⚡️ Main foreign policy results in 2023

Per tradition, at the end of each year we summarize the outcomes of the Russia's foreign policy, implemented by the MFA and determined by President Vladimir Putin.

👉 Points 1-7

8️⃣ Russia maintained an intensive political dialogue with India, including in the context of the country's chairmanship of the #SCO and the #G20, reinforcing the Russian-Indian special and privileged strategic partnership.

9️⃣ President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Chairman of State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome brought Russian-North Korean relations to a new level.

1️⃣0️⃣ Important joint steps were taken to expand Russian-Iranian relations. In particular, the parties signed an agreement on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, and the foreign ministers signed a Declaration on the Ways and Means to Counter, Mitigate and Redress the Adverse Impacts of Unilateral Coercive Measures.

1️⃣1️⃣ The launch of the mechanism of regular dialogue at the level of foreign ministers accelerated cooperation between the Caspian states.

1️⃣2️⃣ Relations with Türkiye reached a strategic level in the field of peaceful nuclear energy: in particular, Russia began supplying nuclear fuel to the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

1️⃣3️⃣ Russia gained a stronger foothold in the Middle East. Relations with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, primarily the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. There was progress in relations with the League of Arab States.

1️⃣4️⃣ The second Russia-Africa Summit held in St Petersburg in July marked the culmination of collaborative efforts to significantly enhance ties in this promising area of Russia's foreign policy.

1️⃣5️⃣ The expansion of traditional partnerships with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean was central to the agenda of the successful political dialogue with regional states at the highest and high levels.

👉 Learn more about other foreign policy results

🎙 Address by Russia's President Vladimir Putin on the start of Russia's BRICS Chairmanship

💬 On January 1, Russia was passed the baton of the #BRICS chairmanship, an association which, according to the decision adopted by the 15th BRICS Summit in August 2022, now includes 10 countries.

Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS as new full members which is a strong indication of the growing authority of the association and its role in international affairs.

BRICS is attracting an ever increasing number of supporters and like-minded countries that share its underlying principles, namely, sovereign equality, respect for the chosen path of development, mutual consideration of interests, openness, consensus, the aspiration to form a multipolar international order and a fair global financial and trade system, and pursuit of collective solutions to top challenges of our time.

The Russian 2024 BRICS Chairmanship under the motto Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security will act precisely in this manner and focus on positive and constructive cooperation with all countries concerned.

🔸 We will spare no effort to <...> facilitate the harmonious integration of new participants in all formats of its activities.

🔸 We will start working on the modalities of a new category of BRICS partner country.

🔸 Russia will continue to promote all aspects of the BRICS partnership in three key areas: politics and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian contacts.

🔸 Our priorities include promoting cooperation in science, high technology, healthcare, environmental protection, culture, sports, youth exchanges, and civil society.

🔸 In total, over 200 events of different levels and types will be held in many Russian cities as part of the chairmanship.

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🇷🇺 Russia assumes CIS chairmanship on January 1, 2024

The Concept for Russia’s chairmanship of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2024 has been published.

Russia will chair the Commonwealth of Independent States under the Concept of the Further Development of the CIS, endorsed by a CIS Heads of State Council resolution on December 18, 2020; the Economic Development Strategy of the CIS for the Period up to 2030 adopted by a resolution of the CIS Heads of Government on May 29, 2020, and other CIS fundamental programme documents.

Russia’s chairmanship of the CIS will be aimed at ensuring the continuity of its activities and reaching a number of goals, in part,

👉 to continue strengthening the CIS as an integration association;
👉 increase its international status;
👉 enhancing the CIS’s role as a representative venue for multilateral political dialogue on a broad range of issues;
👉 deepening its economic integration with a view to creating a common economic space;
👉 upgrading the mechanisms for countering, through cooperation, traditional and new challenges and threats to the security of the CIS member-states;
👉 promoting cooperation in the military area and on border security; expanding cultural and humanitarian interaction;
👉 aligning CIS activities with other integration associations with a view to creating a Greater Eurasian Partnership that unites the potential of all states and organisations of the region; and improving the CIS’s contractual and legal foundation and cooperation institutions.

An meaningful part of Russia’s chairmanship will be a support for measures to counter the falsification of history and attempts to rehabilitate Nazism, and to preserve the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War, including the genocide of the Soviet peoples.

In this context, special attention will be paid to preparations for holding the Year of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in the CIS in 2025 – the Year of Peace and Unity in the Fight against Nazism.

⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement on the Kiev regime’s latest terrorist attack on the Russian city of Donetsk

❌ Armed formations of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, with support of the Western countries, continue to carry out terrorist attacks against Russian civilians. It is clear that they have nothing human in them. Neither the New Year nor the Christmas holidays stop them.

On New Year’s Eve, the city centre and other residential areas of Donetsk, including civilian infrastructure, were subjected to a massive attack from multiple launch rocket systems. It is already known that there are four dead and more than fourteen injured. According to preliminary reports, the victim includes journalists who were doing their job in the city.

