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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the ambassadorial roundtable discussion, Ukraine Crisis: Compliance with the UN Charter Goals and Principles, Moscow, September 17, 2025

Главный редактор — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 07:54:29 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen,

This is the ninth roundtable discussion held in this format. We appreciate the interest of the Global Majority, which you represent, in the efforts that are being taken in connection with the Ukraine crisis. We try to inform our friends about our stance, actions and plans as openly and explicitly as possible.

Today, I would like to speak about the situation, its history and current developments from the perspective of the UN Charter, which all countries represented here have ratified and which formalised the universal principles of regulating interstate communication.

These principles include the sovereign equality of states, the non-use of force or threat of force, and respect for human rights regardless of race, sex, language or religion. All UN member states have subscribed to them.

However, our Western “colleagues” – we will describe them as “the Western minority” for a better understanding of the geopolitical situation – disregard the principles of the UN Charter. In particular, the West never had any regard for the sovereign equality of states. Cast your mind back to the international crises that took place in the period after the creation of the UN. The West did not show respect for the principle of sovereign equality of state in any of these crises, regarding itself superior to others.

This takes us to the phrase “golden billion” and the notorious statement by the former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, who described Europe as a garden and the rest of the world as a jungle. This mentality also underlies a statement by former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “if you’re not at the table, you’ll probably be on the menu.” This is what they really think about the sovereign equality of states.

Even when the Werst cites some principles to justify its actions, it does so selectively, choosing principles that suit it in the given instance, and depending on its actions. In the case of Kosovo, they said that they were acting in accordance with the principle of self-determination of nations, on the basis of which they proclaimed its independence without holding a referendum.

In other cases, for example, Crimea, where over 95 percent of the people openly and transparently voted for reuniting with Russia, the West stated that the principle of self-determination was not applicable and demanded respect for the principle of territorial integrity. We are fully aware of these double standards.

The nationalists who came to power in Kiev in February 2014 following an armed anti-constitutional coup achieved that as a result of the violation of another UN Charter principle, which is non-intervention in domestic affairs of other sovereign states. Members of the former US administration like former US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland made no secret of the fact that the state coup was organised by the United States. During US Senate hearings, she proudly announced that spending $5 billion on changing the power in Ukraine was worth it for the United States. It did not even bother anybody that the coup took place essentially the day after the opposition and the then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed an agreement. The European Union simply backed out of its own guarantees provided by that agreement. After toppling the legitimate power, the nationalists unleashed bloodbath against anybody in Crimea or southeastern Ukraine who did not agree with their political course. They used force against civilian targets and individuals, including artillery and military aviation. The hostilities that continued for almost a year were finally stopped by the Minsk package of measures unanimously approved by a UN Security Council resolution. But, as we all know now – something that the leaders of Germany and France at the time admitted – nobody in the West or Kiev as going to fulfill the Minsk agreements. They immediately proceeded to sabotage the document and admitted that they only sought to win time to build up the Kiev regime’s military potential.

The principle enshrined in Article 25 of the UN Charter, which obligates all UN member states to accept and carry out UN Security Council decisions, was also trampled over. Once again, the West ignored this principle as it did with respect to many other UN Security Council resolutions, including resolutions on creating a Palestinian state.

The residents of Crimea (in March 2014) and the residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions (in September 2022) exercised their right to self-determination, enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter, through referenda.

We, the Russian Federation, recognised them and, in the face of the continuing aggression from the Nazi Kiev regime, supported by the West, offered them protection in full compliance with Article 51 of the UN Charter that grants countries the right to individual or collective self-defence. However, the West preferred to ignore these articles of the Charter and claimed that Russia breached Ukraine’s territorial integrity and, therefore, it must be restored. This is happening concurrently with ignoring the interpretation of the UN Charter, a product of years-long talks. The process was completed in 1970 when the General Assembly unanimously adopted the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

Speaking of territorial integrity, it is important to note the consolidated opinion of the international community that no one has ever doubted in the course of discussions. This document (the Declaration of 1970) reaffirms the inviolability of territorial integrity and political unity for only those states which honour the equality of nations and their right to self-determination, and which have governments representing the entire nation living on the relevant territory without any racial and religious distinctions and regardless of skin colour.

Obviously, the Kiev regime that sent “friendship trains” with armed militants to Crimea, later bombed Donbass, burned people alive in Odessa and conducted ethnic cleansing campaigns cannot represent the interests of the population of the above-mentioned territories; nor could it represent their interests at that time.

