🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights during his meeting with the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights:

📍 December 4, 2023

🇺🇳 December 10 marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption by the UN of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, we commemorate this milestone in a challenging situation, as the international system for ensuring and promoting human rights continues to deteriorate. Its institutions, inherently controlled by the West, display political bias, hypocrisy and undisguised selectivity.

❗ For eight years, we have been witnessing their helplessness and direct disregard for the gross violations against the people of Donbass. These human rights bodies not only failed to recognize, but even encouraged manifestations of Russophobia, supporting the countries that rushed to take the lead in this shameful competition of Russophobes.

🤝 As you know, Russia withdrew from a number of international human rights organizations, but this does not mean that we are abandoning the principles laid down in the Universal Declaration. On the contrary, we are ready to cooperate with all interested parties and partners, to find solutions for forming an effective, fair and equal system for ensuring human rights for everyone.

🇷🇺🇸🇦 Joint Statement at the Conclusion of the Visit of His Excellency the Russian Federation President to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (December 7, 2023)

The Sides:

✅ Commended the increase in the volume of trade <...> noted the extent of the common economic interests between the two countries.

✅ Stressed their keenness to continue working to enhance mutual and joint investments in the two countries <...>.

✅ Commended the close cooperation between them and the successful efforts of the OPEC+ countries in enhancing the stability of global oil markets

✅ Agreed on the importance of enhancing cooperation in the following areas:

• oil and gas;
• geoscientific field;
• environment, water, agriculture and food security;
• communications, technology and digital economy, innovation, space, transportation and logistics;
• judiciary and justice;
• sustainable tourism;
• sports;
• education;
• media;
• health;

✅ Expressed their desire to maximize the use of local content in energy sector projects.

✅ Agreed to enhance defence cooperation, in a way that supports and achieves common interests between the two countries.

✅ Regarding international affairs, the two sides renewed their determination to continue coordination and intensify efforts aimed at maintaining international peace and security

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🎙 Excerpts from President Vladimir Putin's answers to questions from journalists and the people of Russia during the programme Results of the Year (December 14, 2023)

Talking points:

• Many European leaders pretend to emulate [tough stance of] General de Gaulle, who fought for France's interests, but in reality, they [succumbed to the US] are like Marshal Petain, who became submitted to the will of the invaders during World War II.

Almost everyone [in the EU] acts in this fashion, except Fico, Orbán. They aren't pro-Russian politicians, they're pro-national, protect their states' interests. Such people [like de Gaulle] are no more. This is due to dependence on Big Brother - US.

• Fundamental conditions to restore comprehensive [Russia-US] relations will be created when Washington starts respecting other peoples, other nations, seeking compromise, and stops trying to resolve their issues through sanctions and military actions.

• We and Turkey proceed from the fact that UN decisions on the establishment of a Palestinian state with capital in East Jerusalem must be implemented. It is extremely important. We need to create the fundamentals for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.

• Everything that IOC's officials are doing with regard to Russian sport is a full perversion of Pierre de Coubertin's concepts. The Olympic Movement was created to bring people together.

• As regards the [Western] "rules-based order" — no such rules exist. [The West] changes them in favour of it own interests. Thankfully, enough nations want to live by the rules set out in fundamental international documents.

#Outcomes2023

🚀 The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) that oversees international cooperation in the peaceful use of outer space was established on December 13, 1958.

The Soviet Union ushered in the space age by launching Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957, paving the way for the creation of a new entity within the UN Secretariat.

🤝 #UNOOSA carries out the United Nations Programme on Space Applications (PSA) and works on streamlining space research and technology for promoting social and economic development around the world with a special emphasis on the developing countries.

We note with satisfaction that even 65 years after its founding, UNOOSA continues to play a key role in ensuring equal and mutually beneficial cooperation between space powers and the developing countries seeking to join efforts on the peaceful uses of outer space.

The professional work by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs has a lot of relevance for the international community. Moving forward, this institution must uphold its commitment to the principles of political neutrality and respect for all space actors without exception. It is essential to counter any attempt to draw artificial ideology-driven dividing lines in terms of cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

💬 Sergey Lavrov: In the current geopolitical conditions, it is important to maintain contact between leading world experts on issues that unite people, including space exploration. In turn, the Foreign Ministry will continue to help preserve essential channels for depoliticised dialogue (excerpt from a message of greetings to the organisers of and participants in the Time to Go to Space International Festival timed to coincide with Space Day, April 11, 2023).