Russian law enforcement promptly opened an investigation into this crime.

❗️ All those involved and responsible for this and other terrorist attacks on the territory of Russia will inevitably face punishment.

A couple of days ago, Zelensky turned to Hitler’s rhetoric again and called Russians “human scum,” once again demonstrating that Ukraine, which is infected with Nazism that has molded into terrorism, must be completely denazified and demilitarised. This will certainly be done. The Kiev regime and its leaders, who worship the criminals of the Third Reich, will end up just like their idols, elevated to the rank of heroes there.

We call on all responsible governments and relevant international organisations to dissociate themselves from the actions and decisions of the Kiev junta, to condemn its crimes aimed at the ostentatious, cynical destruction of the civilian population. Silence is regarded by Ukrainian neo-Nazis as approval of their actions.

☝️ At the same time, the West must understand that the criminal regime it has nurtured and sponsored, which the Westerners support to attack Russia, will one day turn NATO weapons against NATO countries.

🕯️ The number of civilian casualties of the recent AFU attack on Belgorod continues to rise and now reaches 25 people, including 5 children, not to mention the 110+ civilians who sustained various injuries. Yet there is still not a single word from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk or his Office (OHCHR).

❗️ This supposed-to-be impartial human rights defender has clearly taken a side.

🎙 Excerpts from President Vladimir Putin's remarks during his visit to Vishnevsky Central Military Clinical Hospital (January 1, 2024)

💬 The situation on the battlefield is changing. This is despite the fact that the entire "civilised" West is fighting us. <...>

The most important thing we have is, of course, the unity of our people and society, because there is an understanding of how important the job you are doing on the battlefield is in the armed struggle for our country and our future. <...>

The problem is not with Ukraine, but with those who are trying to destroy Russia using Ukraine. That is the problem. But they will fail: it is simply out of the question.

The realisation is starting to dawn on them, and the rhetoric is changing: those who were talking just yesterday about the need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia are now looking for the right words on how to quickly end the conflict.

☝️ We also want to end the conflict, as quickly as possible, but only on our terms. We have no desire to fight endlessly, but we are not going to cede our positions either.

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Operation Liberation

An in-depth look at the special operation in Ukraine
At the beginning of 2022, Ukraine amassed 150,000 soldiers on the borders of Donbass. They were getting ready for a final assault to take over the Donbass region. Their confidence was backed up by the NATO and the US military equipment and training and assurances of the USA intelligence that they control all Russian plans. That, combined with previous statements of Ukrainian authorities about intentions to enter NATO and develop weapons of mass destruction, was crossing the red line for the Russian Federation. On February 24 2022, President Vladimir Putin declared the start of the special operation in Ukraine.

Russia doesn’t see the Ukrainian people as enemies. “The emphasis is placed on saving the lives of civilians, of the soldiers, our opponents. The goal is to create the [Ukrainian] military conditions that will force them to surrender,” says Andrey Sushentsov, Dean, MGIMO school of international relations. The main goals of the special operation were to protect the Donbass people and secure Russian borders from the aggressive Kiev regime, which made tight bonds with NATO and the USA.

All you should know about the special operation in Ukraine in Operation Liberation

Link: https://rtd.rt.com/films/operation-liberation/

Duration: 26:15
Directed by Oleg Nekishev

#Opinion by Maria Zakharova

💬 Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Antonio Tajani: “The European Union must form its own armed forces that could play a part in maintaining peace and preventing conflicts. If we want to bring peace all over the world, we need a European military. This is a fundamental precondition for an efficient European foreign policy. In a world with such powerful actors as the US, China, India, Russia, with crises from the Middle East to India Pacific, Italian, German, French or Slovenian citizens can only be protected by something that already exists, which is the European Union. Defence and a joint military must become a reality. There is no delaying this.”

An EU military? Maybe, start with developing your own COVID vaccine? Or figure out how to defend EU borders in a humane manner and in accordance with international commitments? Or solve migrant and refugee issues? Then you can build your own military.

And yes, I almost forgot: to build a joint military it would be wise to understand whose fuel it will be using. Or, the US President just might come to Brussels and say he’s hiking fuel prices unless the EU military attacks whoever he tells them to.

By the way, why is it then that each and every NATO (think EU) country must pay colossal sums into a joint pool of money (de-facto to Washington), which has been claimed to be used to ensure EU security?

t.me/MariaVladimirovnaZakharova/6863

🔷On December 25, 2023 in St Petersburg there was a meeting chaired by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir V. Putin of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
🔹Participants discussed the performance of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council during #Russia’s chairmanship and explored promising areas for further deepening integration processes.
Following the meeting a Declaration on the further development of economic processes within the Eurasian Economic Union until 2030 and up to 2045 - the Eurasian Economic Path - was signed. The declaration includes specific measures to step up the joint efforts in key sectors.
🔹The full speeches of participants are available by the link http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/73128.
🔸In the first nine months of 2023, trade between the five #EAEU countries increased by 8.9 percent. Over the years since its inception trade between EAEU member states has almost doubled and their aggregate GDP has grown from 1.6 trillion US dollars to 2.5 trillion US dollars.