Ukrainian “activists” of that period openly called Crimea residents “inhuman monsters” and noted that their children would rot in basements, while Ukrainian children would prosper. The then President of Ukraine Petr Poroshenko said this. In early September 2021, Vladimir Zelensky himself replied to a correspondent’s question (long before the special military operation) about what he thought of people who had refused to accept the coup d’etat, and who were entitled to an autonomous status under the Minsk Agreements. He replied that there were two categories: people and “creatures.”

In another interview, he added that those living on Ukrainian territory who identify themselves as part of Russian culture and language should relocate to Russian territory for the sake of their children and grandchildren. How can a regime whose leader is making such statements about the population represent it and claim that this is the territory of Ukraine? This is a blatant violation of the Declaration of 1970 and should be seen as such, not to mention the fact that Ukrainian legislation bans the Russian language in spheres education, media, culture and everyday communication. If a shopper in Ukraine starts speaking Russian, salespersons might refuse to serve them or might even turn them in.

The national parliament recently passed a law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. As I said at the beginning of my remarks, the UN Charter notes the need to honour human rights, regardless of race, gender, language and religion. The Russian language is the only such language in the world, and Ukraine is the only country to ban a foreign language. No other language has been legally banned in any country. Hebrew is not banned on Palestinian territories and in other Arab countries. One should therefore draw conclusions how this correlates with demands for honouring the UN Charter.

Yet another principle of the UN Charter is contained in its Article 100 which states that the Secretariat staff shall abide by the principles of impartiality, equidistance, and objectivity, and act in the interests of all states and members. Regrettably, in recent years we have observed gross violations of the principle of impartiality.

The Secretariat’s leadership and many of its employees representing Western countries are associated with the anti-Russian line and refer to the UN General Assembly resolutions adopted by the Emergency Special Session on Ukraine. There are already eight such resolutions. One-third to one-fourth of the member countries did not vote for them, however, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that these resolutions do exist and that he will implement them. When I asked him whether the resolutions to be implemented by the Secretary-General included the declarations I had mentioned, ones that urged respect for the principle of self-determination of nations, he sidestepped the question and, like his official representative, continues to demand in his statements that the Ukraine crisis be settled on the basis of international law, the UN Charter, and the principle of territorial integrity of Ukraine. This means that the chief employee of the UN Secretariat is failing to implement the requirements of the UN Charter.

Their general tone is anti-Russian. In late August of this year, Antonio Guterres denounced Russia’s attack on Ukrainian cities. Each time that Ukraine and its European masters get hysterical over Russia’s alleged destruction of civilian targets and civilians, we see the Secretariat support these outbursts and demand, along with the West and Ukraine, that Russia be “punished.” The Russian army never attacks civilian facilities or civilian population. In response to each charge, we asked: Where are the proofs? Give us the facts, including with regard to the fakes accusing the Russian army of crimes that later turned out to have been committed by the Ukrainian regime. There are numerous facts of that. We have a special video which we will certainly show to you, should an opportunity arise.

The Kiev regime’s violations of international humanitarian law are so obvious that they simply cannot be denied. There are more than enough facts. But the Secretariat is taking an opposite stance and attempting to whitewash the acts committed by the Kiev regime, although these breach the key requirements of international humanitarian law, such as the ban on deploying military equipment and firing positions in residential neighbourhoods, as well as on using torture or humiliating treatment with regard to prisoners of war and civilian population.

When certain gross violations of international humanitarian law can no longer be denied, the UN Secretariat, clearly embarrassed, issues impersonal calls for restraint, addressing them to both sides. We saw a similar reaction when it became obvious to everyone how brutally the Kiev regime’s Nazi units acted during their incursion into the Kursk Region, where there were no military facilities at all. They deliberately attacked shops, schools, and other civilian targets, killed and abducted civilians.

The fact that the UN consistently shields the Kiev regime has been confirmed repeatedly, including in connection with the events in Bucha in April 2022. Three years have passed since the Kiev regime and its Western handlers fabricated the narrative of the alleged “mass killing of civilians by Russian military personnel” there, immediately using it as a pretext to introduce new sanctions against our country. I have repeatedly appealed to Antonio Guterres. We sent an official letter and addressed our requests to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, seeking information on the progress of the investigation into the incident that the West exploited in April 2022. The last request was in September 2024. Only in July 2025 we got a response (it took him almost a year), and it contained some remarkable information. According to that response, the Office of the High Commissioner analysed our request and concluded that the relevant information could not be disclosed, allegedly because it would violate confidentiality obligations to third parties and could endanger the security of the UN. If you managed to make sense of that explanation, I envy you. What is clear is that the Secretariat has no intention of exposing those responsible for staging these bloody provocations.

