🇷🇺🇩🇿 On April 18, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a meeting on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum with Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the National Community Abroad, and African Affairs of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ahmed Attaf.
Their discussion covered practical issues of furthering the relationship of strategic partnership between Russia and Algeria including a schedule of upcoming contacts at different levels. Both sides expressed their satisfaction with a high level of trust-based political dialogue and established interaction in various bilateral and multilateral formats.
The Ministers had a substantive exchange of opinions on current issues on the global and regional agendas with a focus on the developments in the Middle East, Sahara-Sahel and Maghrib. They stressed readiness to continue close coordination to promptly settle the conflict situations politically and diplomatically on the basis of universally accepted principles of international law and the UN Charter.
#RussiaAlgeria
Their discussion covered practical issues of furthering the relationship of strategic partnership between Russia and Algeria including a schedule of upcoming contacts at different levels. Both sides expressed their satisfaction with a high level of trust-based political dialogue and established interaction in various bilateral and multilateral formats.
The Ministers had a substantive exchange of opinions on current issues on the global and regional agendas with a focus on the developments in the Middle East, Sahara-Sahel and Maghrib. They stressed readiness to continue close coordination to promptly settle the conflict situations politically and diplomatically on the basis of universally accepted principles of international law and the UN Charter.
#RussiaAlgeria
🎙 Video address by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the occasion of Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People committed by Nazis and their accomplices during 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War (Moscow, April 19, 2026)
💬 Friends,
This year will be the first time that we mark a mournful date, namely, Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People committed by Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. This new commemorative day - April 19 - was established in December 2025. Events in memory of the victims of Nazis and the immortal feat of the Soviet people will take place at Russian missions abroad as well.
April 19 was chosen for a reason. On that day in 1943, Decree No. 39 of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet “On measures of punishment for German Nazi perpetrators guilty of killings and torture of Soviet civilian population and captured Red Army soldiers, for spies, traitors to the Motherland from among Soviet citizens, and for their accomplices” was issued.
The decree became the first document to provide a legal qualification of the systematic policy pursued by the Nazis and collaborationists to exterminate the civilian population, and laid the groundwork for bringing them to justice. Among the first trials subsequently organised against German war criminals were the Krasnodar and Kharkov trials. Their outcomes significantly influenced the work of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal.
The evidence presented in the materials of the Nuremberg Tribunal and their legal assessments made it possible to speak of genocide of peoples in the territories occupied by Germany, primarily the territory of the USSR. The enemy was open about it waging a war of extermination against our Fatherland. As early as September 16, 1941, by order of the Chief of Staff of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, General Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, German troops were instructed to show no mercy to civilians. The atrocities reached an unprecedented scale.
▪️ The total number of civilian victims in the USSR during the occupation amounted to around 14 million people.
These crimes have no statute of limitations.
The outcomes of the Nuremberg Tribunal laid the foundation for drafting the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The very term “genocide” gained currency in 1944 to define a policy of obliteration of national, racial, and religious groups.
The facts of genocide in the occupied territories of the former USSR have been confirmed in court in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation where, during the Great Patriotic War, crimes against the civilian population were committed by German Nazis and their accomplices from among those in other countries who stood under Nazi banners. Russian diplomacy will seek recognition by the international community of the crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices against citizens of the Soviet Union as genocide of the Soviet people. The qualification to this end has been enshrined in a number of documents adopted within the CIS and the CSTO.
In Russia, rehabilitation of Nazism, including actions that desecrate the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide, has been criminalised.
We will continue to resolutely defend historical truth and counter attempts to whitewash Nazi criminals and their acolytes, and to revise the internationally recognised outcomes of the Second World War. The majority of states stand in solidarity with us. There is clear broad support for Russian thematic initiatives, primarily at the UN, where Russian draft resolutions on combatting the glorification of Nazism are adopted annually.
Preserving the memory of millions of victims of the genocide of the Soviet people is our sacred duty.
We will not allow these atrocities to be consigned to oblivion, no matter how hard those who today seek once again to steer Europe down the well-trodden path of racial superiority may try.
💬 Friends,
This year will be the first time that we mark a mournful date, namely, Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People committed by Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. This new commemorative day - April 19 - was established in December 2025. Events in memory of the victims of Nazis and the immortal feat of the Soviet people will take place at Russian missions abroad as well.
