Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks at a meeting with Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova, Minsk, June 25, 2024

Madam Kochanova,

Colleagues,

We are always in contact with members of parliament, especially our brothers and sisters. I would like to congratulate you in advance on the upcoming Independence Day of Belarus and the 80th anniversary of liberation from Nazi invaders. Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin will attend these celebrations on instructions from President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

One of our key tasks is to preserve our historical memory and prevent the revival of Nazism, especially in the context of a crusade against monuments to the liberators and the glorification of those who attempted to “conquer” Europe by imposing a fascist dictatorship on it. Our mission is especially important in light of attempts to glorify Nazism. They are not only glorifying criminals and their memory and deeds but also Nazi practices. A totally racist and fascist regime of Vladimir Zelensky in Ukraine has prohibited everything Russian, including the language, media outlets, culture and education. Even the use of Russian in public space can put you in the dock.

We are grateful for the condolences we have received over the terrorist attacks in Sevastopol and Dagestan. There can be little question that they were synchronised or that the attack on Sevastopol was masterminded in the United States. President Putin said many times that from the military-technical viewpoints the Ukrainians cannot independently launch ATACMS. Launch missions are determined by American experts, and data from American satellites is used to target these missiles.

On June 24, 2024, we summoned US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy. The reaction was indicative: they are sorry that innocent civilians are dying, but we can allegedly put an end to that by withdrawing our troops. Simply put, we must pull out of Ukraine and let them continue to root out everything Russian contrary to our commitments.

At the same time, the EU made a statement through its official representative, which means, if there is any meaning in it, that they have near-zero confidence in the allegations of Ukrainian war crimes made by “invaders.” The Americans are of the same mind. They may use different words, but the essence is the same: Nazis can do anything they wish.

In a follow-up of regular contacts between President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and President of Russia Vladimir Putin, we had an in-depth discussion today on jointly holding all kinds of frontlines against the war the Americans and their allies have launched against us through Zelensky’s regime. It is impossible to overestimate our Belarusian friends’ contribution to information exchange, consolidated actions and presentation of facts and arguments on the international stage. We will certainly continue working in this direction.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergey Aleinik and I signed a joint statement on the key tasks of the diplomatic dimension of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Our Union State is rapidly progressing with major assistance from our parliaments. In 2021, we adopted the Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State. They include 28 union programmes, which have been formalised in over 200 parliamentary documents. Following a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus held in January 2024, our leaders additionally approved new strategic spheres of cooperation for 2024−2026. This stage of integration includes 31 plans, which cover every sphere and comprise over 250 events. Our parliaments will have a great deal to do.

We support the all-round development of parliamentary contacts. It is well-known that almost all regions in the Russian Federation maintain relations with partners in the Republic of Belarus. There are regular delegation exchanges. In 2023, there were 91 delegations from Russian regions, 29 of which were led by governors and were received by President Alexander Lukashenko. Our Belarusian friends also frequently visit Russia, with 96 official regional delegations and 136 delegations from the business community in 2023. We owe much to our respective ambassadors, as each delegation needs their attention. We appreciate that Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko made 15 visits to Russian regions in 2023. This is a good practice.

You have mentioned regional forums. This is also an initiative of the upper chambers, which have met 11 times.  We know that they are planning to sign a large number of documents. Ufa, Vitebsk, Polotsk and Novopolotsk are inspiring examples. We are very pleased. Let us challenge each other, in a positive way, to raise the bar of organisation. We particularly appreciate that you invited representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics to the forums. The Zaporozhye Region is interested in restoring ties with its partner in Belarus.   There is an economic interest in promoting contacts with the new “old”, traditional regions in Russia. Specifically, Russian experts say that the Belarusians, while using Sea of Azov ports in the Rostov Region, will benefit from relying on the port infrastructure in Mariupol and Berdyansk. Work is in progress.   

I share your opinion that campaigns like the Memory Train are of great importance for preserving historical memory. In 2022, we found a good solution to the problem of harmonising the Immortal Regiment and Belarus Remembers functions. Russian representatives marched with a column of Belarusian comrades and Belarusian representatives marched in Immortal Regiment processions. This is a clear indication of our special relations.