As for Antonio Guterres, I have asked him the same question for three years in a row now. Even if the investigation files remain closed, could you, Mr Secretary-General, at least use your authority to obtain a list of the people whose bodies were displayed on the main street of Bucha? After all, their display was “unexpectedly” documented by a group of BBC correspondents. I have raised this question with Antonio Guterres both in person and publicly at UN Security Council meetings. Each time, he avoids eye contact. I consider this behaviour a disgrace for the Secretary-General and for the Secretariat as a whole.

Just yesterday, Mr Guterres made another statement. He said he was not optimistic about progress in the Ukraine peace process in the near future. He again called for immediate ceasefire, but the one that should lead to a solution based on the UN Charter, international law, and UN General Assembly resolutions.

I have previously mentioned the UN General Assembly resolutions and the principles of the UN Charter which Mr. Antonio Guterres elects to overlook, asserting that among these principles, only one warrants preservation – “respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity” – which translates, and here he finds support from the Europeans, to the withdrawal of Russian forces from those regions whose inhabitants voted against remaining under the control of the Nazi regime.

We are not discussing “territories.” We are addressing the destinies of those individuals whose forebears, across centuries, cultivated these lands, erected cities, ports, factories, and railways – all of which the regime that seized power through a coup now deems “subhuman.”

António Guterres has contended that subsequent to the “invasion” of Ukraine, Russia dismisses the very notion of a ceasefire, insisting instead on a comprehensive agreement – that is, a definitive settlement. Thus, for him, it appears that everything commenced with the “Russian invasion” of Ukraine. As for antecedent events – in 2014, there was a state coup, and a war was instigated by the regime against its own populace. There were the Minsk Agreements, intended to bring this conflict to an end – a commitment which the Kiev regime, in turn, did not fulfil – and which also necessitated the granting of a special status to certain parts of the regions in the southeast of Ukraine. All of this received the endorsement of the UN Security Council.

For seven years thereafter, none of these provisions were implemented. When, in February 2022, after numerous attempts to negotiate an end to the subversion of the Minsk Agreements, to cease the Kiev regime’s war against its own people, and to establish mutual security commitments satisfactory to Ukraine, Russia, and NATO – when all these endeavours of ours were rebuffed – we were compelled to respond to the request of the new republics that had proclaimed independence via a referendum. Only then did Mr. António Guterres recognise that “something” was transpiring in Ukraine, reducing everything I have detailed to a singular term: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Incidentally, he maintained that Russia rejects a ceasefire and insists on a comprehensive accord. Naturally, we have previously had a ceasefire, and we had a settlement agreement – specifically, one in 2014 which called for the establishment of a government of national unity and the conducting of elections. There you have your settlement. All parties signed it. Germany and France guaranteed this agreement. Their signatures were disregarded, and they willingly swallowed this slight.

Then came the Minsk Agreements. There, too, existed both a ceasefire and a comprehensive settlement. Yet, they too – with their ceasefire and principle of a comprehensive settlement – were trampled upon.

António Guterres has succumbed to the Western habit of cancelling history. The West delights in invoking history to justify its actions, albeit only from the moment it serves its interests. There was no state coup in Ukraine. Russia “simply recognised Crimea as its territory” in response to the population’s request. Countless examples of this nature exist.

It is therefore regrettable to witness how the leadership of the UN Secretariat increasingly aligns itself with the Western anti-Russian front, thereby undermining the Organisation’s own authority. The root cause lies in the West’s prolonged, and largely successful, efforts to effectively privatise key positions within the UN Secretariat over recent years.

Presently, five or six senior official posts, including those of the Secretary-General and his deputies, who are directly responsible for political affairs concerning conflict resolution, peacekeeping operations, humanitarian issues, security matters, and proposals for UN reform ahead of its 80th anniversary, all these pivotal roles are occupied by NATO member states.

The First Deputy Secretary-General of the UN is a distinguished woman. She represents Nigeria yet simultaneously holds US citizenship. Draw your own conclusions.

We will relentlessly pursue an end to this practice, whereby the West has subjugated all levers of control within the UN Secretariat. We will insist on restoring the world Organisation’s role as a platform for forging reasonable compromises and balancing the interests of all members of the international community.