April 19 was chosen for a reason. On that day in 1943, Decree No. 39 of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet “On measures of punishment for German Nazi perpetrators guilty of killings and torture of Soviet civilian population and captured Red Army soldiers, for spies, traitors to the Motherland from among Soviet citizens, and for their accomplices” was issued.
The decree became the first document to provide a legal qualification of the systematic policy pursued by the Nazis and collaborationists to exterminate the civilian population, and laid the groundwork for bringing them to justice. Among the first trials subsequently organised against German war criminals were the Krasnodar and Kharkov trials. Their outcomes significantly influenced the work of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal.
The evidence presented in the materials of the Nuremberg Tribunal and their legal assessments made it possible to speak of genocide of peoples in the territories occupied by Germany, primarily the territory of the USSR. The enemy was open about it waging a war of extermination against our Fatherland. As early as September 16, 1941, by order of the Chief of Staff of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, General Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, German troops were instructed to show no mercy to civilians. The atrocities reached an unprecedented scale.
▪️ The total number of civilian victims in the USSR during the occupation amounted to around 14 million people.
These crimes have no statute of limitations.
The outcomes of the Nuremberg Tribunal laid the foundation for drafting the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The very term “genocide” gained currency in 1944 to define a policy of obliteration of national, racial, and religious groups.
The facts of genocide in the occupied territories of the former USSR have been confirmed in court in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation where, during the Great Patriotic War, crimes against the civilian population were committed by German Nazis and their accomplices from among those in other countries who stood under Nazi banners. Russian diplomacy will seek recognition by the international community of the crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices against citizens of the Soviet Union as genocide of the Soviet people. The qualification to this end has been enshrined in a number of documents adopted within the CIS and the CSTO.
In Russia, rehabilitation of Nazism, including actions that desecrate the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide, has been criminalised.
We will continue to resolutely defend historical truth and counter attempts to whitewash Nazi criminals and their acolytes, and to revise the internationally recognised outcomes of the Second World War. The majority of states stand in solidarity with us. There is clear broad support for Russian thematic initiatives, primarily at the UN, where Russian draft resolutions on combatting the glorification of Nazism are adopted annually.
Preserving the memory of millions of victims of the genocide of the Soviet people is our sacred duty.
We will not allow these atrocities to be consigned to oblivion, no matter how hard those who today seek once again to steer Europe down the well-trodden path of racial superiority may try.
◼️ Today our country marks for the first time Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People, perpetrated by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
It was established by the Executive Order of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin of December 29, 2025, and the basic details of commemorating the genocide victims were determined by Federal Law No. 74-FZ. The date of 19 April was not chosen by chance. On this day in 1943, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued its Decree No. 39.
#NoStatuteOfLimitations
The genocide of the Soviet people means the actions committed in 1941-45 with the intention of destroying, in whole or in part, ethnic, racial and national groups that inhabited the USSR.
The top echelon of Nazi Germany regarded the territory of the Soviet Union up to the Urals as its Lebensraum, which historically was intended to be settled with representatives of the Aryan race and, therefore to be cleansed from those, whom the Hitlerite elite labeled as “subhumans”: Slavs, Jews, Gypsies and Asians.
With these purposes in view, even before invading the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany planned a system of extermination practices to radically reduce the Soviet population as early as during the war.
The orchestrated famine strategy was an important part of the Nazi genocide programme that was to lead to the death of 30 million Soviet citizens as early as in the winter of 1941-42.
▪️ Although it has not been implemented in full, it still caused enormous victims, including: among those who died were over three million Soviet prisoners of war, about a million of residents in the besieged Leningrad, a great number of civilian population starving in the occupied areas, women and children forcefully imprisoned in the Nazi transfer camps.
▪️ Jews and Gypsies were subject to total extermination.
▪️ Soviet female labourers (Ostarbeiter) were subject to forced abortions.
▪️ Soviet children having signs of Aryan origin were kidnapped in the occupied territories for subsequent Germanisation, which also constitutes a conventional form of genocide.
From the very beginning of the war, the Nazis developed the so-called General Plan ‘Ost’ with the aim of colonising the occupied territories. Under the plan, millions of Germans were to be resettled in the conquered lands. New, German towns and villages were to be built for them.
***
A horrifying estimate of 13.7 million people fell victim to the Hitler’s policy of destroying “subnormal” as he thought Soviet people, with another five million citizens to a willfully implemented famine strategy.
The facts of genocide in the occupied lands of former USSR have been confirmed judicially in all the constituent entities of Russia, where Nazis and their collaborators committed crimes against civilian population during the Great Patriotic War.
