are right. This is not the only case. Similar cases exist, but we do not have the exact numbers. Of course, we work on every fact published in the media or that we come across, for example, from relatives or from different countries or if these are people who are legally associated with Russia, are citizens or have a family.
Third, the Foreign Ministry keeps such cases under close scrutiny and is looking for mutually acceptable mechanisms for resolving the problem.
Fourth, today an interdepartmental investigation around Sergey Shalashov is under way. Once it is done, we will determine our possible steps.
Maria Zakharova: By and large, these endless statements and lecturing to sovereign states are elements of the neo-colonial logic.
Every sovereign country and state can equally and freely discuss its future and take decisions. But giving “advice” to India or any other country in Africa, Asia and Latin America about what they should do… I don’t know about that. This appears inappropriate in the current defence, information and humanitarian situation. These countries can take independent decisions and choose their future. Besides, those who give this advice are not the paragons they claim to be in the spheres where they are moralising others.
As for security matters, there are notions of strategic stability, security, balance of forces, and traditional lifestyles and rules in any region. Regarding the region you have mentioned, as we said today, it is dealing with its problems quite well without American assistance. In fact, I believe there would be fewer problems if the United States did not interfere. We know what happens when Washington applies its own templates to the regions where it does not fully belong (the Asia-Pacific region is located on the other side of the ocean), when it interferes, rewrites and changes things (for example, from the APR to the Indo-Pacific Partnership), re-carves regions and imposes new models on them without asking the opinion of the countries concerned. Nothing good comes of it. Destabilisation is the least this can lead to, but it usually leads to bloodshed. Such actions disrupt a system that is self-sufficient and has its own solutions to domestic problems and sufficient immunity. It is obvious that what the United States is doing to the region is part of its logic of expansion and the export of democracy, which translates as the spread of chaos and destabilisation in the region.
Maria Zakharova: I have already commented on this today. It is the logic of a classic international terrorist cell. This is how international terrorists speak. This is the paradigm of their actions. Zelensky’s statement has exposed the aggressive policy of the neo-Nazi Kiev regime, the threat of which reaches into the territory of neighbouring states. Its appetites are growing. Look at how many weapons they have asked for. They probably want to juggle planet Earth. There were such examples in history before. We know whose patterns the group on Bankova Street is imitating. We have spoken about this before.
We are closely monitoring the situation around Transnistria, and we would like to warn against trying to destabilise it. The situation with the deployment of Russian troops there is clear. They were deployed in Transnistria on legitimate grounds as part of the joint peacekeeping forces and the Operational Group of Russian Forces. Their presence there is directly connected to the possibility of a political settlement of the Transnistrian problem, with Russia acting as an intermediary and a guarantor.
There should be no doubt that the Russian Armed Forces will respond appropriately to any provocations against our troops in Transnistria and that they will ensure the defence of our compatriots, Russian peacekeepers, the Russian military and the military depots in Cobasna they are guarding. Any actions that would pose a threat to their security will be regarded, in accordance with international law, as an attack on the Russian Federation.
Maria Zakharova: On June 6, 2023, Belgian Ambassador to Russia Marc Michielsen was summoned to the Foreign Ministry regarding this issue. A protest was forwarded to him regarding the facts of the use of Belgian weapons by Ukrainian subversive reconnaissance groups that made terrorist raids in the Belgorod Region on May 22, 2023.
We have repeatedly warned about the danger of pumping the Ukrainian Armed Forces full of weapons and equipment, and the resulting uncontrollable distribution of these weapons and their falling into the hands of diversion and terrorist groups and to the black market. No matter how often the curators of the current Ukrainian regime say they are sending weapons solely for defensive purposes (everyone now sees and understands what these “defensive purposes” are) and that they do not approve of using them to attack Russian territory, the facts speak for themselves. The West cannot, and doesn’t really want to, control the flow of weapons being sent to Ukraine. This is obvious.
