⚡️ Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly:

Ukraine

📃 The unending eight-year-long war waged by the Kiev regime against the people of Donbass and the intentional sabotage of the Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements by Ukraine forced Russia to take measures to protect the region's civilians.

☝️ The Special Military Operation that began in 2022 is conducted in strict compliance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and will continue till the threats to Russia's security are eliminated.

• Ukraine's Western allies contribute to the escalation and perpetuation of the conflict by providing Kiev with heavy weapons, financial and technical assistance, and recruiting and supplying mercenaries. NATO countries' weapons are used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to mount strikes against civilian infrastructure and peaceful citizens of Donbass. Thus, the West has virtually become a party in the hostilities responsible for the crimes of the Kiev regime.

• Violations of international humanitarian law and terrorist attacks carried out by Ukraine are carefully recorded, and all the perpetrators will face their punishment.

🗳 The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson Oblasts became part of Russia after their population freely expressed its will in September 2022 in accordance with the UN Charter and the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among states.

❗️ The recognition of the referendums held in the Zaporozhye and Kherson Oblasts, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and the accession of Crimea to Russia after the expression of the free will by its citizens in 2014, is a key precondition for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive settlement of the situation in Ukraine.

#UNGA78

Code of Northern Peoples.
Collection of legal acts on the rights of indigenous small-numbered peoples of Russia.

This collection comprises legal acts guaranteeing the rights of small-numbered indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation, including international treaties, federal legislation and subordinate acts, and court decisions as of April 2023.

The publication has been prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Nationalities of the Russian Federation, Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and Russian Committee for UNESCO Information for All Programme in the context of implementing the Plan of Key Activities of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages in the Russian Federation (2022-2032).

https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/position_word_order/1901278/?lang=en

⚡️ Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly:

Middle East settlement

📃 We believe that reviving the Middle East settlement process, while placing the efforts to address the Palestinian problem at its core, is a prerequisite for bringing peace and security to the Middle East.

🇮🇱🇵🇸 We attach key importance to preventing the escalation of violence between Palestinians and Israelis and to providing extensive humanitarian assistance to those affected and in need in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

We call on the sides to show restraint, refrain from unilateral steps and provocative actions, and respect the special status and integrity of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.

☝️ We support the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on all issues concerning the final status based on a universally acknowledged international legal framework, including the two-state formula.

#UNGA78

⚡️ Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly:

Africa

📃 We believe that efforts to prevent crises and solve conflicts in Africa should be African-led and supported by the international community. We stand for strengthening the UN's partnership with the African Union and the continent's sub-regional organizations.

We intend to further actively contribute to the political resolution of the crises in the CAR, the DR Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Mali and the Sahara-Sahel region as a whole, as well as in other hotspots across Africa. We oppose attempts to defame our cooperation with African countries.

🇨🇫 As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a bilateral partner of Bangui, we continue to facilitate the stabilization and national reconciliation process in the CAR based on the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation of 6 February 2019 to ensure a lasting solution to the protracted conflict in the heart of Africa. In line with international law, we assist the country's authorities in building national security capabilities.

🇲🇱 We are closely following the security situation in Mali against the backdrop of the UNSC decision to withdraw the UN Stabilization Mission in the country (30 June 2023). <...> Russia will continue to provide support to Bamako on a bilateral basis, including in building the combat capability of the armed forces, training military and law enforcement personnel, and providing humanitarian assistance.

🇸🇩 We support regional efforts to resolve the ongoing armed conflict between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, which broke out on 15 April 2023. We strongly oppose attempts to impose politicized solutions on the parties to the conflict and exert pressure on them from outside, including through illegitimate unilateral sanctions measures. We are convinced that a sustainable solution can only be achieved by political and diplomatic means with the participation of all Sudanese parties concerned.

#UNGA78

🇷🇺🇺🇳 Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly:

Climate change

We attach great importance to international cooperation in addressing climate change. We regard the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement as the main international legal mechanisms to achieve a durable solution to the climate issue. We consider it important to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Paris Agreement in terms of keeping the average global temperature increase within the range of 2–1.5° C and achieving carbon neutrality in the second half of the century rather than by 2050.

We oppose the "blurring" of the mandate of the UNFCCC and the establishment of a system of treaty obligations duplicating it. The division of labour between environmental mechanisms should be respected while avoiding the creation of artificial overlaps making it harder to pursue common goals and interests.

