🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Rossiya Segodnya (May 30, 2024)

Key talking points:

💬 The deployment of US ground-launched intermediate and shorter-range missiles (IRBMs) in these regions [Europe and Asia Pacific] poses significant security challenges for Russia. <...> We will not hesitate to respond if the Americans move forward with their plans to deploy their ground-launched IRBMs.

🇷🇺🇨🇳 We have established a high level of mutual trust with China, which serves as a foundation for our military cooperation. By working together, Russia and China seek to reinforce international security in keeping with international norms.

• We appreciate Beijing’s constructive approach to the Ukraine crisis. Our Chinese friends understand its root causes and the essence of the current developments.

• The current ruling party in Kiev is the party of war, and their stated goal is to defeat Russia on the battlefield. It is difficult to imagine any peace talks taking place in that situation.

☝️ We said on numerous occasions, including at the highest level, that Russia remains open to negotiations. However, it should be clear to everyone that we will only discuss peace, not a ceasefire.

• There is no denying that the OSCE is in a deep crisis. It has been caused by the fact that the West has trampled on the principles the organisation was built on. A total “Ukrainisation” of its agenda has practically brought to naught its activities in the traditional fields.

• Supplying the Kiev regime with increasingly destructive types of weapons shows that the West is not interested in ending the conflict. The F-16 American fighters will not change the situation on the line of contact.

❌ From our experience with the Americans, it is perfectly clear that US statements are not to be trusted. <...> The Americans continue to make declarations about their commitment to a just solution to the Palestine problem, while at the same time generously adding fuel to the armed confrontation.

Read in full: http://tiny.cc/6ncayz

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s video address to the 9th international conference "Russia and China: Cooperation in a New Era" (May 30, 2024)

💬 I am delighted to welcome the organisers of and participants in the 9th international conference "Russia and China: Cooperation in a New Era".

Most recently, Russia's President Vladimir Putin paid a state visit to China, which definitely became the centerpiece of bilateral exchanges this year. <...>

🇷🇺🇨🇳 The bond of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China has grown unprecedentedly strong thanks to the personal efforts of both heads of state. The Beijing summit sealed the two countries’ firm commitment to further deepen and expand it. This commitment was documented in the two leaders’ joint final statement.

This year, Russia and China celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations. We mark this significant anniversary with achieving a new quality of relations – today, Russia and China view each other as priority partners and invariably adhere to the principles of mutually respectful, equal and trustful cooperation. We support each other with regard to key issues affecting the respective fundamental interests.

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Strategic coordination in the international arena remains a key component of the Russian-Chinese partnership amid the growing international tensions. Our foreign policy tandem, held together by a broad commonality of interests as well as coinciding or similar approaches to key issues on the present-day agenda, plays a major stabilising role in global affairs.

☝️ The two countries are strengthening cooperation on multilateral platforms, primarily the Unite Nations and the UN Security Council, as well as #BRICS, #SCO, #G20, and #APEC.

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The Russian-Chinese strategic tandem is gaining status, and this opens up new horizons for us in terms of stronger sovereignty, economic growth, and prosperity of both countries.

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🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks during Business Council meeting on #BRICS issues (Moscow, May 31, 2024)

💬 We have agreed to focus our today’s meeting on a most pressing issue – interaction within the BRICS association.

BRICS is a unique interstate format where representatives of various countries of various religions, civilizations and cultures communicate, work and elaborate joint decisions, which are subsequently implemented. All this is done on the basis of equality, mutual respect, openness and search for a balance of interests.

The purpose of cooperation is understandable: to provide for the creation of favourable conditions for the economic growth of member countries, to resolve social problems and to develop innovatory human potential. No doubt that the interests of all member countries coincide in this matter and meet the hopes of other Global Majority countries, which has been confirmed by doubling our association membership in 2023 (from five to 10). This is also confirmed by the fact that over 30 states have applied for rapprochement with BRICS in one form or another.
 
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The BRICS Summit is scheduled for October 2024 in Kazan. As early as next week we will hold a meeting of the BRICS Council of Foreign Ministers in Nizhny Novgorod to be attended by both full-fledged members and invited countries representing a variety of integration entities in the Global Majority as well as other partners in the BRICS+ format.

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☝️ We are going to give priority attention to strengthening contacts with business circles. It is because these issues just cannot be solved efficiently without you.

We will encourage a direct dialogue between entrepreneurs within BRICS. The Business Council and the Women’s Business Alliance set up at Russia’s initiative are already operating. We will support your participation in these organisations in every way possible, especially this year when Russia holds the presidency.

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#BRICS2024

🇷🇺🇺🇳 On May 30 in Geneva, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin held a meeting with Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Doreen Bogdan-Martin.

🌐 The discussion focused on strengthening ITU’s role in implementing the decisions of the Geneva and Tunis phases of the World Summit on the Information Society, including in the context of the Secretary-General's initiative on a Global Digital Compact.

❗️ Deputy Minister Vershinin emphasized the importance of preserving the Union’s technical mandate, as well as depoliticizing its leadership and expert bodies.

🇷🇺🇰🇿📞 Russia's President Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke over the phone.

The leaders discussed topical issues related to cooperation in trade, the economy, energy, transport, and logistics sectors. The discussion also focused on some international matters, particularly in the context of preparations for the Council of Heads of State of the #SCO, scheduled to take place in Astana this July.

