Today we talked about changes taking place in the international arena. This topic is the subject of the report, which was prepared for this session. It is entitled the “School-Leaving Certificate, Or the Order That Has Never Been Before.” The report offers club members’ assessments of the processes towards a multipolar world, reshaping international relations, as well as the emergence of new major players and their becoming conscious of the need to depend as little as possible on the existing system controlled by the West primarily in finance and trade.

The speculation by the Valdai Club authors in this report has much in common with the assessments we gave following the events that took place in the last six weeks. I am speaking primarily about the BRICS Summit, the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, the G20 Summit in New Delhi and the UN General Assembly High-Level Week. These trends have manifested themselves in full at these summits. The world is becoming multipolar. Countries are looking for reliable partners.

The expansion of BRICS is the main evidence of this. The five members that the association initially comprised have been joined by another six countries while about 20 countries are also seeking to establish special relations. BRICS is seen as a reliable partner and as a structure that will not disappoint and will help each member feel more confident. This process that we see now is important. We talked about all of this.

We also discussed UN reform. It must reflect the reality of a multipolar world where the West can no longer claim the role that it is seeking to maintain either fairly or otherwise. The process is underway. We are taking an active part in it.

Question: Increasingly more countries in Europe ban entry to motor vehicles with Russian plates. As of now, there are eight of them, with Bulgaria joining in today. What is the foreign ministry’s view on these measures and can you comment on them?

Sergey Lavrov: All thinkable and unthinkable statements have been made on this topic. There is nothing in particular to add.

What strikes me most is the speed with which the outward civility has fallen away from practically all Europeans, the front they have been hiding behind in recent years, retaining not only the remnants of diplomacy but also traces of elementary ethics.

This is a manifestation of what is usually called Nazism – just in relation of Russians. In the same way, many other things are being done with regard to us. The Westerners say it is not only President of Russia Vladimir Putin who is to blame, but all Russians are to blame for having elected him. It is Nazism pure and simple. 

Question: China will host the third Belt and Road Summit. What are your expectations in connection with this forum? How do you assess the implementation of this initiative?

Sergey Lavrov: We have most optimistic expectations. We know that events that our Chinese friends hold on their territory are always organised at the highest level.

I have repeatedly mentioned the fact that the Belt and Road project fits in well with the processes unfolding on the Eurasian continent with the participation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Together, we are building transport, financial, and industrial infrastructure. These projects are quite promising.

Question: You have mentioned Nazism. A scandal is still raging over the Canadian Parliament honouring a former [Ukrainian] Nazi. Right now, Justin Trudeau is bending over backwards to avoid disgrace. He is also accusing Russia of spreading what he calls false propaganda about what Ukraine is fighting on the battlefield for. Do you believe that neither Trudeau, nor Zelensky, nor the Canadian MPs knew the biography of the man they gave an ovation to?

Sergey Lavrov: We have repeatedly commented on the episode in the Canadian Parliament. I think any sober-minded person can see that things could not be the way Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau is trying to present them. Of course, all of them knew this, including the Speaker and the security service. Yaroslav Hunka, formerly of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), is a well-known person. He has never concealed his views. Many people know him.  

What Justin Trudeau is saying on this matter… Well, he is a pathetic sight. People nonetheless call him a prime minister. When he and Zelensky were applauding and he raised his fist, welcoming this Nazi, of course, they knew everything perfectly well.  

The saddest thing is that Trudeau has mustered his courage and apologised. But to whom? To the Ukrainians and Zelensky, with whom they were doing the Nazi salute to that individual.

It is a disgrace!

Question: We would like to enquire about Armenia and its continuing rapprochement with Washington to the point that protesters already wave US flags at rallies.

Sergey Lavrov: I have repeatedly commented on this situation, as has President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

The decision on Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan was taken with the direct participation of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Some “politicians” in Yerevan claimed that by signing the agreements on stopping the war in November 2020, Vladimir Putin forced the Armenian Prime Minister to give Nagorno-Karabakh away to Azerbaijan. But this is a lie. The Agreement of November 9, 2020 says that Nagorno-Karabakh is the responsibility zone of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. It was generally understood that the dialogue on the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh would continue.

In October 2022, while attending a European summit in Prague, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan signed a document to the effect that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognised each other within their 1991 borders, in keeping with the Alma Ata Declaration (of December 21, 1991).  Matter closed. Later he used that term – the 1991 Alma Ata Declaration – once again in Brussels. But the document (circulated by the European Union) does not say that Armenia is concerned with the destiny of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh and that their destiny should be a matter of concern for everyone lest the Armenians suffer.

The situation being what it is, the Russian peacekeepers are doing all they can. We cannot prevent people eager to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Russia from doing what they want. We are working with our Azerbaijani colleagues and neighbours to stabilise the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, to strengthen trust, and create conditions for the Armenians and Azerbaijanis to resume their normal life together.  

I hope that Yerevan should also have a stake in that and will undertake efforts to this end.  If, however, as certain Armenian leaders have announced, they are disappointed with Russia and the CSTO and are going to look elsewhere for “colleagues” willing to help them strengthen their security, this is their sovereign choice.  The choice made by the Armenian leadership.

I hope that it is not up to any temporary administrations to destroy the centuries-old ties between the Russians (and other ethnic groups living in Russia) and the Armenians.