🎙 News conference by Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova (October 16, 2023)

Key talking points:

💬 We are working on establishing in new regions a system of protecting children. Within the project To the Hands of Children we have organized 27 humanitarian convoys. Targeted assistance was provided to ~13,000 people.

New regions are continuing to suffer from military aggression from Ukraine. Children get killed and injured. We help in organizing emergency medical assistance and rehabilitation of children. We bring them to federal clinics and buy the necessary equipment.

We have been reuniting families since the beginning of the special military operation in a consistent and open way. 35 children from 24 families have reunited with their families living in Ukraine and other countries.

The Committee of the Red Cross provides significant aid to us, as its representatives accompany the families on the territory of Russia and Belarus. Strangely enough, Ukraine itself and the ICRC representatives in Kyiv are extremely reluctant to work in this area.

❗️We see the politicizing of the situation by Ukraine, so-called information bubble around our activities. <...> You can read our bulletin on our website & in social networks. It is a source of truth.

Despite the unprecedented sanctions, pressure and disinformation around Russia our international agenda has expanded last year.

Yesterday, a flight landed, which brought 34 children back to Russia from Syria. Since 2018, Russia has managed to bring 513 children back from armed conflicts zones in Syria and Iraq. <...> We have been carrying out charity projects in Africa, primarily in health care and education.

It does not have nationalities, regardless whether the children are Abkhazian, African, Russian, Ukrainian, Syrian. These children need safety, care, warmth, and family environment. We see our mission there.

🇷🇺🇱🇦 In Beijing, President Vladimir Putin met with President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Thongloun Sisoulith.

💬 President Putin: Mr President, friends, I am delighted to see you.

I recently met with the Vice President [of Laos] on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Today we have an opportunity to continue that dialog, that conversation.

We in Russia know you as a reliable friend. Actually, you and I were university students in Leningrad at almost the same time, during the same years. I was there during the same period as you.

Overall, the political level [of our relations] is quite high. What we need to do is fill it with more economic content. Unfortunately, bilateral trade further decreased last year. Nevertheless, I believe there are prospects, good prospects. We will discuss this now.

#RussiaLaos

🇷🇺🇲🇳 In Beijing, President Vladimir Putin met with held a meeting with President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh.

💬 President Putin: Mr President, friends. I am very happy to see you again. I remember our Moscow meeting in 2021, when we marked the 100th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.

The Soviet Union was the first country to recognise Mongolia, and next September, we will celebrate the 85th anniversary of our joint victory in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol. Over 10,000 Red Army soldiers and commanders gave their lives defending Mongolia.

Much was done at that time to build the foundation and economy of Mongolia, its healthcare and education systems. In 2019, a backbone document, the Treaty on Strategic Partnership, was signed.

📈 Last year, our mutual trade increased significantly, by some 40 percent. This year, the growth slowed slightly. But we have something to discuss in this area, and our intergovernmental commission should pay proper attention to it.

We also have major projects in many areas, including joint projects with the People’s Republic of China. These are, for instance, the construction of a gas pipeline through Mongolia to China. Everyone approved of this project and all parties want to participate. The next step is its implementation. I think, we will be moving fast.

There are also such famous flagship projects as the Ulaanbaatar Railway. We will talk about it later in detail.

#RussiaMongolia

💬Ambassador Stepanov’s comment to Sputnik news agency:

Canada’s sanctions policy, being absolutely illegal within the scope of international law, is getting increasingly absurd.
The russophobic campaign is so utterly intense that the government is trying to extrapolate anti-Russia ideas beyond national borders.

Trudeau’s cabinet exists in a political Wonderland and has long been acting out of touch with reality. Such a senseless posturing testifies that sanctions have never been effective. That they have simply exhausted its potential.

And through new restrictions imposed against the media outlets, the Canadian officials reaffirm the fake character of the liberal democracy they worship. The government that uses oppression of free speech and press as a part of its State policy is no longer a democratic one. It’s the neoliberal fascism that is thriving in democracy’s disguise.

🎥 President Vladimir Putin's interview with Rossiya TV channel (Beijing, October 17, 2023)

❓Question: President Biden is pondering running for re-election, and in his latest interview he said that the main priority of the collective West is to finally put Putin “down where he cannot cause the kind of trouble he’s been causing.” What kind of trouble do you think you were causing and what do you feel about this desire to put you down?

💬 President Putin: You know the point is… First of all, I believe that President Biden is certainly one of the most experienced politicians in the world <...>

So, despite the experience I have mentioned, still…We have a well-known saying in Russia: live a lot, learn a lot. And this applies not only to President Biden, but to the political elites in the United States as a whole. We must learn to respect others, and then there will be no need to put anyone down. But the desire to suppress someone all the time for some reason or no reason at all leads to problems <...>

❓Question: Actually, is it possible to put you down?

💬 President Putin: This is not about me personally. This is about the country’s interests, and it is impossible to put down Russia’s interests, they will have to be taken into account.

❓Question: Today, you had several back-to-back bilateral meetings. Clearly, journalists were most interested in your talks with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban. It is also clear that he will now face obstruction from his Western counterparts. What do you think about these methods?

💬 President Putin: Regarding my counterpart today, Mr Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, he is part of a small cohort of European politicians who know how to assert their interests. He does this persistently, consistently, and in my view, quite tactfully. Our views do not always overlap, and moreover, we often find ourselves on entirely different platforms. But this does not prevent us from talking and looking for solutions to various issues and problems.

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📸 President of Russia Vladimir Putin took part in an official family photo ceremony with heads of delegations participating in the III International Forum “One Belt, One Road”

📍 Beijing, October 18, 2023

💬 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

I follow the current news from the Middle East with horror and against this backdrop I recall the catch phrase repeatedly voiced by Obama that, thanks to American policy, the world had become much safer.