❗️ We are convinced that climate action should build on non-discriminatory international cooperation with due regard for economic realities and interests of all the countries concerned.

We oppose linking climate and security agendas and vesting peacekeeping missions with unnatural climate-monitoring functions. By doing so, major donor states are seeking to shrug off the responsibility for economic problems faced by least developed countries.

#UNGA78

🇷🇺 President Vladimir Putin sent greetings to the participants, organizers and guests of the 8th Eastern Economic Forum.

✉️ Friends,

Allow me to extend the warmest greetings to you as the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (September 10-13, 2023) gets under way.

The Forum enjoys a high level of international prestige and creates an important opportunity for businesspeople, politicians, public figures, and experts from all over the world to take part in dialogue that is direct and meaningful. The Forum has traditionally sought to address the most pressing issues facing the development of the economy, society, and infrastructure in the Russian Far East along with many aspects of cooperation and integration in the vast Asia-Pacific region.

The main theme of this year’s meeting – “The Path to Partnership, Peace, and Prosperity” – reflects Russia’s desire to build constructive relations with all interested foreign partners. Our country is fully open to an inclusive dialogue on pressing regional problems and has every intention of continuing to participate actively in efforts to nurture relations between the states of the Asia-Pacific region and contribute to a system based on equality, mutual benefit, and respect for the legitimate interests of all.

Discussions during the Forum’s plenary session, its panel sessions and thematic round tables will focus on the prospects for expanding cooperation in trade, investment, science and technology. It is important that we identify ways to create new, highly efficient production and logistics chains, modernize transport and energy systems, and ensure food and environmental security in the region.

I hope your work is successful and productive, and I wish you all the best.

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, August 30, 2023)

🔷 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔷 G20
🔷 Ukrainian crisis
🔷 Ukrainian Crimes Against Humanity
🔷 Rodion Miroshnik’s appointment as Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large for Kiev Regime’s Crimes
🔷 The situation in the global grain market
🔷 Impact of the anti-Russia sanctions on the global economy

And more...

📚 Read in full

#Ukraine

▪️ While encouraging their Kiev puppets to commit even more savage crimes, the NATO countries continue to flood the country with deadly weapons. In addition to the ongoing arms supplies, there have been never-ending discussions lately in a number of European countries about the possibility of sending fighter jets to Kiev. We strongly condemn such actions, as they are aimed at escalating the conflict further. For us, it makes no difference if they send the F-16 or any other planes. All this means is that the West is getting increasingly drawn into the Ukraine conflict. Their words that they are not in a “direct confrontation” with our country have lost their meaning.

#Sanctions

▪️ According to a source the West definitely views as reliable – The Financial Times – since the beginning of the special military operation, which coincided with the sanctions from hell as Joe Biden called them, major European companies have lost at least 100 billion euros. Oil and gas companies, financial institutions and banks, as well as manufacturers piled up the biggest losses.

⚡️ Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly:

Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

📃 We strictly abide by our obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). We support its early entry into force. We call on the eight countries whose signature and/or ratification is required for its entry into force to do so without delay.

We consider the position of the USA, which is the only state to have officially refused to ratify the Treaty, to be a major destructive factor for the CTBT. Washington has taken consistent steps towards resuming nuclear tests, including by increasing the readiness of the Nevada Test Site and allocating significant funds for its maintenance. We encourage Washington to reconsider its stance on the CTBT.

❗️ We firmly reject any insinuations that our country might resume nuclear tests. As President Vladimir Putin clearly stated in his address on 21 February 2023, Russia would not be the first to conduct a nuclear test. We will only take this step in response to a similar action by the US. We intend to further maintain our voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests introduced in 1991.

⚡️ Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly:

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

📃 Committed to the noble goal of building a world free of nuclear weapons, Russia has for decades made a significant practical contribution to the achievement of this task. However, against the background of the all-out hybrid war unleashed against us, our country has reached the limits of its nuclear arms reduction capabilities. Further progress on this track will only be possible if Western countries abandon their anti-Russian policy and should involve all countries that possess military nuclear capabilities.

We understand the motivations of the advocates of a "shortcut" to a nuclear-weapon-free world, but we are convinced that progress is possible only on the basis of a realistic, balanced and step-by-step approach which contributes to strengthening international peace, stability and security for all states.

☝️ In our view, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) neither meets those criteria, nor can serve as the main framework for practical measures to reduce nuclear arsenals.