Recently, efforts to advance a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis have intensified. We welcome the commitment of our partners, including nations of the Global South and East, the People’s Republic of China, Brazil, and participants of the Group of Friends for Peace in Ukraine initiated by Beijing and Brasília.

We likewise commend initiatives previously undertaken by African nations, spearheaded by South Africa, among other appeals, too numerous to list comprehensively. Notably, the League of Arab States demonstrated interest early in the conflict.

We also observe that the new administration in Washington recognises the imperative of resolving the crisis by acknowledging its root causes and taking measures to eliminate them.

On August 15 this year, a meeting between the Presidents of Russia and the United States took place in Alaska. There, the American administration’s clear understanding of the need to address these root causes was evident. President Donald Trump, the sole Western or other leader to do so, has publicly stated: Ukraine’s entanglement with NATO was a mistake, one that contributed to this conflict.

The Americans also recognise that those who, protesting against the oppressive neo-Nazi regime, voted in referendums to reunify with the Russian Federation will never again live under the yoke of Kiev’s current authorities. This understanding is reflected in the initiatives advanced by the Trump administration, whose representatives have repeatedly issued public statements to this effect.

Let me reiterate: this is not about territories. The West loves to claim: here are territorial concessions Russia seeks for itself – this shall not come to pass. These are not territories, not land. These are people’s fates – people whom the Kiev regime and its Western puppet-masters refuse to recognise as human beings. They seek to annihilate them by all means, including legislatively. As previously noted, their rights have been legislatively eradicated.

The US administration similarly acknowledges that human rights violations – linguistic, religious, or otherwise – are utterly unacceptable. We specifically discussed the Kiev regime’s egregious measures to outlaw the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Concurrently, we see Kiev’s attempts to systematically sabotage the American administration’s approach.

Zelensky was musing the other say about what would constitute a victory for Ukraine. He said that if they manage to retain their statehood – not even within the 1991 borders – it would already mean a victory, because Russia wants to annihilate Ukraine altogether. His confession means that he understands that returning to the old life as if nothing had happened is impossible. Speaking at an international conference the other day, he said that giving any portion of Ukrainian land to Putin was not an option. Some might think that an exchange of territories or an attempt to soften President Putin by resuming trade with America has the potential to stop the war. This is not true. The key objective now is to isolate Russia: the Russian assets must be seized and transmitted to Ukraine. Kiev must keep receiving arms, since they don’t have enough weapons or Western support.

In fact, Zelensky wants to prevent right-minded forces in the West from pursuing right-minded policies. He also mentioned the People’s Republic of China, saying that China needs to be encouraged to take a war-free path. This largely depends on the United States and the EU. He is pitting the United States and Europe against China. As the saying goes, divide and conquer, or aggravate the situation. Many con artists and swindlers work that way.

We are constantly being accused of refusing to talk. We wanted talks in 2014 and 2015. Those talks have led to a “result.” I mentioned this earlier when I said that we were grossly and deliberately deceived without any qualms of conscience. We are being told the same thing now. On September 10, taking a question about the prerequisites for talks, Ukrainian Defence Minister and former Prime Minister Dmitry Shmygal had the following to say, ”There are no prerequisites. We must work together and ratchet up the sanctions pressure. We need all the weapons we can get.” This is how these people view their own slogans and appeals.

We see that Kiev is guided by the war party’s narrative. In Europe and the United States, there are politicians-especially in Congress-who belong to this party. US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Stephen Witkoff who participated in the Alaska summit and regularly visits Moscow, and who also promotes a common understanding of how to achieve a sustainable, reliable settlement that suits everyone, as we know, conveyed to the Ukrainian side his assessments of the Alaska meeting outcomes.

As far as we understand, these assessments, considerations, and proposals have been rejected by the Kiev regime. The quotes I just cited corroborate this. Clearly, the Europeans and the Ukrainian regime are trying to talk Donald Trump out of deploying peacekeeping efforts and returning to confrontation with Russia, essentially turning Joe Biden’s war into Donald Trump’s war.