По случаю отмечаемого в России 3 декабря Дня Неизвестного солдата, 9 декабря сотрудники Посольства почтили память советских солдат, захороненных в г.Трондхейм. В братской могиле на кладбище Ладемуэн покоятся 137 советских военнопленных.

I anledning av Den ukjente soldats dag som markeres i Russland 3. desember, 9. desember hedret ambassadens ansatte minne over sovjetiske soldater gravlagt i Trondheim. I massegraven på Lademoen kirkegård hviler det 137 sovjetiske krigsfanger.

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, December 12, 2023)

🔹 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 International Day of Neutrality
🔹 Sweden’s assistance to Nazi Germany and Ukraine
🔹 President of Finland’s statements
🔹 Danish Ambassador Jacob Henningsen’s interview
🔹 Nazi marches and the glorification of Nazis in Europe
🔹 Dismantling the Soviet Army monument in Sofia
🔹 Day of Remembrance of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty
🔹 Kiev regime’s repression against Gonzalo Lira Lopez, an American-Chilian journalist

and more...

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#Ukraine

• This far-fetched effort to support the Russian language scared neo-Nazi MPs to the extent that they drafted an even harsher law targeting the Russian language, and the Verkhovna Rada approved it on December 8, 2023. Vladimir Zelensky signed it the same day.

They have demonstrated all this haste in their legislative efforts not because they care for ethnic minority rights so much but because of their misguided belief that this document will create a pathway for the Kiev regime to achieve its coveted goal of joining the EU.

• If the European Union does not object to the adoption of this law in Ukraine that is not only discriminatory but is designed to eliminate the mother tongue used by millions of people, and an official UN language, it will show its true face, demonstrating that it could not care less about the democratic principles, humanitarian values, fundamental rights and freedoms of ethnic minorities.

#US

• The US and its European allies have been consistently destroying the system of international security, understood as a set of treaties and institutions. They have not supported any of our substantive initiatives.

🎙 FM Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to questions during the Government Hour in the Federation Council of the Russian Federation (December 13, 2023)

Key talking points:

• The world situation has not become any easier since our last meeting in December 2021. Many of the unfortunate things that are happening today are rooted in the irrepressible striving of Washington and a small group of its associates to impose their vision of everything on the rest of the world.

• They are no longer able to contain new global centres of growth and development in their customary straightforward and rude manner. The balance of power is rapidly shifting and not in favour of our Western colleagues.

• It pains our ill-wishers to realise that their bet on a sanctions blitzkrieg on the Russian economy has completely failed. Those who unleashed a hybrid war against us refuse to admit their mistakes and are trying to use other illegal tools to “exhaust” Russia, nurturing the dream of eliminating our country as an independent geopolitical entity.

• The policy of isolating Russia has failed. Numerous contacts between President Putin and his foreign counterparts have shown that our responsible policy based on the UN Charter principles enjoys broad support among the majority of countries around the world.

• We are not accommodating concepts and schemes put forward by other countries. We independently shape our foreign policy and remain guided by our own priorities while adhering to internationally recognised norms of international law and given the interests of our partners who are willing to work with us based on mutual respect and consideration of mutual interests.

• The Western part of the Eurasian continent is sinking deeper into a political, socio-economic and ideological crisis against the backdrop of the positive trends that reflect the objective process of the formation of a genuinely polycentric, fair world order.

• Further cohesion in the multiethnic and multifaith Russian World is also on our agenda.

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🎙 Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s response to a media question following the EU Summit

❓ Question: Yesterday, a two-day summit of the European Union concluded in Brussels. How does the Russian Foreign Ministry assess its results?

💬 Maria Zakharova: The last summit of the year, which took place on December 14-15 in Brussels, drew a line under the European Union’s disappointing results. The once peaceful and prosperous integration association is experiencing a rapid decline in both political and economic influence in the world due to numerous geopolitical miscalculations made by its pro-American leadership.

It is apparent that EU leaders leaving their positions next year are acting like temporary workers, leading the union into a dead end where a complete loss of sovereignty and international political subjectivity await. Their main goal is to gain favour with Washington in order to ensure the continuation of their own careers.

☝️ Of course, not everyone in Europe agrees with this humiliating course of the European Union.

Increasingly, people are becoming irritated by double standards, constant dictate, alignment with Washington, and financial blackmail. Solidarity within the EU has ceased to be a free democratic choice of member countries, instead becoming a political obligation.