Evidence of the use of Western weapons, including Belgian weapons, in Russia implicates the countries that supply these weapons as direct participants in the conflict. The Western countries cannot fail to understand this.
For these reasons, we are not surprised that the Belgian authorities are concerned about the facts that became available and try to pretend that they never suspected anything like this. Let’s see how the investigation goes and what concrete results it brings.
You can be sure that the Belgians are not taking care of us; you understand, we are not the object of their concern. They understand that these weapons will spread to EU territory. They already have tragic experience with this, with the spread of weapons from the Middle East, which the West also supplied originally, and from Afghanistan, which was filled with weapons that eventually spread around the world. They have an experience of committing terrorist attacks against their own citizens where Western trained militants and extremists used the very same weapons.
It is already clear that no investigation can stop the unrelenting flow of Western weapons to Ukraine. This spectacle is designed for a domestic public – Belgian citizens, who are being deceived, to justify the further shipping of weapons to Kiev at their expense.
We have no illusions regarding the transparency of any of these investigations. But I think the Belgian authorities still have a chance to come to their senses at least for the purpose of their own security.
Maria Zakharova: The work of Russian foreign missions will be adjusted with regard to the tasks outlined in the updated Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation. As soon as we have a practical result, we will let you know. So far, the work is in progress.
Maria Zakharova: No one has excluded Russia from the Arctic Council. However, at the initiative of Western countries, its full-format work remains frozen. On May 11, 2023, our country completed its two-year chairmanship in this organisation as planned. It confirmed the self-sufficiency of our potential in the Arctic. This should be understood by those who are also trying to isolate us on this track.
Full-fledged multilateral cooperation in the Arctic without the Russian Federation, the largest Arctic power, is impossible. It is like excluding Russia from the G8. What will it do? It will no longer exist. There will be a G7 or something else, but not a G8. It is probably the same here. They will gather somewhere if they continue in the same vein, some kind of bumbling. But this will no longer be the work on which this organisation was based. Our decisions depend on their actions.
Maria Zakharova: It’s like Igor Nikolayev’s song “Five Reasons:” “the first reason is you, and the second one is all your dreams...” The speech by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi at the UN Security Council and his five recommendations to ensure the security of the Zaporozhye NPP were the result of the fact that the Kiev regime refused to implement his initiative to create a secure zone around the Zaporozhye NPP. In fact, the IAEA Director General’s recommendations are based on the provisions of this initiative. On the whole, they are in line with our approach, including with regard to how the plant’s security should be guaranteed.
Russia has never deployed military contingents or military equipment intended for offensives on the territory of the Zaporozhye NPP, and does not plan to do so. The troops stationed at the NPP are necessary to protect it from attacks by the Kiev regime, as well as to eliminate their possible consequences.
During the meeting of the UN Security Council, Grossi’s recommendations were rejected by Ukraine, which tried to change them and dictate its own terms. This again demonstrates Kiev’s intention to continue its provocations against the Zaporozhye NPP.
In the light of the IAEA Director General’s recommendations, we intend to ensure the protection of the Zaporozhye NPP in such a way as to prevent Kiev and the collective West supporting it from violating them. Russia will take harsh measures in response to any attacks by Ukraine on the Zaporozhye NPP, its critical infrastructure, including the power supply lines of the plant, as well as on the city of Energodar, which is home to employees of the NPP and their families.
Maria Zakharova: Obviously, the United States can’t control the entire internet because it is like space in a sense, a subculture. They can’t control entire segments technology-wise or operations-wise. The fact is that US operators own a great number of technological platforms that have been, for many years, labelled as peaceful, civilian and wonderful initiatives for friendship, peace and communication between people. Meanwhile, they introduced more and more special equipment and surveillance capacities, controlling users around the world from the inside, along with governments in different sovereign states. Many things on the internet, their technology and content are indeed in the hands or under the control of the United States.