❗️ Russia’s diplomatic service will seek to ensure that the crimes committed by the Nazis and their collaborators against the citizens of the Soviet Union are recognised by the international community as genocide against the Soviet people. The relevant qualification has been recorded in some documents adopted in the CIS and the CSTO.
💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the video address on Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People:
For further perusal:
👉 On the Nazi's genocide of millions of Soviet citizens
👉 Archival documents on heinous Nazi crimes in the concentration camps
👉 On the Khatyn' massacre
👉 How the West created and supported Ukrainian Nazi collaborators complicit in the genocide
👉 Section on the genocide of the Soviet people on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website (in Russian)
It was established by the Executive Order of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin of December 29, 2025, and the basic details of commemorating the genocide victims were determined by Federal Law No. 74-FZ. The date of 19 April was not chosen by chance. On this day in 1943, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued its Decree No. 39.
#NoStatuteOfLimitations
The genocide of the Soviet people means the actions committed in 1941-45 with the intention of destroying, in whole or in part, ethnic, racial and national groups that inhabited the USSR.
The top echelon of Nazi Germany regarded the territory of the Soviet Union up to the Urals as its Lebensraum, which historically was intended to be settled with representatives of the Aryan race and, therefore to be cleansed from those, whom the Hitlerite elite labeled as “subhumans”: Slavs, Jews, Gypsies and Asians.
With these purposes in view, even before invading the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany planned a system of extermination practices to radically reduce the Soviet population as early as during the war.
The orchestrated famine strategy was an important part of the Nazi genocide programme that was to lead to the death of 30 million Soviet citizens as early as in the winter of 1941-42.
▪️ Although it has not been implemented in full, it still caused enormous victims, including: among those who died were over three million Soviet prisoners of war, about a million of residents in the besieged Leningrad, a great number of civilian population starving in the occupied areas, women and children forcefully imprisoned in the Nazi transfer camps.
▪️ Jews and Gypsies were subject to total extermination.
▪️ Soviet female labourers (Ostarbeiter) were subject to forced abortions.
▪️ Soviet children having signs of Aryan origin were kidnapped in the occupied territories for subsequent Germanisation, which also constitutes a conventional form of genocide.
From the very beginning of the war, the Nazis developed the so-called General Plan ‘Ost’ with the aim of colonising the occupied territories. Under the plan, millions of Germans were to be resettled in the conquered lands. New, German towns and villages were to be built for them.
***
A horrifying estimate of 13.7 million people fell victim to the Hitler’s policy of destroying “subnormal” as he thought Soviet people, with another five million citizens to a willfully implemented famine strategy.
The facts of genocide in the occupied lands of former USSR have been confirmed judicially in all the constituent entities of Russia, where Nazis and their collaborators committed crimes against civilian population during the Great Patriotic War.
❗️ Russia’s diplomatic service will seek to ensure that the crimes committed by the Nazis and their collaborators against the citizens of the Soviet Union are recognised by the international community as genocide against the Soviet people. The relevant qualification has been recorded in some documents adopted in the CIS and the CSTO.
💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the video address on Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People:
Preserving the memory of the millions of victims of the genocide of the Soviet people is our sacred duty. We will not allow those atrocities to be lost to oblivion, no matter how hard those who today seek once again to push Europe down the well-trodden path of racial superiority may try.
For further perusal:
👉 On the Nazi's genocide of millions of Soviet citizens
👉 Archival documents on heinous Nazi crimes in the concentration camps
👉 On the Khatyn' massacre
👉 How the West created and supported Ukrainian Nazi collaborators complicit in the genocide
👉 Section on the genocide of the Soviet people on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website (in Russian)
🗓 On April 19, 1783, Russia's Empress Catherine II the Great signed the Imperial Manifesto on the Accession of Crimea, Taman and Kuban into the Russian Empire. In accordance with Federal Law No. 336-FZ of August 3, 2018, this day was declared a commemorative date in Russian history.
Russia’s victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 brought an end to Ottoman rule in the northern parts of the Black Sea region, as enshrined in the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. By 1783, Crimea, Taman and the right bank of the Kuban River had become part of the Russian Empire.
📜 In the Manifesto, the Empress assured her new subjects:
The accession of Crimea to Russia gave a powerful impetus to the region’s development: the economy, trade and culture grew rapidly, and the cultivation of vast fertile lands began. In a very short time, new cities and ports emerged on the Black Sea steppe, and the Russian fleet firmly established itself in the Black Sea, securing our southern borders and opening up new opportunities for the country’s development.