It is no surprise that internal tensions are growing in the EU under these conditions, with cracks appearing throughout the European Union.

🙅 It is understandable that, according to surveys in European countries, fewer people in the EU have trust in European institutions, which are divorced from the needs of ordinary citizens and are solely focused on satisfying geopolitical ambitions that have nothing to do with the interests of the people.

It is natural that the most responsible European politicians are increasingly prioritising national interests over empty mantras of “European solidarity” that are disconnected from real needs.

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🗓 On December 15, Russia marks the Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty.

This memorial day was established in 1991 by the Union of Journalists of Russia.

On this day we pay tribute to the memory of selfless reporters, photographers and cameramen who perished in the line of duty, including in danger zones and hot spots.

💬 Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

Few professions entail as many risks to life and well-being as journalism; some reporters never return from their missions. That's why we deeply appreciate the honest and selfless work of journalists and frontline reporters, TV anchors, cameramen, and photographers who willingly immerse themselves in the midst of events to provide their audience with accurate and timely information, offering a full and unbiased picture of what is happening. Often this dedication comes at the ultimate cost – their lives.

This year, it saddens our hearts to re-iterate that Russian journalism has once again suffered irreplaceable losses. Alongside their families, friends & colleagues, we mourn the loss of Vladlen Tatarsky (Maxim Fomin), Rostislav Zhuravlev, and Boris Maksudov, who fell victim to the criminal Kiev regime, its militants and terrorists.

Many others have faced death – they have been targeted or come under fire when the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the civilian population and infrastructure with drones and other means.

❗️The Nazi regime in Kiev views Russian frontline reporters as high-priority targets, hunting them down because their reports expose the true brutal nature of the entrenched neo-Nazism and its violent crimes, debunking the myths propagated by Ukrainian and Western propaganda.

I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to all members of the media community who courageously follow their calling, putting themselves at risk day after day to carry out their work faithfully.

🙏🏻 Thank you. You are true heroes.

(from the Maria Zakharova's weekly briefing on foreign policy issues, December 12, 2023)

🎙 Excerpts from President Vladimir Putin's speech at an expanded meeting of the Defence Ministry Board (December 19, 2023)

💬 The year of 2023 was a tense one for the Russian Armed Forces, and I want to say at once that our soldiers and officers, commanders at all levels courageously and professionally carried out tasks during special military operation, ensuring the country's sovereignty at the global level, nuclear missile parity and Russia's strategic security.

• The events of this year have confirmed that the West continues to wage hybrid warfare against Russia, actively providing the Kiev regime with real-time intelligence, sending military advisers, transferring modern weapons systems, including highly mobile multiple rocket launchers, long-range missile systems, cluster munitions and a large number of new UAVs. As we know, the West also planning to hand over F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine: pilots are being trained in the West.

📈 The activity of the NATO military bloc as a whole has also increased dramatically recently. Significant forces from the US, including aircraft, have been moved to our borders. The number of Alliance's troops in Eastern and Central Europe has increased. Finland, as we know, has already been drawn into NATO, and Sweden is planning to join. In fact, this means another stage in the alliance's approach to our borders.

❗️ The West is not abandoning its strategy to deter Russia and its aggressive goals in Ukraine. Well, we are not going to give up our goals of a special military operation either.

• Assessing the current situation on the ground, on the line of contact, we can say with confidence that our troops have the initiative. <...> The enemy is suffering heavy losses and has largely squandered its reserves. Incidentally, the myth of the invulnerability of Western military equipment has also collapsed.

☝️ All attempts, as they said in the West, to inflict on us a military defeat, a strategic defeat, crashed against the courage and fortitude of our soldiers.

🎙 Statement by Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation General of the Army Sergei Shoigu at an expanded meeting of the Defence Ministry Board (December 19, 2023)

Key talking points:

• Russian Groups of Forces have liberated an area five times larger than that of the Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics before the special military operation began.

💰 To date, Ukraine has received $203 billion from external sources, which is $30 billion more than its GDP. In fact, it is a bankrupt country. A significant part of these funds are loans that have to be repaid.

• In total, 5,220 tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and armoured personnel carriers, 28 airplanes, 87 helicopters, 23,000 unmanned aerial vehicles, over 1,300 artillery systems, including 494 M777, Caesar, Paladin, and Krab howitzers, as well as 2,650,000 155-mm and 122-mm shells were delivered to Kiev.