For Russia, the possession of nuclear weapons at this historical juncture is the only possible response to concrete external threats, which are only increasing. The security situation is degrading due to destructive attempts by the United States and NATO to achieve military superiority.

In such circumstances, an immediate renunciation of nuclear weapons would drastically weaken the reliability of strategic deterrence which we pursue and, accordingly, our national security.

❗️ At the same time, we are strongly committed to the inviolability of the principle reaffirmed by the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states in their relevant joint statement in January 2022 that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. It is of paramount importance for each of those states to demonstrate in practice their commitment to that statement in its entirety.

🗓 The 18th East Asia Summit (#EAS) will convene in Jakarta on September 7.

🇷🇺 Russia advocates using the EAS platform to expand multi-pronged practical cooperation with a focus on sector-specific projects.

Our initiatives on this platform include efforts:
• to establish regionwide collaboration in pandemic response with the launch of a collective response mechanism to epidemic threats,
• the development of practical cooperation in the field of tourism. Relevant Russian proposals have been part of top-level thematic documents.

⚠️ During the East Asia Summit, Russia considers it critical to highlight the growing risks to peaceful and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region against the backdrop of the West’s confrontational policy aimed at militarising the regional space, with the potential involvement of NATO and the dismantling of the established ASEAN security architecture and replacing all of it with “Indo-Pacific” bloc-based constructs based on containment and counteraction principles.

Russia advocates strengthening the system of country-to-country relations in the region, including by aligning ASEAN with regional formats in the Eurasian space, primarily the #SCO and the #EAEU, which, like ASEAN, operate on a positive non-bloc agenda of connectivity and co-development.

Read in full

⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement on the grain deal

Concluded in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, the Black Sea Initiative to export Ukrainian food products (suspended on July 17) has been receiving a lot of attention. Against this backdrop, the Foreign Ministry considers that it must once again set forth Russia’s position in this regard, in detail.

👉 The global price of grain is steadily declining, having decreased in the range of 4 to 5 percent in August to reach levels 25 to 40 percent below its peak in March 2022, contradicting the alarmist statements by the West and the UN Secretariat on surging food prices and the imminent threat of hunger.

Overall, there is no global food shortage in physical terms, while there are challenges in terms of distributing, not producing, food.

👉 Ukraine’s role as the world’s breadbasket has also been blown out of proportion, once again at the initiative of the West and the United Nations. In fact, this country accounts for a relatively small portion of global wheat exports at about 5 percent, and this share has become even smaller recently due to objective factors, considering, among other things, the decrease in the planted acreage as a result of soil contamination by radioactive and chemical toxins following the use of depleted uranium munitions supplied by the West.

☝️If the West and Kiev really need the Black Sea corridor, it is high time for them to take concrete steps to lift the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed on Russian entities which are involved in producing and exporting agricultural products and fertilisers.

❗️Russia reaffirms its position of principle as set forth by President Vladimir Putin on September 4. We stand ready to explore opportunities for reviving the Black Sea Initiative. However, this can happen only once all the requirements are met to lift sanctions imposed on the Russian companies dealing with agricultural products and fertilisers.

Read in full

⚡️ Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly:

START Treaty

📃 Our country's decision to suspend the START Treaty is related, first and foremost, to the US consistent policy aimed at political and economic strangulation of Russia and targeted weakening of its security. Thus, we are witnessing a radical change in the circumstances and Washington's attempts to undermine the fundamental principles and understandings underlying the START Treaty.

To maintain a sufficient level of predictability and stability in the nuclear missile sphere, Russia will continue to observe the Treaty-established quantitative limits on strategic offensive arms within the lifetime of the Treaty. Furthermore, we will continue to exchange notifications on ICBM and SLBM launches with the US based on the relevant bilateral agreement of 1988.

The decision to suspend the START Treaty can be reversed only if the US demonstrates political will and undertakes the necessary efforts to promote general de-escalation, address violations and create conditions for the resumption of the full functioning of that Treaty.

☝️ When deciding on its future, the combined nuclear arsenal of the US, Great Britain and France will have to be taken into account as they, together with other NATO allies, are increasingly putting up a united anti-Russian front in the nuclear area.

<...>

In principle, Russia remains open to interaction with all stakeholders in the relevant international formats aiming for general de-escalation, comprehensive strengthening of security and stability, minimization of strategic risks, including with the use of arms control instruments. However, this can only be achieved on the basis of equality and genuine accommodation of Russia's interests.

