Maria Zakharova on the latest London High Court ruling in the Assange case:

It is difficult to qualify the ongoing persecution of Julian Assange as a decision in his favour.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks during a meeting with Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi (Astana, May 20, 2024)

💬 We are convening shortly after President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s visit to China. This marked his first foreign visit following his re-election to the presidency. The visit underscored the unique character of our strategic interaction and comprehensive partnership. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our Chinese friends and hosts for their warmth, hospitality, and the remarkable organisation of our work throughout the trip.

The Joint Statement issued by the Leaders, outlining the deepening of bilateral relations that coincides with the 75th Anniversary of our diplomatic ties, reverberated globally, including within the UN. It set forth new objectives, aiming to elevate our relations to an even more profound and multifaceted level.

🤝 Our schedule of contacts is packed. We eagerly anticipate your presence, esteemed Mr. Minister, dear friend, at the upcoming meeting of #BRICS Foreign Ministers in June in Nizhny Novgorod. Our Leaders will meet during the #SCO summit in July in Astana. Plans are underway for marking the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the People’s Republic of China.

Today presents a good opportunity to explore how we can seamlessly capitalise on the pace set to our relations by our discussions in Beijing and Harbin, without any interruptions or hesitations. We will issue the necessary instructions to our teams accordingly.

#RussiaChina

🎙 Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the US “subcritical” experiment at the Nevada National Security Site

☢️ On May 16, the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) reported that it had carried out a “subcritical” experiment at a specialised underground laboratory on the nuclear test site in Nevada on May 14.

According to the NNSA report, the purpose of this experiment was to ensure the proper maintenance of the US nuclear arsenal. The experiment did not involve a self-sustaining chain reaction and was not a full-scale nuclear test.

According to the information provided by the NNSA, this type of experiment aligns with the Russian interpretation of a “subcritical” test and does not violate the provisions of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) or the US moratorium on nuclear testing.

☝️ The Russian Federation calls on Washington to uphold its nuclear test ban commitments, renounce its destructive policy towards the CTBT, and take immediate steps to ratify the Treaty.

🇷🇺🇺🇳 Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN:

🎙Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at the UN Security Council briefing on Western arms deliveries to Ukraine (May 20, 2024)

💬 For several weeks now, those in the West who stand for continuation of Kiev’s hostilities against Russia, have been rejoicing at the allocation of the long-awaited large military aid package from the United States to the Zelensky regime.

<...>

The capitalization of Western military corporations has been growing at an unprecedented rate since the beginning of the conflict. The undoubted leader here is Germany's Rheinmetall, controlled by the American investment company BlackRock.

Not so long ago, Western Russophobes welcomed the transfer of long-range ATACMS missiles by the Americans, which Russian air defense systems shoot down by the dozen today.

NATO countries systematically violate their international legal obligations under the treaties to which they are parties.

☝️ The truth is that since 2014, Washington and its allies have had Ukraine as a lab guinea pig. They have set a task of growing it into something that would annoy Russia and hinder the development.

The key part of the transformation was pumping weapons into Ukraine under the guise of the Minsk Agreements and brainwashing it in a Russophobic, nationalistic and neo-Nazi spirit.

<...>

However, a genuine settlement of the Ukrainian crisis through political and diplomatic means is still possible.

❗️ It requires the West to stop arming the Banderovite regime in Kiev. Thus Ukraine should return to its neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status, get demilitarized and deNazified. And the rights of its Russian-speaking citizens and national minorities be fully upheld.

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Disappointing to see false allegations of antisemitism in Russia and bizarre historic parallels by Michael Gove.

Those who have been to our country know how wrong and offensive these claims are. The Chief Rabbi of Russia recently noted both the ‘zero tolerance’ towards antisemitism, and the authorities’ efforts to ensure that the Jewish community in Russia feels safe.

The Anti-Defamation League confirmed a decrease in antisemitism since its 2019 survey (and the overall level is lower than in many European countries). A similar assessment was also given by the OSCE in recent years.

The Cabinet Secretary’s comments betray both ignorance and a lazy habit of using Russia as a bugbear. If he wants to reverse his party’s waning electoral fortunes, he should look elsewhere.

🇷🇺🇵🇰 On May 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Deputy Prime Minister - Foreign Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Ishaq Dar in Astana, on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council Meeting.