The United States failed in its self-proclaimed role of an honest missionary who is ready to bring something good for general prosperity completely unselfishly, honestly and transparently. Did the Americans know from the start that they would be using non-transparent, illegal and illegitimate methods when regulating this space, not only within their country but also abroad? Or did this happen along the way? I think it is a question for historians and experts. We are still to find out.
Judging by the facts exposed by Edward Snowden and Wikileaks, the plan took shape gradually. It is possible that the intention was not outlined in the beginning but a system for controlling the internet has been in development over many decades.
It is obvious that for many years, some countries have been sounding the alarm as they realised what was happening. They realised that, as sovereign states, they cannot control or somehow restrain foreign control over their own information space via the internet, messengers, communication tools, etc. They began to urgently work on their own legislation and their domestic technological base. Some have these capacities and others don’t.
That resulted in numerous initiatives. Russia also put forward a range of proposals at international platforms regarding normal, democratic, transparent and fair regulation of this environment in line with international law. To make sure there is no division into a beautiful garden and the jungle, into a golden billion and everyone else in its submission, into colonial powers and their colonies. As you understand, the Westerners block these initiatives at the level of IT giants, intelligence services and the political establishment.
Another aspect that should be understood is the growing segmentation of the internet into “national homes.” Once again, not every country can provide itself with technology or protect itself by legislative means. But those that can actively use this trend. The unrestrained ambition of the United States to not only dominate through fair competition but also to control and suppress everything they do not favour, meets the resistance and unwillingness to obey in many. And this tendency will only grow stronger.
I think the chance that our planet had to build a common information space – I can’t say that it has been lost, but the United States has played a cruel joke. Or more likely, they spoiled this process by undermining others’ faith in the ability to build this space and live together in a shared information environment. I think that they have destroyed everything with their actions, impudence, and the lack of respect for the laws of other countries and international law. It is surprising that the same country can provide the world with colossal opportunities and wreck them with its own brutish actions.
Maria Zakharova: This issue has a number of dimensions. The first is legal. Our legal capacity is enshrined in our Constitution. The wording there is clear. It is a global level. There is a legislative level, and entire textbooks have been written on this subject. However, the main dimension is legal. It is expressly stated in the Constitution of our country.
The second dimension is historical. It is a combination of all the factors, both historical and those facts that are still being uncovered. Much of what took place only now comes to light. This includes the legal aspect, which is also considered not only in the context of recent history but also as part of the historical process.
There is a third dimension – the human dimension. So many people experienced that moment. All of us are contemporaries of those events, so there will be as many answers to the question. Regardless of the legal definitions and historical facts, everyone will have their own perception of that period. I am sure you know this from communication with your compatriots. This is an inexhaustible subject for you, and there will be as many assessments of that period as there are people.
I am sure you know that people who lived through those events reconsider their views over time. The optimists who were happy about the events and interpreted them in one way, became pessimists after several decades passed; they would love to go back to that time and change things. Conversely, those who were caught off their guard by the elements of the historical movement at the time were able to adapt and survived in those difficult times that cannot be compared to any other period, so now they view them from a personal perspective, even if they realise that for many it was a tragic time. But they coped with the situation.
These are just three dimensions. I think there are many more. For example, the dimension of the future that is now taking shape. We are experiencing a situation that is not just a reverberation, an echo, but is directly connected to those events. Call it what you want: a detonation, a consequence. There will be as many experts as there are opinions. So there is still a future dimension to this situation.
I am not sure it is a complicated issue in the sense that it is tricky in some way. It is complicated because it is a subject for long, repeated and in-depth studies and discussions.
Дополнительные материалы
-
Видео
-
Фото
-
Скачать файл
en.vtt
Выступление С.В.Лаврова на презентации Республики Дагестан.mp4)
С.В.Лавров с министром иностранных дел Абхазии О.М.Барцицом (1).mp4)