Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions following the 22nd Doha Forum, Doha, December 7, 2024

Good afternoon, colleagues.

We are about to conclude the visit to Doha. Meetings were held with Emir of the State of Qatar Tamim Al Thani and Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar Mohammed Al Thani. We reviewed in detail the current state of bilateral relations and highlighted their highly developed nature that relies on regular contacts between our two leaders - President Vladimir Putin and Emir Tamin Al Thani - which are embodied in a number of joint projects, including investment projects.

The Qatar Investment Authority closely cooperates with the Russian Direct Investment Fund in trade matters. The volume of trade is not very impressive yet, but we have agreed to hold a meeting of the Joint Russian-Qatari Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation in Qatar early next year to address this matter.

Our cooperation in the energy sector, primarily as part of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, is highly productive and was also confirmed as a key area of our joint plans as we go forward.

As part of cultural cooperation, Doha hosted the Sky Grace rhythmic gymnastics championship in November. Our Qatari friends will participate in organising a number of events, including Intervision song contest, in Russia in 2025.

We discussed regional affairs, including Palestine, Gaza, and Syria, where the situation has sharply aggravated lately as a result of an aggressive onslaught by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which was clearly plotted in advance, on the positions of the government forces. This organisation has long been designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council. A number of disparate opposition groups have joined it.

Our shared position has it that the hostilities must be stopped as soon as possible. We should push for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for respecting sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of the Syrian Arab Republic and establishing direct dialogue between the government and various opposition platforms, including the Moscow Platform. We have come to an agreement in this regard with our Qatari friends.

The Astana-format trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Türkiye that was held here focused on this particular issue.

We have explicitly reaffirmed our commitment to the above resolution, primarily in the context of preserving Syria’s unity and territorial integrity and establishing a political dialogue. Without a doubt, all of that will become possible only if the advancement in Syria of the opposition forces, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is stopped.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen was invited to the second part of the Astana Troika meeting. He shares our concerns in general and believes it is important to take steps involving influential external players who can have an impact on the situation on the ground in order to stop the ongoing hostilities and to resume talks between the Syrian parties, and between the government and the opposition.

This is no small feat to accomplish given that, according to our information, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham offensive from the Idlib zone to other areas, the capture of the city of Hama and the environs of the city of Homs - all of that was thoroughly planned in advance and represents an attempt to change the situation on the ground, and to alter the alignment of forces.

We will oppose this in every way we can, support the legitimate Syrian authorities and at the same time energetically promote the efforts to resume a dialogue with the opposition, as required by UNSC Resolution 2254.

I covered this matter in detail in my remarks at the Doha Forum as well. In addition to Syria, which took the bulk of the interactive discussion, we also discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territories in general, and the state of affairs in the Ukraine crisis. I outlined our position which we made public before as well.

Question: You just mentioned that Türkiye was ready to take upon itself the effort to persuade Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to return to the area of influence of the government authorities. How realistic is it to start talks between the opposition and the Syrian government about implementing UNSC Resolution 2254?

Sergey Lavrov: We will know fairly soon whether they are ready for talks or not. We have put out a call to this effect and we will work with the government and the opposition. There is a Moscow Group of the opposition that works with us regularly. We also maintain contacts with the opposition based in other capitals, such as Riyadh and Istanbul. Now, considering that Iran, Türkiye and Russia have agreed to contribute to the cessation of hostilities, we will take steps on the ground with the opposition in order to resume talks.

Regarding the Idlib de-escalation zone, we said that the Astana format has developed commitments to prevent the strengthening of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and to put a distance between the “non-terrorist” opposition and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra). This concern was voiced today, and the task remains urgent.

Question: The leader of the armed Syrian opposition, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, said in an interview with American journalists that his goal, in the event of victory, is to have foreign armed forces withdraw from Syria. Does Russia have Plan B with regard to this Arab republic, and were alternative solutions discussed in Doha today?

Sergey Lavrov: I did not have a chance to see the entire interview. I know that CNN took it. This channel is known for being close to the Biden Administration.

Quite recently, when these events broke out, the Biden Administration let us know through certain channels that they continue to consider Hayat Tahrir al-Sham a terrorist organisation not only because it is on the UN terrorist list, but also because it is on the US terrorist list.