You have mentioned the World War II genocide. We have a joint project to initiate the problem of genocide of the peoples of the USSR. It is important that representatives of other independent states, former republics of the USSR, whose citizens were subjected to wartime genocide, join this project.  The Investigative Committee of Russia has unearthed important documents proving that the occupiers were instructed to kill people on a large scale, particularly Slavs.

This topic is highly relevant, especially in the context of instilling patriotic values in young people in Russia and Belarus. We welcome the development of ties with Crimea and Sevastopol. A rail service has been launched (so far with a changeover in Moscow or Smolensk). I think an air service will be organised as well, security conditions permitting.  

You mentioned the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS. The matter of the SCO is settled. On July 3, after the parade, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will arrive in Astana, where the second half of events will begin with the official decision that Belarus is a member of the SCO with full rights as of this session.  All subsequent meetings and approval of documents will be held with Minsk’s full participation.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleinik took part in the BRICS+ meetings in Nizhni Novgorod. The overwhelming majority of the Group of Ten voted to suspend the accession of new members, as the association needs time to process the new arrivals that have doubled its membership. In parallel, a category of partner countries is being formed as a stepping stone to full membership. We will certainly promote our Belarusian friends as well as a number of other like-minded allies.    

As concerns parliamentary diplomacy, we encourage the development of links between legislative bodies, especially within the SCO. There is a range of agreements that are subject to ratification. BRICA does not yet have a stringent structure as it is not an organisation. However, informal meetings between parliament members are helpful in promoting our views on the international situation and discouraging our friends from falling into the temptations of the West, which has been trying every trick in the book to drag more extras into its Ukrainian campaign. 

We are working on a security concept for the Union State and an agreement on security guarantees of the Union State on the principle of reciprocity. The concept is almost ready, and the agreement is at an advanced stage, with more consultations on the draft to be held in early July. Yesterday, we discussed this with Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergey Aleinik, and today we reported on this to President Alexander Lukashenko. Our goal is to have both documents approved by the Supreme State Council in December, when we mark 25 years of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State. This will be our next strong step, continuing the activities of the Regional Joint Group of Forces and the deployment of non-strategic nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.

The current parliamentary assembly has its roots in 1997, when the Union of Belarus and Russia was established. There were considerations about creating a Union Parliament in the past. As I understand, the deliberation was as follows: if there is a Union Parliament, there must be a Union State in reality and not just in name. The reality turned out to be that the existence of a Union State does not undermine the sovereignty of either party. The name itself will be more beautiful – the Union Parliament. We can structure our work in such a way as to take every precaution. Nobody intends to swallow the other party.

 We are looking forward to seeing the Belarusian delegation in Yekaterinburg at the Innoprom international fair.

We discussed our foreign political initiatives at length. The main point of what is happening in the “creative minds” is that the OSCE has fully discredited itself. The Russia-NATO Council has completely collapsed. We used to have  extensive ties with the European Union. They were severed overnight. As President of Russia Vladimir Putin said, we should not wait until they deign to propose meeting again. We will develop our own formats with reliable partners. When the Western countries come to reason, they should approach us and we will see what they can offer. It will be our time to set conditions. We must not rely on them in strategically important areas of the economy and other matters that are essential to the state.

The OSCE and the Russia-NATO Council are formats that cover the Euro-Atlantic region, including Europe, the United States and Canada. Located overseas, these countries are not concerned about the physical threats they create for Europe and to the south of Europe, treating it as an experiment. The Euro-Atlantic security models have discredited themselves. We will create Eurasian security, a system that is open to all countries on the continent. Our doors will not be closed to Europe unless it builds its own firmly locked doors. We will not shut them out, but we plan to begin working with Eurasian structures such as the SCO, the CSTO, ASEAN, the GCC and the CICA. Yesterday, Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergey Aleinik and I signed letters to these organisations outlining our vision of Eurasian security and inviting them to join the dialogue.

What prompted us was the international high-level conference, Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in the Transforming World, that Belarus hosted in 2023 during its tenure as the Chair of the CSTO. The second conference will take place this autumn. Speaking at the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14, President of Russia Vladimir Putin confirmed his support of the Belarusian initiative to adopt a Eurasian charter of diversity and multipolarity in the 21st century. When we specify our approaches, it is advisable to also include parliamentarians in the contacts schedule.