Clearly, many European leaders, including Paris, Berlin, London, and Brussels, are concerned with this. This is precisely the approach taken by the EU and NATO. They want to derail the peace process. There was a negative reaction to the Alaska meeting. European leaders scrambled to Washington and, demonstrating their fealty, used sophisticated methods to prevent the Trump administration from moving towards promoting an actual settlement, rather than increasing sanctions pressure, which is pointless and has no tangible impact on the Russian economy, and to pump weapons into the Zelensky regime. Recently, they have been trying to do so by creating some kind of peacekeeping, in fact, occupation forces and by talking about creating a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

They are now debating whether they can shoot down aerial vehicles over Ukraine from the territory of neighbouring countries or whether they should wait for these vehicles to come closer to the border. We had great satirical writers Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov. In one of their novels, they described early Soviet times, when older people got together in public places and discussed the policies of France, Britain, and the newly established Soviet Union. The writers called them piqué waistcoats, i.e. people who have no responsibilities, but who enjoy posing as important figures and discuss issues that they are unable to resolve.

Europe is clearly – and rather unceremoniously – trying to get a place of its own at the negotiating table. Truth be told, its position of revanchism and inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia makes it unfit to have a seat at the negotiating table. Europe is talking about sending its contingents to Ukraine. We have already made it clear that they would be considered a legitimate military target. Europe is trying to promote security guarantees for Ukraine, which are being drafted without our participation and openly seek to create military threats to the Russian Federation.

Imagine a portion of Ukraine becoming a territory for stationing peacekeepers covered by Western security guarantees aimed against the Russian Federation. That would mean one thing: the West had occupied Ukraine. If the Ukrainian legislation does not get amended, it would mean that in this Western-occupied territory, Western military units are defending the Nazi regime, and laws are in effect banning the Russian language in all spheres of life, and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is what the West is defending and what it is trying to achieve.

We will insist on security guarantees. We sought this in February 2014 and a year later, when we agreed upon and approved the Minsk agreements at the UN.

The security guarantees must fully comply with the West’s obligations, enshrined in the UN Charter and in the OSCE consensus documents adopted in Istanbul in 1999 and Astana in 2010. These security guarantees, as was agreed then, must rely on the principle of indivisible security and the principle under which no country has the right to strengthen its own security at the expense of others. This is precisely what the West is currently trying to accomplish in Ukraine in its attempts to save it from total collapse.

Сообщение Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the ambassadorial roundtable discussion, Ukraine Crisis: Compliance with the UN Charter Goals and Principles, Moscow, September 17, 2025 появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

Telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Главный редактор — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 13:54:45 +0000

During a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Turkey Vladimir Putin expressed his assessment of the The Anchorage of the Russian-American summit.

The leaders discussed the latest developments in the situation around Ukraine. The Russian side noted with satisfaction the assistance provided by Turkey in holding negotiations between representatives of Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.

They also touched upon some topical issues on the bilateral agenda, including the further development of trade and investment ties.

It has been agreed to continue personal contacts.

source http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/77820

Сообщение Telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

About the regional meeting of Russian Ambassadors in the countries of South-Eastern Europe

Редактор — Sat, 31 May 2025 16:00:09 +0000

On May 29-31, in Istanbul, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation A.V. Grushko held a regional meeting of Russian ambassadors to the states of Southeastern Europe (SEE) with the participation of our country’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE.

The situation in the Balkans and the state of bilateral relations with the countries of the region were discussed against the background of the anti-Russian line of the “collective West”, which continues to seek the unconditional subordination of the Southeast Asian states to bloc discipline, and the destruction of their ties with the Russian Federation to the detriment of their own national interests.

It was noted that a number of regional states maintain a principled approach to pursuing an independent and balanced policy and developing cooperation with our country on a mutually beneficial basis.

In the context of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the importance of continuing active work in the military memorial field, countering attempts to falsify history and historical revisionism is emphasized. The need to build spiritual ties and support compatriots was noted against the background of a large-scale Western campaign to abolish Russian culture.

Practical issues related to ensuring the functioning of Russian diplomatic and consular missions were discussed.

source: https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/2021635/

Сообщение About the regional meeting of Russian Ambassadors in the countries of South-Eastern Europe появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

About the visiting session of the Ros Congress Foundation in Istanbul

Новостная лента — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 10:00:40 +0000

On December 10, a visiting session on promoting Russia’s investment potential was held in Istanbul, organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation and the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Turkey.