• NATO military personnel have direct control over air defence systems, operational-tactical missiles, and multiple launch rocket systems. <...> A total of 410 military and dual-purpose spacecraft from NATO countries are working in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

❗️ Since the special operation began, the AFU's losses have exceeded 383,000 troops killed and wounded, 14,000 tanks, IFVs, and APCs, 553 airplanes and 259 helicopters, 8,500 field artillery guns and MLRS vehicles.

• The mercenaries who have been actively involved since the beginning of the special military operation have been eliminated for the most part. More than 5,800 militants were neutralised, including 1,427 from Poland, 466 from the US, and 344 from the UK.

☝️ Every day, more than 1,500 people [in Russia] apply for military service. This year alone, about 490,000 contract servicemen and volunteers have been recruited.

• The number of foreign volunteers willing to fight in favour of the truth has increased seven times. In the Ukrainian army, the opposite trend is observed. The number of foreign mercenaries has decreased six times.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement during a joint news conference with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Morocco Nasser Bourita and Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Hossam Zaki following the 6th Session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum

📍 Marrakech, December 20, 2023

💬 We concur in the assessments of the 6th session of the Russia-Arab Cooperation Forum that we just heard.

We reviewed the entire range of challenges and threats faced by the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. We share the principle underlying our common approach to addressing these issues with our Arab friends: the domestic issues of the countries in the region should be resolved without outside interference through a broad-based national dialogue aimed at achieving public consensus.

🇺🇳 We all adhere to the principles of the UN Charter, such as respect for independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We see this as a crucial condition for ensuring regional stability.

We reaffirmed our shared position in favour of achieving a sustainable ceasefire as soon as possible and providing assistance to the people of Gaza who are suffering from the severe humanitarian consequences of the blockade and the ongoing hostilities.

🤝 We agreed to interact at the UN in order to advance the above approaches.

❗️We declared we are in favour of further strengthening practical cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Arab world.

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Ambassador of Russia to South Africa Ilya Rogachev’s interview with BRICS Africa Channel (14 December 2023).

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Key points: 

🔹 We should remember the years of the anti-apartheid struggle in the south of the African continent and the role that Soviet people and Soviet state played in that. This is a very good basis for developing our relations. 

🔹 There is a discrepancy between very well developed political relations and the economic sphere. We need to fill this gap. 

🔹 We should look at sanctions as a window of opportunities. A lot of Russian businesses who previously have been dealing mostly with Western partners, and were westwardly oriented in general, now these businesses have to look elsewhere. 

🔹 Russia, as our President and Foreign Minister and other leaders repeated on many occasions, is ready to discuss all aspects, and we never refused to participate in any talks about peace in Ukraine. The problem was on the other side. In Sept 2022, President Zelensky issued a decree prohibiting Ukrainian officials to negotiate with Russian officials. 

🔹 Next year BRICS will start operating in expanded format – the achievement of South African presidency. We will try to make the transition as smooth as possible. In particular, we will try not to let the number of events drop. There will be about 200 of them. 
 
🔹 BRICS Sports Games will take place in June in Kazan. We expect a lot from this event, because many other sports events unfortunately have become so politicized that not all countries can participate. 
☝I think Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who started the Olympic movement, now is turning and tossing in his grave, witnessing the decisions the IOC is taking right now.

Желаем всем нашим норвежским друзьям счастливого Рождества.

Vi ønsker alle våre norske venner å ha en gledelig Jul.

📂 We bring to your attention the report Russia’s Policy Towards World Majority, prepared based on a series of studies, conferences, and situational analysis sessions conducted under the situational analysis program by the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics, Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and Russia in Global Affairs journal with support from the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Key points:

🔹 Since the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, the Russian foreign policy space has split in two:

👉 On the one hand, a US-led coalition of several dozen states, which keeps taking new punitive measures against Russia.

👉 On the other hand, there is the rest of the world: more than a hundred countries that de facto have taken a neutral position on the Ukraine conflict, and many have assumed a benevolent attitude towards Moscow.

🔹 The nations of the Global South and East are Russia’s natural associates in democratizing the world order, eradicating neocolonial practices, and banning instruments of pressure and blackmail from the world political, monetary, and financial systems.

🔹 The armed conflict in Ukraine has already led to the emergence of the World Majority as a clearly defined phenomenon in international relations.

🔹 The World Majority is not something external to Russia. Russia itself is its active member, its most important geopolitical resource and, in fact, its military-political core.

🔹 Strategically, the World Majority policy is a programme to build a new world order. Developing such a programme and the related long-term (for example, until 2040) strategy is a priority.

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