Prince Grigory Potemkin, appointed Governor-General of Novorossiya by Catherine II, played a key role in the incorporation and development of the Crimean Peninsula. In June 1783, on the flat summit of Mount Ak-Kaya, he accepted the oath of allegiance to Russia from the Crimean nobility and representatives of all segments of the Crimean population.
On December 28, 1783, Sultan Abdul Hamid I of the Ottoman Empire formally recognised Russia’s authority over Crimea in writing. That was a remarkable diplomatic achievement for Russian Ambassador Yakov Bulgakov. “Your firmness, energy and intelligence have averted war,” Prince Potemkin wrote to Bulgakov. The Sublime Porte could not forgive that: from 1787 to 1789, the Russian diplomat was imprisoned in the Yedikule Fortress.
The outcome of the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1791 and the Treaty of Jassy sealed the deal: Crimea is Russia.
💬 From a briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:
At the same time, Crimea’s incorporation into the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great had deep historical roots. As early as the second half of the 10th century, the eastern part of the peninsula became part of the Tmutarakan Principality, thus becoming part of Ancient Rus.
Ties were strengthened after Grand Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich’s successful campaign in 988 against the Byzantine city of Korsun (Tauric Chersonesos). It was there that he was baptised, defining the historical path of our Fatherland.
Several centuries later, in 1783, Crimea rejoined the Russian Empire – and in 2014, following a Crimean referendum, it finally returned “to its native harbour,” becoming an integral part of the Russian Federation. The peninsula’s return was a logical continuation of the shared historical journey of Crimea and Russia – a journey spanning over a thousand years.
Russia’s victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 brought an end to Ottoman rule in the northern parts of the Black Sea region, as enshrined in the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. By 1783, Crimea, Taman and the right bank of the Kuban River had become part of the Russian Empire.
📜 In the Manifesto, the Empress assured her new subjects:
“...We promise, sacredly and unwaveringly, for ourselves and the successors to our throne, to maintain them on an equal footing with our natural subjects, to protect and defend their persons, property, churches and their native faith, the free practice of which, with all lawful rites, shall remain inviolable; and to grant them, ultimately, all the rights and privileges enjoyed by those in Russia...”
The accession of Crimea to Russia gave a powerful impetus to the region’s development: the economy, trade and culture grew rapidly, and the cultivation of vast fertile lands began. In a very short time, new cities and ports emerged on the Black Sea steppe, and the Russian fleet firmly established itself in the Black Sea, securing our southern borders and opening up new opportunities for the country’s development.
Prince Grigory Potemkin, appointed Governor-General of Novorossiya by Catherine II, played a key role in the incorporation and development of the Crimean Peninsula. In June 1783, on the flat summit of Mount Ak-Kaya, he accepted the oath of allegiance to Russia from the Crimean nobility and representatives of all segments of the Crimean population.
On December 28, 1783, Sultan Abdul Hamid I of the Ottoman Empire formally recognised Russia’s authority over Crimea in writing. That was a remarkable diplomatic achievement for Russian Ambassador Yakov Bulgakov. “Your firmness, energy and intelligence have averted war,” Prince Potemkin wrote to Bulgakov. The Sublime Porte could not forgive that: from 1787 to 1789, the Russian diplomat was imprisoned in the Yedikule Fortress.
The outcome of the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1791 and the Treaty of Jassy sealed the deal: Crimea is Russia.
💬 From a briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:
“The Manifesto represented the logical culmination of our country’s centuries-long struggle for the return of primordially Russian lands, ensured the security of its frontiers, and cemented the legitimate incorporation of the Crimean Peninsula and other territories into Russia.”
At the same time, Crimea’s incorporation into the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great had deep historical roots. As early as the second half of the 10th century, the eastern part of the peninsula became part of the Tmutarakan Principality, thus becoming part of Ancient Rus.
Ties were strengthened after Grand Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich’s successful campaign in 988 against the Byzantine city of Korsun (Tauric Chersonesos). It was there that he was baptised, defining the historical path of our Fatherland.
Several centuries later, in 1783, Crimea rejoined the Russian Empire – and in 2014, following a Crimean referendum, it finally returned “to its native harbour,” becoming an integral part of the Russian Federation. The peninsula’s return was a logical continuation of the shared historical journey of Crimea and Russia – a journey spanning over a thousand years.