The Presidents also shared assessments of recent contacts with foreign leaders.

🤝 Both leaders reaffirmed their mutual commitment to comprehensively strengthen the Russian-Kazakhstani strategic partnership and alliance.

#RussiaKazakhstan

✍️ Russia's President Vladimir Putin sent congratulations to participants and guests of the events dedicated to International Children’s Day.

💬 President Putin: This holiday was established 75 years ago, in 1949, and is marked in many countries. Moscow is a traditional centre of celebrations in Russia. Today, it is welcoming guests from different regions of the country and from the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China. The children will enjoy colourful events, captivating excursions, and theatre shows. Without a doubt, they will meet interesting people, receive gifts, and enjoy surprises and friendly get-togethers.

I would like to emphasise that children’s education and strong family values are a priority of the state and society in our country. It is important for every child to be surrounded by loving care, to grow up healthy and happy, and to develop their talents and gifts. The Russian Children’s Fund is making a significant contribution to this mass-scale joint work. Its charitable programmes in health care, education, outreach, and creativity deserve the deepest recognition.

⚡ Comment by Russia's Embassy in Singapore:

Zelensky's personal involvement in the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) left us with a sense of outrage. His speech in support of diplomacy was nothing but a mockery. A vivid example of this is the so-called peace conference to be held in Switzerland in mid-June. Zelensky used his participation in the SLD as a last resort to persuade the Global South to take part in this bizarre meeting, the aim of which was to formulate and then impose an ultimatum on Russia.

Zelensky and his US and EU bosses failed to understand that ultimatums are not diplomacy and will not end the hostilities caused by NATO's arms support.

☝️ There is also no point in discussing nuclear security when Kiev continues bombing the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, as well as food security when the Black Sea Initiative has collapsed because the US, UN and EU have failed to ensure that the Global South is able to receive grain from Russia even as a donation, not a purchase.

And if you want to know how Ukraine protects children, just visit the Alley of Angels in Donetsk, a memorial to children brutally killed by the Ukrainian military. That is all you need to know about how Kiev cares for children. Zelensky's words are nothing but a mess.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies is allowing a once prominent forum to become a platform for anti-Russian narratives and a tool to force countries in Southeast Asia to support NATO and Ukraine.

🤝 But we hope that the millennia-old wisdom currently enshrined in the ASEAN-led architecture will prevail and help ASEAN member states make the right choice in support of a new emerging multilateral world order.

🎙 Briefing by MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (May 30, 2024)

🔹 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 #SPIEF2024
🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Situation in Moldova
🔹 EU's anti-Russia sanctions
🔹 Poland’s decision to restrict Russian diplomats’ movement around the country
🔹 The 10th anniversary of the EAEU Treaty

📰 Read
📺 Watch

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#Ukraine

Despite Paris's attempts to conceal the involvement of its military personnel in the conflict, the Kiev regime is deliberately publicising this turn of events in order to once again declare broad international support.

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In addition to France, Poland and the Baltic countries also spoke about the possible deployment of their military contingents. What does that mean? That means that their original plan regarding Ukraine has completely failed. They are frantically looking for new ways to continue this campaign. They are still afraid to tell the truth to the citizens of Ukraine that they have become a hostage and now also a victim of NATO’s reckless gamble led by the United States.

#EU #Sanctions

On May 27, 2024, the European Union introduced another anti-Russia sanctions regime under a far-fetched pretext for alleged human rights violations, reprisals against civil society and the democratic opposition. <...> To call a spade a spade, they have created another openly discriminatory mechanism for punishing Russian citizens for their striving to live in a country free from foreign pressure, to uphold their national interests, to speak Russian, just to be citizens and to love their Motherland.

It is surprising that those living in the blooming EU garden (as Josep Borrell once put it) fail to notice obvious things: Such self-exposing Russophobic stunts merely serve to further consolidate our society that clearly sees the real goals of the European Union and the West with regard to Russia.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview for No Statute of Limitations project (Moscow, June 1, 2024)

Key talking points:

• Unfortunately, we are witnessing the attempts to “realise” history, to rewrite it, and to equate those who defeated Nazism to the Nazi hordes which fact is particularly salient in the case of Ukraine. That is why we find important the efforts to create awareness carried out by public organisations, the Foreign Ministry and other agencies, as well as the Ministry of Culture, the Russian Historical Society, the Russian Military History Society, and our scouts who every year discover burial sites of the victims who died by the hand of Hitler’s criminals in different parts of our country and often beyond its borders.

• The revival of Nazism is clear as day witnessed today in Ukraine.

• Sadly, after the special military operation against Nazism started in Ukraine, European countries - Germany, Japan and Italy - that abstained during the General Assembly voting on the resolution against the glorification of Nazism started voting against it.

• In July 2008, the Germans decided to make lump-sum payments to siege survivors of Jewish descent only. We contacted them and said that justice must prevail. All siege survivors had similar amounts of suffering to endure. They all experienced sub-zero chills and died. It was a harrowing part of the Great Patriotic War, or World War II. We were told that Holocaust victims can and should be compensated according to the law, while other people are not victims of the Holocaust. Clearly, this came across as a cynical remark.

• If we look at the current situation in NATO and EU, the Baltic nations, the Poles and the Czechs are part of the most aggressive group in the European organisations. These countries initiate the most Russophobic approaches and actions of the EU and NATO.

Read in full (https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1954059/)