🌐 On February 21-22, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in the G20 Ministerial meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the first such meeting held as part of Brazil’s chairmanship in this key forum of global economic governance.

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Speaking on the G20’s role in overcoming current international tensions, Sergey Lavrov presented Russia’s detailed assessments of the geopolitical situation noting the West’s deliberate policy to maintain its dominance by containing new centres of power, eroding the coordinating function of the UN and the primacy of the universal provisions of international law, and substituting them with restricted-participation alliances and an obscure rules-based order. <...>

✅ The principled Russian policy to preserve the #G20 as a key global economic forum that is free from politicisation and is not authorised to interfere in matters of international peace and security to the detriment of the prerogatives of the UN Security Council was reaffirmed.

❗️In this context, the unacceptability of attempts to lead the discussion away from the real challenges that plague the global economy through the Ukrainisation of the G20 agenda was emphasised <...>.

In light of shifts in the balance of power and the rise of new global growth centres, the participants paid special attention to the importance of democratising the global governance system by expanding the rights of the Global South in proportion to its actual weight in the international arena. <...>

The minister noted the importance of considering the objective trend towards the greater global economic role of associations such as #BRICS, the #SCO, #ASEAN, the #EAEU, the African Union, the Arab League, and #CELAC in G20 activities.. <...>

🤝 Sergey Lavrov held a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Türkiye, South Africa, Egypt, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Paraguay on the sidelines of the G20 Ministerial Meeting.

🗓 On February 27, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in the opening ceremony of the 2nd Congress of the International Russophile Movement in Moscow.

The event at the Lomonosov Innovation Centre of Moscow State University brought together foreign delegates from more than 130 countries, united by a friendly disposition towards Russia, interest in its cultural and historical heritage, as well as a commitment to traditional values and confidence in the right of peoples to preserve their national identity. The event was attended by Russian government officials, political and public figures, and representatives of science and culture.

Sergey Lavrov delivered a welcoming speech and read out a message from Russia's President Vladimir Putin to the participants of the congress.

ℹ️ The Congress brings together representatives of public organisations, politics, culture, and business who advocate for closer relations with Russia and against Russophobia. The movement organises thematic conferences, seminars, art and literary competitions in Russian, maintains monuments associated with Russia in proper condition, publishes books by Russian authors abroad, promotes the study of the Russian language, and promotes horizontal ties and contacts through public diplomacy.