🔴 #LIVE: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at the meeting of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CSTO
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🔴 Russia's MFA Website
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#KievRegimeCrimes
⚡️ Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodion Miroshnik:
PHOTO FACTS & EVIDENCE of crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces over the week of April 13 – 19, 2026:
▪️April 13 – a UAV strike targeted an ambulance in the Belovsky district of the Kursk Region. Two staff members of the Belovsky Central District Hospital were injured.
▪️April 13 – a fixed-wing UAV struck a private home in Pervomaisk, the LPR.
▪️April 15 – an FPV drone struck a civilian passenger car in Malomikhaylovka, Belgorod Region. Three civilians were injured.
▪️April 15 – a UAV strike targeted civilian freight transport in Shebekino, Belgorod Region.
▪️April 16 – a UAV struck a grocery store in Velikaya Lepetikha, Kherson Region.
▪️April 16 – residential neighbourhoods in Tuapse, Krasnodar Territory, came under a massive UAV raid. Two people were killed and five others injured.
▪️April 16 – an FPV drone struck an administrative building in Shebekino, Belgorod Region. Three female employees were injured.
▪️April 17 – a UAV struck a passenger bus in Nikolskoye, Belgorod Region.
▪️April 17 – a UAV struck a grocery store in Shebekino, Belgorod Region. A woman was injured.
⚡️ Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodion Miroshnik:
PHOTO FACTS & EVIDENCE of crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces over the week of April 13 – 19, 2026:
▪️April 13 – a UAV strike targeted an ambulance in the Belovsky district of the Kursk Region. Two staff members of the Belovsky Central District Hospital were injured.
▪️April 13 – a fixed-wing UAV struck a private home in Pervomaisk, the LPR.
▪️April 15 – an FPV drone struck a civilian passenger car in Malomikhaylovka, Belgorod Region. Three civilians were injured.
▪️April 15 – a UAV strike targeted civilian freight transport in Shebekino, Belgorod Region.
▪️April 16 – a UAV struck a grocery store in Velikaya Lepetikha, Kherson Region.
▪️April 16 – residential neighbourhoods in Tuapse, Krasnodar Territory, came under a massive UAV raid. Two people were killed and five others injured.
▪️April 16 – an FPV drone struck an administrative building in Shebekino, Belgorod Region. Three female employees were injured.
▪️April 17 – a UAV struck a passenger bus in Nikolskoye, Belgorod Region.
▪️April 17 – a UAV struck a grocery store in Shebekino, Belgorod Region. A woman was injured.
🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks during the 9th Ministerial Meeting of Russia and Central Asia (Moscow, April 17, 2026)
💬 Sergey Lavrov: I am pleased to welcome you to Moscow. We began our joint work yesterday at the CIS Foreign Ministers Council, and today we are holding the ninth meeting of Foreign Ministers of Russia and Central Asia. This in itself underscores the relevance of this six-party dialogue mechanism. In our view, it is developing successfully and dynamically, to the benefit of all participants.
In October 2025, the Second Russia – Central Asia Summit was held in the welcoming city of Dushanbe. During the summit, our leaders approved a Joint Action Plan for 2025-2027 and put forward a number of important initiatives. Our task now is to translate these decisions into concrete steps. The Action Plan serves as a framework document, outlining the key areas of our cooperation: trade, economic and investment ties, transport, energy, healthcare, environmental protection, security, cultural and humanitarian engagement, and migration.
Specific projects and initiatives are currently being developed within the six-party working groups established by the relevant agencies of Russia and your countries. As we noted today during the #CIS meeting, our relations are grounded in equality, mutual respect, and careful consideration of each other’s interests. They truly deserve the highest recognition as an example of a modern and forward-looking model of international partnership.
Our leaders maintain close and regular communication, both bilaterally and within integration frameworks such as the #CIS, the #EAEU, the #CSTO, and the #SCO. Active contacts are also sustained among heads of government, deputy prime ministers, and the leadership of parliaments, ministries, and agencies.
Despite the current geopolitical turbulence – which we examined in detail during today’s CIS meetings – we have succeeded in maintaining a consistently high level of trade turnover. In 2025, it continued to grow, approaching the $50 billion mark.