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, September 5, 2023)

🔷 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔷 Ukrainian crisis
🔷 The use of Western weapons in Ukraine for attacking civilian facilities
🔷 US State Department Global Engagement Centre’s new bulletin, "The Kremlin's War Against Ukraine’s Children"
🔷 Attack on the Acting Russian Consul-General in Gothenburg

And more...

📚 Read in full

#Ukraine

▪️ I often talk about this, but today I will show you several fragments of NATO munitions we have received from the Defence Ministry of Russia. These horrible “postcards” are designed for those in the EU and NATO countries who believe that their taxes and free donations serve the cause of peace. Look at them. There’s children’s blood on them, the blood of innocent civilians. These munitions were bought, produced and transported with the money of people in the EU countries who talk about peace every day and believe that this is important. Is the EU paying for this kind of peace? Is this the peace that EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell regards as ideal? Is this the peace the Western NGOs and media organisations are talking about?

#US

▪️ On August 24, the Global Engagement Centre at the US Department of State published a bulletin, The Kremlin’s War Against Ukraine’s Children, which contains a streak of absurd accusations against Russia relating to the issue of children. This is not just a piece of rampant misinformation distorting facts; it is in fact a terrible Goebbels-style fake narrative. Russia has never hidden what it has been doing in the interests of Ukrainian children who ended up in our territory. On behalf of President Vladimir Putin, most of the work in this area is being carried out by Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, who regularly reports to the public, including the international community, on the situation regarding children evacuated from the war zone.

#Opinion by Maria Zakharova

💬 The Foreign Ministry has released a statement regarding the food deal and the supply of grain and fertiliser.

Let's, for the umpteenth time, use facts and figures to take a look at the situation concerning food security after the Black Sea Initiative was discontinued.

1. The grain deal did not help the poorest countries address hunger. Out of 32.8 million tonnes of food, just a trifle - less than 3 percent - were sent to the countries in need.
2. After the deal came to an end, grain prices continued to fall. In August, they fell by 4-5 percent.
3. The grain exported as part of the deal mainly went toward enriching Ukrainian animal feed producers. It was primarily intended for livestock and was shipped to Europe rather than Africa.
4. Ukraine is no longer the world's breadbasket. The country's share of global grain exports is only 5 percent and continues to shrink.
5. Ukraine's arable land is shrinking as well, partly due to contamination with radiation and toxins from depleted uranium munitions that Kiev has been using since the spring.
6. Europe is not helping Ukraine export grain. Since May, there has been a ban on grain shipments to EU countries bordering on Ukraine. This situation is likely to continue into the winter.

Now, let's discuss the UN Secretariat and the West being unwilling to act on their obligations to Russia under the deal.
1. To make the deal work, it is necessary to reconnect Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT. Instead, what we are witnessing are endless discussions about creating intermediary mechanisms through subsidiary enterprises and partner banks (without implementation guarantees). Rosselkhozbank accounts are being closed altogether.
2. There has been no progress on insuring Russian ships. We’ve seen nothing but promises to take care of things “later.” A special insurance platform mechanism has not been created.
3. The unlocking of assets is only to be discussed after the humiliating process of companies acknowledging their “sanctioned status.” Again, without any guarantees.
4. The UN remains silent with regard to resuming the Toglatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline’s operation, which could provide fertiliser to tens of millions of customers.
5. We invited the UN to join in a discussion, but Rebeca Grynspan who is in charge of the deal on behalf of the UN, is unwilling to come to Moscow or even send reports about her activities.


Finally, let's talk about how Russia is actually addressing the issue of hunger in the world, without any “deals.”
1. Russia has already sent or will soon send:
• 20,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Malawi;
• 34,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Kenya;
• 23,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Zimbabwe;
• 34,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Nigeria;
• 55,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Sri Lanka;
• 200,000 tonnes of wheat to Somalia, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, and Eritrea.
2. A project is being developed jointly with Ankara and Doha to deliver 1 million tonnes of grain (!) to Türkiye where it will be processed and shipped free of charge (!) to the poorest countries.

It turns out that while Europe was exporting animal feed grain from Ukraine across the Black Sea as part of the deal, efforts were made to block and to create loss-making circumstances for Russian agriculture. The UN failed to resolve the situation.