Ambassador’s Comment

10 years of the coup d’état in #Ukraine

February 21, 2024, marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic events in the center of Kiev, known as “#Euromaidan”, which led to chaos, economic disaster and the rise to power of national-radical pro-fascist forces.

What happened became possible only and exclusively due to the opportunistic and narrow-minded policy of the EU and #NATO countries, led by the #UnitedStates, which put their selfish interests above considerations of humanity and cooperation. They actively participated in disrupting attempts at national reconciliation and fueled the Ukraine crisis not only by “distributing pies,” but also through direct interference, financing, transfer of “orange technologies” and arms supplies. In the wake of anti-Russian nationalist frenzy, gross violation of sovereignty and interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine, a civil war broke out against the peaceful residents of Donetsk and Lugansk, who did not recognize the results of the armed coup in Kiev. Hostilities broadened the conflict, which, as is clear now, cost thousands and thousands of lives. The initiators of “Euromaidan” and their foreign patrons are responsible for the “sniper case” that lacked proper investigation, the bloody massacre in the house of trade unions in Odessa, as well as in Mariupol in 2014. They clumsily camouflage their claims to world domination and their misanthropic essence in a democratic shell. They chose Russia who mainly opposes dictatorship and a monocentric world order as their primary goal.

#Russia had no shortage of goodwill, made tireless efforts to peacefully resolve the Ukraine crisis, and initiated the development and signing of the Minsk agreements.

Their sabotage by the collective West and its Ukrainian puppets, and most importantly, the ongoing military crimes against the population of #Donbass, left the Russian Federation no choice but to recognize the independence of the DPR and LPR in February 2022 and launch a special military operation (SMO) to protect their population, demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, eliminate threats emanating from its territory.

Today, Kiev carries out hostilities against Russia almost entirely due to Western financial and military support. Since the beginning of the SMO, the total amount of its assistance to Kiev has exceeded $160 billion (much more than, for example, $4 billion of Washington's humanitarian aid to the entire African continent).

Despite the fact that some reasonable policy makers in unfriendly countries increasingly realize the futility of financial injections into Ukraine and its inability to win on the battlefield, the US and its satellites continue to contribute in every possible way to further escalation of the conflict.

However, arms deliveries do not live up to the expectations of the Kiev regime's sponsors. According to Western estimates, at least one fifth of the equipment supplied for the offensive has already been destroyed or damaged, and the Ukrainian armed forces have not been able to reach even the main defence lines of the Russian forces.

Russia has never given up on a politico-diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, as it has repeatedly stated. At the same time, it is clear that it is unlikely that any serious agreements can be reached with the current Kiev regime and its sponsors in the West. We do not expect any constructive initiatives from Western countries, which have declared their goal to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

A serious challenge to Russia's security is NATO's disruption of the strategic balance in Europe, the Alliance's approach to Russia's borders and ignoring our security interests. Accordingly, the main outcome of the negotiation process should be the establishment of longstanding peace in Europe, the creation of a new regional security order, and the formation of non-confrontational relations between Russia and NATO. In December 2021, we prepared and sent relevant proposals to Western countries, but they were disregarded.

It should be understood that the collective West that opposes Russia is now outnumbered. The military operation in Ukraine forms a new phenomenon of “global majority,” in the framework of which many countries from the Global South demonstrate readiness for independent development, protection of their national interests and independence from the will of the United States and other Western countries. Russia's victory over the collective West in Ukraine will be a powerful impetus for further changing the global balance of power in favour of relations of mutual respect and equal dialogue, and a polycentric world order based on the cultural and civilizational diversity of the world.

🇷🇺🇮🇳 On December 27, 2023, Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov held talks with Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

✅ The Ministers exchanged views on the further intensification of trade and economic cooperation, including in energy and transport. A focus was placed on establishing stable transport and logistical chains and monetary and financial channels for interaction. They also praised the prospects for expanding partnership in peaceful uses of atomic energy.

✅ The Foreign Ministers noted the importance of fighting neocolonial practices and the need to concentrate efforts on strengthening the multi-polar architecture of interstate relations and on helping countries in the Global South to uphold their political sovereignty. It was emphasised that creating a global economic system based on the principles of equality and justice was a priority.

✅ They reaffirmed their countries’ intention to build up cooperation at international venues, primarily the #UN, the #SCO, #BRICS, and the #G20. They also compared notes on approaches to the situation in Afghanistan and Ukraine, the Middle East crisis, and efforts to create a security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region.

🤝 The Ministers agreed to continue trust-based dialogue at all levels.

🔗 http://tiny.cc/o9gyvz

#RussiaIndia

#Outcomes2023

⚡️On January 18 at 11 am, the Foreign Ministry Press Centre will host a news conference by Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov on the 2023 Russian diplomacy results.

Russian and foreign media representatives are invited.

Accreditation is open until 12 noon on January 15.

🔗 Read in full: http://tiny.cc/rxgyvz