As I have already noted, cultural and humanitarian cooperation continues to develop. Through our joint efforts, and at the initiative of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the International Organisation of the Russian Language was established. The Russian language remains a key means of communication not only between Russia and the Central Asian states, but also among the peoples of the broader post-Soviet space. Our approaches to international issues are closely aligned and, in most cases, coincide.
We greatly appreciate that, despite unprecedented external pressure, the Central Asian countries remain committed to their allied obligations, thereby contributing to the dynamic development of our friendly and mutually beneficial relations, both bilaterally and within multilateral frameworks, including the Russia – Central Asia mechanism.
I hope that today we will be able to make a tangible contribution to the implementation of the decisions adopted at the second Russia – Central Asia Summit in Dushanbe.
💬 Sergey Lavrov: I am pleased to welcome you to Moscow. We began our joint work yesterday at the CIS Foreign Ministers Council, and today we are holding the ninth meeting of Foreign Ministers of Russia and Central Asia. This in itself underscores the relevance of this six-party dialogue mechanism. In our view, it is developing successfully and dynamically, to the benefit of all participants.
In October 2025, the Second Russia – Central Asia Summit was held in the welcoming city of Dushanbe. During the summit, our leaders approved a Joint Action Plan for 2025-2027 and put forward a number of important initiatives. Our task now is to translate these decisions into concrete steps. The Action Plan serves as a framework document, outlining the key areas of our cooperation: trade, economic and investment ties, transport, energy, healthcare, environmental protection, security, cultural and humanitarian engagement, and migration.
Specific projects and initiatives are currently being developed within the six-party working groups established by the relevant agencies of Russia and your countries. As we noted today during the #CIS meeting, our relations are grounded in equality, mutual respect, and careful consideration of each other’s interests. They truly deserve the highest recognition as an example of a modern and forward-looking model of international partnership.
Our leaders maintain close and regular communication, both bilaterally and within integration frameworks such as the #CIS, the #EAEU, the #CSTO, and the #SCO. Active contacts are also sustained among heads of government, deputy prime ministers, and the leadership of parliaments, ministries, and agencies.
Despite the current geopolitical turbulence – which we examined in detail during today’s CIS meetings – we have succeeded in maintaining a consistently high level of trade turnover. In 2025, it continued to grow, approaching the $50 billion mark.
As I have already noted, cultural and humanitarian cooperation continues to develop. Through our joint efforts, and at the initiative of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the International Organisation of the Russian Language was established. The Russian language remains a key means of communication not only between Russia and the Central Asian states, but also among the peoples of the broader post-Soviet space. Our approaches to international issues are closely aligned and, in most cases, coincide.
We greatly appreciate that, despite unprecedented external pressure, the Central Asian countries remain committed to their allied obligations, thereby contributing to the dynamic development of our friendly and mutually beneficial relations, both bilaterally and within multilateral frameworks, including the Russia – Central Asia mechanism.
I hope that today we will be able to make a tangible contribution to the implementation of the decisions adopted at the second Russia – Central Asia Summit in Dushanbe.
#Announcement
🎙 On Friday, April 24, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold her weekly briefing on current foreign policy issues. The off-site briefing will be held in a hybrid format in Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic.
🕚 11.00 am MSK
🕗 8.00 am GMT
🕘 9.00 am CET
🕓 4.00 pm CST
For accreditation inquiries, please contact the MFA Press Centre. Accredited journalists will receive details on the technical aspects of submitting questions.
The Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman will answer media questions received by the call centre.
❗️ Accreditation is open until April 14, 12:00 pm MSK
🎙 On Friday, April 24, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold her weekly briefing on current foreign policy issues. The off-site briefing will be held in a hybrid format in Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic.
🕚 11.00 am MSK
🕗 8.00 am GMT
🕘 9.00 am CET
🕓 4.00 pm CST
For accreditation inquiries, please contact the MFA Press Centre. Accredited journalists will receive details on the technical aspects of submitting questions.
The Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman will answer media questions received by the call centre.
❗️ Accreditation is open until April 14, 12:00 pm MSK
🇷🇺🇮🇷📞 On April 20, Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of Iran Abbas Araghchi had a telephone conversation.
Abbas Araghchi informed Sergey Lavrov of Iran’s position regarding the US violations of the ceasefire, including the illegal naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the seizure of an Iranian container ship.
☝️ The Russian Side once again stressed the need to preserve the truce, which must be upheld within the parameters originally agreed and announced by the Pakistani mediators. The importance of continuing diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing the situation from spiralling out of control and averting a renewed armed confrontation was also underscored.