Well, now we all see by "how much".

❗️ On October 16, the United Nations Security Council voted on a draft resolution proposed by Russia calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, primarily in the Gaza Strip.

The document set forth several urgent measures to:

• stop violence and civilian suffering,
• free hostages,
• avert a humanitarian disaster looming over the enclave,
• prevent the hostilities from spilling over to other countries in the region.

Considering the extreme tension, the Security Council had to act in all urgency. It is for this reason that the draft resolution as put forward by Russia did not contain any political aspects or assessments, and steered clear of mentioning any parties to the conflict which could have hindered its approval. Almost 30 countries co-sponsored the Russian initiative, including 17 Arab states.

⛔️ Nevertheless, the draft resolution was not adopted. The Western troika – the US, Great Britain and France, as well as Japan, voted against it. Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland abstained.

Therefore, the UN Security Council, the primary body for maintaining global peace and security, failed to adopt a decision which would have helped stop the bloodshed, ease the horrendous humanitarian consequences and create prerequisites for overcoming the ongoing unprecedented crisis. This happened in plain view of the participants in that meeting, as well as the international community as a whole. The Council failed to send a clear, strong and collective message calling for an immediate, lasting and effective humanitarian ceasefire. <…>

👉 Yesterday’s vote demonstrated that it is the position adopted by Washington and other Western capitals that stood in the way of adopting a decision that would have been natural and logical. In the current situation, it was an absolute humanitarian imperative and a moral duty for all responsible members of the international community to adopt this decision.

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🎙 President Vladimir Putin spoke at the opening of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (Beijing, October 18, 2023)

💬 We pointed out on numerous occasions that Russia and China, just as the majority of other countries, share the striving for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation towards universal, sustainable and lasting economic progress and social welfare based on respect for the civilisational diversity and the right of every state to its own development model.

The Belt and Road initiative is based on these fundamental principles and fits in very well with the integration processes that are ongoing in many regions. It also corresponds to the Russian ideas of creating an integration contour that will ensure the freedom of trade, investment and employment and will be complemented with interconnected infrastructure.

The integration agenda in the broadest possible sense of the word is an integral part of Russia’s national development strategy, the strengthening of our economic, technological and financial sovereignty, as well as the modernisation and expansion of infrastructure.

☝️ The creation of the international and regional logistics and trade routes I have mentioned objectively reflects the deep changes that are ongoing in the global economy and the new role the Asia-Pacific and Global South countries and other centres of growth and development are playing now.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 President Vladimir Putin and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping held talks in Beijing.

💬 Vladimir Putin: One and a half years after my last visit, all of us, our large delegation, are in Beijing again. We can see that the city is developing and prospering, and we are very glad for our Chinese friends.

Your idea of promoting wide-ranging cooperation between the countries of the historical Silk Road, which was put forward ten years ago, has gained momentum.

You have just outlined a very strong and extensive programme to further promote your road and destiny idea intended to benefit, in effect, as you say yourself, the whole of humankind. We sincerely wish you success in this noble undertaking.

Under the difficult present-day conditions, it is particularly relevant to maintain close foreign policy coordination, something we are doing now. Today, we will discuss all of this, including, and primarily, our bilateral relations.

#RussiaChina

⚡️ Russia's Foreign Ministry statement on the tragedy in Gaza

On the evening of October 17, the al-Ahli Hospital in the centre of Gaza was destroyed in a missile attack. According to the Health Ministry of Palestine, at least 500 people have been killed and over 1,000 have been wounded. The overwhelming majority of the victims were hospital patients and civilians, many of them women and children, who were sheltering in the building.

❗️ Moscow is deeply shocked. We express our deep condolences to the families of the victims and the people and government of Palestine.

We again urge the conflicting sides to de-escalate hostilities without delay and to respect international humanitarian law. We reaffirm Russia’s position of principle on the unacceptability of violence against civilians and strikes on medical facilities or any other civilian infrastructure facilities.

👉 We emphasise that it is necessary to consolidate international efforts towards an immediate ceasefire and to open humanitarian corridors in order to give badly needed support to people in Gaza, including deliveries of food, medicines and fuel, to evacuate everyone who wants to leave, and to prevent the looming humanitarian disaster.

We point out that attempts to politicise this issue are unacceptable and irresponsible. We believe that the discussion of the relevant initiatives at the UN Security Council must above all take into account the interests of the people affected by the conflict.

⚠️ We would like to repeat our advice for Russian citizens to refrain from travelling to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

⚡️ Address by the State Duma to the UN and the parliaments of foreign states over the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

💬 Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation appeal to the United Nations Organisation and the parliaments of foreign states to take every measure possible as a matter of urgency to stop the bloodshed and the escalation of violence against civilians in the course of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and to prevent an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in the Middle East.

We strongly condemn all and any violations of the international humanitarian law by the conflicting sides, such as the use of munitions that have been prohibited under international treaties, carpet bombing, strikes at civilian infrastructure, first of all, medical facilities, energy and water supply systems, and the coercive relocation of local residents.

Those guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity must be called to account and severely punished.

☝️ We regard the policy of the US-led collective West as immoral and irresponsible; their current actions are hindering the settlement of the Middle East conflict and are instead adding fuel to conflagration in that long-suffering region.

❗️Nothing can camouflage the failure of Washington’s Middle East policy.

State Duma deputies call on members of parliament in all countries to do everything in their power to put an end to hostilities in the conflict zone, organise humanitarian corridors and provide the necessary assistance to the injured and the victims’ families.

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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov laid flowers at Andrey Karlov’s bas-relief at the Russian Embassy in DPRK

📍 Pyongyang, October 19

🇷🇺🇰🇵 #RussiaDPRK