During their conversation, the Ministers noted the positive development of #RussiaPakistan relations, as well as the high level of bilateral interaction at international platforms, including the UN and the SCO.

This collaboration is based on shared or similar approaches to various regional and international issues.

We appreciate the bilateral relations between Russia and Pakistan which develop quite actively. Our leaders met in Beijing in October 2023. Also in June 2023, your Chair of the Senate Sadiq Sanjrani visited Moscow.

Our ministry-to-ministry consultations are regular. Last year, we conducted four consultations. This is very useful. We want to continue this practice.

— FM Sergey Lavrov

🗓 On May 20-21, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in the Foreign Ministers Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member-countries.

The participants focused on the organisation’s activities in the context of preparations for the meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council meeting in Astana on July 3-4. They also discussed draft documents to be presented for the leaders’ consideration.

The participants will reflect their coordinated approaches to the SCO’s further development and current global and regional issues in the Astana Declaration.

The admission of Belarus will be an important step towards strengthening the #SCO. The Ministers endorsed the relevant draft decisions of the Heads of State Council.

They also coordinated proposals of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council on comprehensive improvement of the organisation’s activities in the context of current geopolitical realities.

They adopted draft leadership statements and conceptual documents as a foundation for promoting cooperation in energy, transport, logistics and environmental protection.

During a detailed exchange of views on key regional and international issues, the Ministers discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and the Middle East as a whole, and, in part, settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

They paid special attention to the SCO’s efforts to facilitate stabilization in Afghanistan, considering the importance of this factor for the security of the SCO space.

🤝 FM Lavrov also had a number of bilateral meetings.

🎙 Deputy FM Sergey Ryabkov’s interview with PIR Center for Policy Studies (May 22, 2024)

Key points:

💬 The interest towards #BRICS has been steadily growing against the backdrop of large-scale geopolitical challenges and dramatic changes taking place in the world today.

• BRICS is seen as one of the pillars of a new, more equitable world order, which is designed to give all countries equal opportunities, to free the states of the Global South and Global East from the role of obedient suppliers of cheap labor and raw materials that the West imposes on them, and to consolidate the right of all nations for preserving their identity, self-determination, independent domestic and foreign policy, and protection of traditional values.

Russia and other BRICS countries fully share this stance and are in favor of an honest partnership that denies any exceptionalism.

• BRICS is an innovative format of interstate cooperation, bringing together different cultures and civilizations, countries with different economic and political systems <...>. Our common goal is a firm commitment to pursuing an independent domestic and foreign policy, defending sovereignty and our national interests.

• As part of Russia’s BRICS Chairmanship in 2024, we intend to continue developing strategic partnership on the basis of consensus and continuity, and work to enhance its role in world affairs. It's also reflected by the motto of the Russian BRICS Year “Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security”.

• The BRICS Summit in October 2024, will be the culmination of the Russian year in BRICS. We intend to continue the tradition of organizing on the sidelines meetings with developing countries. That cooperation within the BRICS framework and its mechanisms of interaction with like-minded nations will enable the voice of the Global South to sound louder and clearer in the international arena, as well as to defend our national interests and the right to choose our own path of development.

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#BRICS2024

⚡️Today the European Union, firmly on the road to self-destruction, has without exaggeration opened a new page in the history of both international monetary and financial relations and its own integration.

The EU has consciously taken the unprecedented step of stealing the sovereign assets of a foreign country. This is a clear example of what "European values" and the West-imposed "rules-based order" are all about. In this particular case, these “rules” have been extended to include a certain "legal basis" invented in the European Quarter for the fraudulent manipulation of the proceeds from the illegally frozen assets of the Bank of Russia.

In effect, the EU has demonstrated to the entire international community that it now feels entitled to steal the financial reserves entrusted to it, to refuse to honour its own commitments to protect private property and capital investment, and to disregard international legal immunities. Theft has thus officially become an instrument of Brussels' foreign policy.

❗️The consequences of this precedent will certainly be unpredictable, including for the eurozone, the economies of the member states and the investment environment. Still, the only predictable thing is that sooner or later the EU will have to return the stolen funds to our country.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions following the SCO Foreign Ministers Council meeting (Astana, May 21, 2024)

Key talking points:

▪️ At a group meeting of the heads of delegations with President of Kazakhstan and during the Ministerial Council meeting, we expressed our deepest condolences and solidarity with the Iranian people, as well as confidence that Tehran will continue its foreign policy, including with regard to its active participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

• The #SCO remains one of the supporting pillars of the multipolar world order. It is well positioned to become a driving force behind transforming Eurasia into a single continental space of peace, stability, mutual trust and progress.

