🙏🏻 On January 30, 2024, the diplomats of the Russian Embassy in India paid tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian Independence Movement, during the Prayer Meeting on the 76th anniversary of his martyrdom held at the Gandhi Smriti Museum.

Among those who graced the event with their presence were Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Meenakashi Lekhi.

📅 On January 31, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended a joint meeting of the State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs, Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Links with Compatriots Abroad, and the Oversight Committee. The meeting took place ahead of the Government Hour scheduled for February 14 at the State Duma and focused on the topical issues of Russian foreign policy. Leaders of the parliamentary parties in the State Duma also attended the meeting.

In his address, the Foreign Minister stressed the priorities for the Russian diplomatic service that include:

✔️ protecting national interests,
✔️ strengthening sovereignty,
✔️ improving the country’s leading international positions.

Answering questions from parliament members, Sergey Lavrov spoke about the key trends of forming a multi-polar world, emphasised the growing impact of the cultural and civilisational factor on world politics, and the importance of facilitating various cooperation mechanisms that would be resistant to the destructive actions of unfriendly countries.

The participants discussed the further steps required to achieve foreign policy goals in different areas amidst the turbulent geopolitical situation.

Senior students from Allenhouse Public School from Ghaziabad got acquainted with the work of the Russian House in the Indian capital.
Schoolchildren visited a photo exhibition dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the siege.
The Russian military told Indian youth about the 872 heroic days of the siege. The Chief of Russian military specialist office in the Republic of India, Rear Admiral Nikolai Yakubovsky, told students about the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War, in particular, about the Battle of Stalingrad and answered questions from schoolchildren.
The Russian House introduced the students of Allenhouse Public School to the program for obtaining higher education under the quota of the Government of the Russian Federation. High school students got acquainted with the Russian language courses and the library at the Russian House and with the permanent exhibition dedicated to the Roerich family.

🎙 FM Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a BRICS Sherpa and Sous-Sherpa meeting, Moscow (January 31, 2024)

⚠️ The reliance of the Western minority on force and the suppression of dissent is leading to serious crises in international relations and increasing the number of conflicts.

• The Western policy affects us and we can feel the impact. Everyone knows that a hybrid war has been unleashed against Russia. The US and its allies want to impose the infamous Zelensky Formula on the international community.

• I asked those who attended the Peace Formula meeting in Davos whether the initiatives presented by the Global Majority got any traction, only to be told that no one paid any attention to them. They are not there to offer initiatives. <...> All they have to do is go there so that they can be counted among the participants for producing a new record for the whole world to see.

❗️ This demonstrates a total failure to respect the opinions of others and the desire to ignore them, which amounts to a purely colonial, imperialist attitude, no matter how you put it.

🌐 Nevertheless, we know the course of history cannot be reversed. We are witnessing the Global Majority.

• Our strategic partners, including those in #BRICS, are pursuing pragmatic and independent foreign policies – unlike the West, which tends to impose on others the development models that suit it.

• BRICS is a global organisational principle for the Global South and East. However, it is not based on the bloc principle, which I want to emphasise, but on the principles of mutual respect, a sovereign choice of development path and the implementation of the fundamental principle of the UN Charter, that is, the sovereign equality of states.

☝️ We will focus on ensuring the smooth inclusion of our new colleagues and new BRICS members in everyday activities. We will continue prioritising cooperation with countries (~30 of them) that have shown an interest in a rapprochement with BRICS and are prepared to participate in our practical projects.

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