Russia reaffirmed its readiness to facilitate mutually acceptable arrangements between Iran and the Arab States of the Persian Gulf.
The Iranian Side confirmed its readiness to do everything in its power to ensure the unimpeded passage of Russian vessels and cargo through the waterway.
#RussiaIran
Abbas Araghchi informed Sergey Lavrov of Iran’s position regarding the US violations of the ceasefire, including the illegal naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the seizure of an Iranian container ship.
☝️ The Russian Side once again stressed the need to preserve the truce, which must be upheld within the parameters originally agreed and announced by the Pakistani mediators. The importance of continuing diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing the situation from spiralling out of control and averting a renewed armed confrontation was also underscored.
Russia reaffirmed its readiness to facilitate mutually acceptable arrangements between Iran and the Arab States of the Persian Gulf.
The Iranian Side confirmed its readiness to do everything in its power to ensure the unimpeded passage of Russian vessels and cargo through the waterway.
#RussiaIran
#Victory81
🥇 On April 20, 1942, the Red Army emerged victorious in the Battle of Moscow – one of the most pivotal battles of the Great Patriotic War, in which Soviet troops inflicted Nazi Germany’s first major strategic defeat.
This gruelling and fierce battle lasted for 2️⃣0️⃣3️⃣ days and unfolded in three key stages: the Moscow Strategic Defensive Operation (September 30 – December 5, 1941), the Red Army’s counteroffensive (December 5, 1941 – January 7, 1942), and the general Soviet advance during the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive Operation (January 7 – April 20, 1942).
***
Following its treacherous invasion of the Soviet Union, Hitler deployed vast forces in order to push towards Mosco during Operation Typhoon. For the assault on the Soviet capital, the German command concentrated 64 divisions, including 16 tank and 6 motorised divisions, with a total strength of up to 1.8 million men.
By early December 1941, in some sectors of the front, only a few dozen kilometres separated the enemy from Moscow. The Nazis intended to force a quick breakthrough, seize the city, and strike the USSR a fatal political and moral blow.
But the enemy’s plans were foiled. Through the colossal mobilization of forces and the mass heroism of soldiers and officers, militia fighters, partisans, and civilians in the rear, the Soviet command thwarted the enemy offensive and exhausted the Wehrmacht’s assault groupings.
💬 This is how Marshal of Victory Georgy Zhukov explained the reasons for the failure of the German offensive in a 1966 interview with Konstantin Simonov:
The Red Army’s December counteroffensive thwarted the enemy’s plans and removed the immediate threat to Moscow. During the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive Operation, troops of the North-Western Front (Pavel Kurochkin), the Kalinin Front (Ivan Konev) and the Western Front (Georgy Zhukov) pushed the enemy back 80-250 kilometres in the western direction, completed the liberation of the Moscow and Tula regions, and freed a number of districts in the Kalinin and Smolensk regions.
Army Group Centre suffered a heavy defeat – 16 divisions and one brigade lost combat effectiveness, while between January 1 and March 30, 1942, the enemy lost more than 330,000 men.
***
⚔️ Victory in the Battle of Moscow had, above all, enormous moral significance and implications.. It was here, at the walls of the Soviet capital, that the myth of Nazi Germany’s “invincibility” was shattered – for the first time in the Second World War, Hitler’s war machine suffered a major defeat.
The failure of Hitler’s blitzkrieg also played a major role in securing our country’s eastern frontiers, prompting militarist Japan to refrain from attacking the USSR. In turn, the US and the UK were finally convinced that the Soviet Union was capable not only of withstanding the war, but of defeating the enemy. This contributed to strengthening the anti-Hitler coalition and expanding Allied cooperation.
On May 8, 1967, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was unveiled by the Kremlin – the eternal resting place of those who fell in the Battle of Moscow.
🌟 Eternal memory and glory to the heroes!
#NoOneIsForgotten #NothingIsForgotten
This gruelling and fierce battle lasted for 2️⃣0️⃣3️⃣ days and unfolded in three key stages: the Moscow Strategic Defensive Operation (September 30 – December 5, 1941), the Red Army’s counteroffensive (December 5, 1941 – January 7, 1942), and the general Soviet advance during the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive Operation (January 7 – April 20, 1942).
***
Following its treacherous invasion of the Soviet Union, Hitler deployed vast forces in order to push towards Mosco during Operation Typhoon. For the assault on the Soviet capital, the German command concentrated 64 divisions, including 16 tank and 6 motorised divisions, with a total strength of up to 1.8 million men.