At the very least (to put it mildly), the appearance of the head of this organisation on CNN raises questions.

With regard to the future of the foreign troops in Syria, we operate based on the actual state of affairs which is that there are foreign troops in Syria that no one invited, in particular, the US troops. Other troops are also present in Syria at the request of its legitimate government. No one cancelled the legitimacy of this government, and we will operate on that premise.

What matters most at this point is putting an end to the hostilities.

Question: As a result of the escalation in Syria, the world may face another wave of refugees. The UN estimates their number at 1.5 million. What are the potential consequences? Should Europe brace itself for another migration crisis?

Sergey Lavrov: I cannot speculate on unpredictable outcomes. When the state called Libya was being destroyed, no one cared about the consequences. Incited by the Obama administration, a coalition of NATO countries bombed the country out turning it into a black hole that criminals and terrorists used to flood the continent and to wreak havoc in many sub-Saharan African countries.

Refugees have flowed through this black hole up north. They don’t feel “at ease” in Europe, because their not quite legitimate activities have been suppressed recently.

The issue does not stem from us, but from those who initiated the war in Libya and Iraq, those who brought Syria, after trying to change the regime in that country in 201, to its current plight. They don’t think about the consequences.

As you may be aware, refugees don’t run overseas. Let the Europeans (and they should have considered this issue) use their influence on Washington (even though hardly any is left), and explain to the Americans that such “games” tend to end badly. Badly for the Europeans.

Question: Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War think Russia may redeploy its African Corps troops to Syria.

Sergey Lavrov: Who told you that?

Question: Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War.

Sergey Lavrov: Are you reading American sources?

Question: How can you comment on this? What specific measures to support...

Sergey Lavrov: I am not going to comment on that. Our Aerospace Forces based in Khmeimim, Syria, are helping the Syrian army to stop the terrorist advance, which fact has been announced earlier.

I cannot comment on what the Institute for the Study of War has to write. They have covered many developments. No comment.

Question: The European Union has launched an urgent investigation into Russia’s possible interference in Romania’s elections. In fact, a pro-Western candidate was unable to win in the first round, and the Constitutional Court eventually cancelled it. Now, the president says he won’t leave office until a new round is called which could take several months. This is not the first time we are hearing accusations that we support anti-Western candidates. How long has this been going on? What are the new official protests? Evidence is what matters most. What is your reaction to this?

Sergey Lavrov: We don’t really care about their attempts to validate their manipulations.

I have been following these developments which were widely covered by numerous media outlets. Initially, the Constitutional Court refused to cancel the outcomes of the first round. Apparently, someone told the court that it was a “wrong” thing to do. They complied and cancelled the first round.

It was just like in 2004, when Viktor Yanukovich was winning, not Viktor Yushchenko, after the second round in Ukraine, and the Constitutional Court was told to request the third round. The court said it was illegal, but was told it didn’t matter, and it should make that decision. What we see here are the same manners and behaviour.

Someone who is not cursing Russia wins in Georgia and Romania. That someone does not praise us, but simply does not curse us, unlike the rest of the “public,” which busies itself with elections and ambitions for political positions.

When, in Moldova, a candidate who suits the West - Maia Sandu - barely won the election, nobody in the West talked about violations, revisions, or the Constitutional Court, even though the elections were held with blatantly gross violations that deprived half a million Moldovans living in Russia of the right to vote.

In Georgia, 500 OSCE observers were present for two months prior to the elections. They scoured and inspected everything there was to scour and inspect, and stated publicly that there were no significant violations and everything was legitimate.

The opinion of the OSCE, which is an obedient tool in the hands of our Western colleagues, “didn’t work” because they do not like the current Georgian government, which was re-elected and is pursuing a policy that reflects the Georgian people’s legitimate national interests and will.

I’m confident that any objective observer can see through these games.

Question: According to military experts, the approximate range of the Oreshnik missile system deployed in Belarus covers the entire territory of Europe and NATO military bases in the Middle East. How effective is that as a de-escalation measure?

Sergey Lavrov: Was it our military experts, or Western experts who said that?

Question: Our.

Sergey Lavrov: Our? I’m sure the Western experts are of the same opinion.