🇷🇺🇺🇳 Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly

Situation in Yemen

• We note positive developments in Yemen against the backdrop of regional normalization.

• We firmly believe that resuming the comprehensive truce will contribute to a lasting political settlement in the country.

• We insist on the need to engage in UN-brokered negotiation with all parties to the conflict.

• We support the work of the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg.

• Assisting the Yemeni people in overcoming a major humanitarian catastrophe is one of the key tasks.

❌ We oppose the excessively broad interpretations of the UNSC resolutions on sanctions against Yemen. Restrictive measures should be used to promote peaceful settlement rather than fuel political turbulence in the region.

☝️ We note with concern that certain foreign naval presences manipulate the UNSC decisions when conducting inspections of vessels in waters off the Yemeni coast.

👉 Read in full

#UNGA78

On September, 1️⃣0️⃣th follow, the high-level international discussion “Unity in Diversity: Supporting Development of the Russian Language, of the Languages and Cultures of the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation in the Digital Space" within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum

☝Indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East historically play a special role in Russia.  Living in regions with harsh climate conditions, they have formed a unique way of life and environmental management that requires special protection on the state level.

📍Over 16 years after the adoption by the UN General Assembly in 2007 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the relevant national legal norms in the Russian Federation have received significant development.

👉Learn more about the Code of the Northern Peoples 🇷🇺

🗓 The Siege of Leningrad - one of the most challenging and tragic periods in the history of the city - commenced on September 8, 1941.

In early September 1941, German and Finish forces cut off Leningrad from overland routes, encircling the city. The Nazi invaders’ plans included erasing the city from the face of the earth and annihilating all its residents.

By November, food supplies were running low, and bread rationing was cut down. Workers were given 250 grammes of bread, while others received 125 grammes. The harsh winter exacerbated the hardships faced by the people of Leningrad.

The only hope for salvation for hundreds of thousands of city residents was evacuation or the delivery of food across Lake Ladoga by water in the summer and over the ice in the winter. This route became known as the Road of Life.

Despite the unbearable conditions, industrial enterprises in Leningrad continued to operate. During the siege, the city's workforce produced and repaired about 2,000 tanks, 1,500 aircraft, 850 combat ships and vessels.

🕯 The siege lasted a terrifying 872 days and was lifted on January 27, 1944, during the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive. During this time, approximately 1 million residents died, with over 600,000 of them succumbing to hunger.

The Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, which is the largest mass grave of World War II, is the most well-known memorial to the victims of the siege. It is the resting place for more than 420,000 residents of Leningrad and 70,000 soldiers who participated in the defence of the city.

☝️The blame for the deaths of the people of Leningrad lies entirely with the Nazi command. Nevertheless, the decision to provide compensation to the survivors of the siege was only made by the German government in 2021. It should be noted that this compensation is not extended to all survivors, leading many of the latter who are still alive today to call upon the government of Germany to expand humanitarian payments to include all siege survivors.

📄 G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration

FULL TEXT

We are One Earth, One Family, and we share One Future.

🌐 Together we have an opportunity to build a better future. <...> We will pursue development models that implement sustainable, inclusive and just transitions globally, while leaving no one behind. <...>

✍️ We meet at a defining moment in history where the decisions we make now will determine the future of our people and our planet. <...>

As Leaders of G20, the premier global forum for international economic cooperation, we resolve to act in concrete ways through partnerships.

👉 We commit to:

• Accelerate strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.
• Accelerate the full and effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• Pursue low-GHG/low-carbon emissions, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable development pathways by championing an integrated and inclusive approach.
• Promote resilient growth by urgently and effectively addressing debt vulnerabilities in developing countries.
• Scale up financing from all sources for accelerating progress on SDGs.
• Accelerate efforts and enhance resources towards achieving the Paris Agreement.
• Promote sustainable, quality, healthy, safe and gainful employment.
• Better integrate the perspectives of developing countries into future G20 agenda and strengthen the voice of developing countries in global decision making.

<...>

🤝 We reiterate our commitment to the G20 as the premier forum for global economic cooperation and its continued operation in the spirit of multilateralism, on the basis of consensus, with all members participating on an equal footing in all its events including Summits.

❗️ Recalling our collective actions to stem earlier global crises, we are determined to steer the world out of its current challenges and build a safer, stronger, more resilient, inclusive and healthier future for our people and the planet.