By early December 1941, in some sectors of the front, only a few dozen kilometres separated the enemy from Moscow. The Nazis intended to force a quick breakthrough, seize the city, and strike the USSR a fatal political and moral blow.
But the enemy’s plans were foiled. Through the colossal mobilization of forces and the mass heroism of soldiers and officers, militia fighters, partisans, and civilians in the rear, the Soviet command thwarted the enemy offensive and exhausted the Wehrmacht’s assault groupings.
💬 This is how Marshal of Victory Georgy Zhukov explained the reasons for the failure of the German offensive in a 1966 interview with Konstantin Simonov:
Through effective intelligence, the Soviet High Command was able to determine in good time where the enemy’s main blow was being prepared in the south and where it would come in the north.
Once it became clear that the most dangerous sector was the Volokolamsk, Istra and Klin directions – that is, the sector of the 16th Army – the Soviet command prepared a deep defensive line there, particularly in terms of artillery and anti-tank defence.
When the battle began, the Germans were bled white without achieving their objectives. That was where the German generals miscalculated.
They overestimated their own strength, assuming they would be able to carry out this operation just as easily as they had elsewhere.easily as they had elsewhere. But their calculation proved false. The German army simply did not have the strength to break resistance on the most crucial sector.
The Red Army’s December counteroffensive thwarted the enemy’s plans and removed the immediate threat to Moscow. During the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive Operation, troops of the North-Western Front (Pavel Kurochkin), the Kalinin Front (Ivan Konev) and the Western Front (Georgy Zhukov) pushed the enemy back 80-250 kilometres in the western direction, completed the liberation of the Moscow and Tula regions, and freed a number of districts in the Kalinin and Smolensk regions.
Army Group Centre suffered a heavy defeat – 16 divisions and one brigade lost combat effectiveness, while between January 1 and March 30, 1942, the enemy lost more than 330,000 men.
***
⚔️ Victory in the Battle of Moscow had, above all, enormous moral significance and implications.. It was here, at the walls of the Soviet capital, that the myth of Nazi Germany’s “invincibility” was shattered – for the first time in the Second World War, Hitler’s war machine suffered a major defeat.
The failure of Hitler’s blitzkrieg also played a major role in securing our country’s eastern frontiers, prompting militarist Japan to refrain from attacking the USSR. In turn, the US and the UK were finally convinced that the Soviet Union was capable not only of withstanding the war, but of defeating the enemy. This contributed to strengthening the anti-Hitler coalition and expanding Allied cooperation.
On May 8, 1967, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was unveiled by the Kremlin – the eternal resting place of those who fell in the Battle of Moscow.
#NoOneIsForgotten #NothingIsForgotten
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📆 On April 20, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Ambassador of Mexico to Russia, Eduardo Villegas Megías. During the meeting, the Ambassador provided an account of an investigative interview with Russian national Kristina Romanova, a minor, which took place on April 17 in the presence of consular staff from the Russian Embassy in Mexico City. In the course of that interview, Kristina expressed her wish to remain in Mexico.
The Russian Side pointed out to the Ambassador that Mexico has obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the 1978 Bilateral Consular Convention to ensure unimpeded communication between authorised representatives of the Russian state and its citizens – an obligation that was not met in this instance.
The Russian Side also noted that Kristina Romanova’s expressed and written wishes place an added responsibility on our Mexican partners for the safety and well-being of this Russian citizen, both before and after she reaches the age of majority on May 15, 2026.
☝️ The Russian side emphasised that it will continue to monitor the situation of our compatriot, together with Russian human rights and public organisations, to the fullest extent possible, in order to ensure that the Mexican side fully respects all of her rights.
The Russian Side pointed out to the Ambassador that Mexico has obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the 1978 Bilateral Consular Convention to ensure unimpeded communication between authorised representatives of the Russian state and its citizens – an obligation that was not met in this instance.
The Russian Side also noted that Kristina Romanova’s expressed and written wishes place an added responsibility on our Mexican partners for the safety and well-being of this Russian citizen, both before and after she reaches the age of majority on May 15, 2026.
☝️ The Russian side emphasised that it will continue to monitor the situation of our compatriot, together with Russian human rights and public organisations, to the fullest extent possible, in order to ensure that the Mexican side fully respects all of her rights.