• Security can be reliably ensured only by the Eurasian countries themselves, without the intervention of extra-regional forces. We observe such attempts on the part of the United States, the European Union and NATO, which strive to assume responsibility for everything that happens in the region.

• We are all aware of the importance of intensifying the work of the SCO, considering its weight and role in Eurasia, and its partners, including the OSCE, the CIS, the EAEU, and ASEAN.

• Developing common approaches to ensuring Eurasian security and cooperation by the countries of this continent is a crucial goal. We underscored that the SCO could well catalyse these processes with the involvement of other partners in the region.

• The SCO has two observers and 14 dialogue partners. Recently, Laos and Algeria have applied for partner status. We discussed improving the efficiency of interaction with these countries within the SCO Plus format.

🇧🇾 Starting from the July summit, Belarus will become a full-fledged SCO member. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will take part in all events of the Astana summit without exception. The Belarusian minister attended our discussion.

🇲🇳 Mongolia is the obvious next candidate for SCO membership.

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✍️ Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s greetings to the organisers and participants of the International Workshop on International Law dedicated to the 80th anniversary of MGIMO University

💬 I wish a warm welcome to the organisers and participants of the International Workshop on International Law dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of MGIMO University.

The system of international law has entered a complicated period of development amid increased geopolitical tensions and ongoing changes in the structure of international relations. Trying to maintain their dominant position, Washington and its satellites are undertaking efforts to replace the UN-centric architecture of international law created as a result of World War II with the so-called rules-based world order.

Various methods of coercion, from unilateral sanctions to open interference in domestic affairs, are being used against those who refuse to toe the line. This is destabilising the existing foundations of international law, that is, the goals and principles of the UN Charter.

❗️ As for Russia, its consistent position is that interstate relations should develop on the basis of universally recognised norms of international law, which all members of the international community must respect and interpret uniformly.

I am delighted to note the national academic community’s substantial contribution to the enhancement of Russia’s views contrary to the existing obstacles. The International Law Department of MGIMO University is a prominent member of that community. Credit should also be given to the International Law Advisory Board under the Foreign Ministry.

Considering the ongoing transformation of the Russian foreign policy vector, it is exceptionally important to strengthen the Russian legal scholars’ ties with academic institutions in the former Soviet states and countries of the Global South and the Global East as a whole. Your conference aims to make a valuable contribution to these efforts. I am sure that it will be held in a constructive atmosphere and will help formulate valuable practical recommendations on the development of the national science of international law.

I wish you fruitful discussions and all the best.

📹 On May 22, Sergey Lavrov paid a visit to the residence of Iran's Ambassador in Moscow, where he signed the book of condolences on the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other Iranian officials in a helicopter crash.

The Minister expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, wished them to remain strong, and expressed confidence that the wise Iranian people would cope with that situation and would continue the all-round development of their country.

🇷🇺🇧🇭 Russia's President Vladimir Putin met at the Kremlin with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, who arrived in Russia on an official visit.

The agenda included the current state of trade, economic, energy and humanitarian ties between Russia and Bahrain and the prospects for their expansion, as well as current international issues, including the Middle East, in view of Bahrain’s chairmanship of the Arab League.

💬 Vladimir Putin: Next year, we will mark 35 years of diplomatic relations between our countries. Over these years, we have made significant progress in building relations between our states. Our foreign ministries maintain regular contacts, and we take similar approaches on many issues on the international agenda.

Just recently, a week ago, you chaired the Arab League summit. I am certainly interested in hearing your opinion on the situation in the Middle East and the details of the corresponding discussion at the summit.

📈 Trade between Russia and Bahrain is at an early stage, but the trends are positive. However, the situation with investment is better: there are about 30 large projects underway, with a total worth of around $500 million.

At the same time, there is thriving cultural cooperation between our countries. This year, we will host Bahrain Days in Russia, and next year, as far as I know, our colleagues have agreed to hold Russian Seasons in your country.

Other humanitarian contacts are also expanding, primarily in education and science. They have great potential as well.

#RussiaBahrain