The event was attended by more than 360 representatives of Russian and Turkish businesses, business associations, media and government agencies.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Turkey A.V. Yerkhov made a speech at the opening ceremony of the session. He noted that trade and economic relations between Russia and Turkey are developing now in a difficult foreign policy environment, the current situation is characterized by the presence of serious challenges for the economic entities of our countries. “At the same time, at crisis and turning points in history, there is a chance to reassess values and tasks, in particular in the economic sphere, and develop new, more effective forms and methods of work. It seems that both Russia and Turkey have a similar chance now,” the Ambassador stressed.

In the final part of the event, a panel discussion was organized, during which an exchange of views took place on possible ways to solve current challenges in the field of economic cooperation.

Source О выездной сессии Фонда Росконгресс в Стамбуле – Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации

Сообщение About the visiting session of the Ros Congress Foundation in Istanbul появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

Speech and answers to media questions by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov following the meeting of the Consultative Regional Platform “3+3”, Istanbul, October 18, 2024

Новостная лента — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 05:40:16 +0000

Good afternoon,

We have completed the third meeting in the format of the Consultative regional platform “3+3” at the level of foreign ministers. We are grateful to our Turkish colleagues for organizing it, especially since the idea of creating the 3+3 format belongs to President R.T. Erdogan.

Let me remind you that the first meeting in this format was held in Moscow in December 2021 (then at the level of deputy foreign ministers), and the second was organized in Tehran in October 2023. The third meeting in this format has now been held in Istanbul.

We discussed the directions of further cooperation in key areas. Among those, we have identified the sphere of security policy, combating the threats of terrorism, and drug trafficking. The second topic is economics in terms of establishing cooperation in the field of energy and solving transport and logistics problems. Energy and transport are two additional important areas. Everyone advocates the development of cultural and humanitarian ties, for exchanges between creative teams, theaters, and film festivals. All these are plans for the future. But the wishes of all our partners are absolutely the same.

In practical terms, we talked a lot about the situation in the Middle East today. They called for de-escalation, an end to indiscriminate military strikes against civilians, United Nations staff, including within the framework of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and peacekeepers in Lebanon.

Once again (we always do this when we gather in this format), we confirmed that the doors of this platform always remain open for Georgia. We hope that over time, Georgian neighbors will be able to join its work.

We have agreed that we will prepare appropriate meetings in all the areas I have mentioned through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Energy, Ministries of Transport, and ministries of Culture. We hope that such meetings on all the above-mentioned topics will take place over the next year.

We have established mechanisms for daily contact in each country that participated in the 3+3 event today. There are contact points, specific people responsible for promoting agreements reached by ministers on various issues.

Question: What threats exist today for regional security in the South Caucasus?

Sergey Lavrov: It can take a long time to list the threats. The most important thing is that non-regional players are trying to dictate their conditions here, introduce their own schemes here, aimed not at resolving the problems of the region in the interests of all countries located in it, but at promoting nation-centric formats here, developing block processes, “driving wedges” (as we say) between neighboring countries and, again, use their capabilities as a lever of pressure.

Look at what happened due to the fact that laws were passed in Georgia requiring transparency regarding foreign financing of non-governmental organizations, and laws regarding the prevention of LGBT propaganda. The European Union immediately stated that this country is no longer considered a priority partner for discussing issues of membership in the European Union, because it violated “European values”. If these “values” are to fund subversion and promote the LGBT agenda, then that speaks for itself. This is a confession, a confession of what these “European values” represent.

In addition, problems remain in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. There was a lot of talk about this today, too. Both we, the Turks and the Iranians have proposed to our colleagues (Yerevan and Baku) to use the 3+3 platform in order to finalize the peace treaty. They recalled the “preparations” and “backlogs” that were created within the framework of the trilateral work of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan both at the level of presidents and at the level of foreign ministers, deputy and prime ministers on unblocking communications, preparing for the delimitation of borders, and on a number of other topics.

There are issues related to the Armenian-Turkish normalization. Russia actively contributed to the start of this process. Our Iranian neighbors have joined us. There are no meetings planned yet – the Armenian colleagues have taken a “pause”. They believe that first they need to communicate directly with the Turks and understand what needs to be done. It seems to me that this is in any case connected with the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization. They suggested considering these issues in a comprehensive manner and encouraging the countries involved to come to an agreement as soon as possible. We, in turn (in this case, Russia and Iran), are ready to provide assistance if there is an interest of direct participants.

Returning to Georgia. One of the serious problems is the well-known attempts by the West to open a “second” front against Russia. I mean to “light a bonfire” again, destabilize the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and make relations between Georgia and these two sovereign states “hot”. Most of the risks that we are witnessing here are related to attempts by the West aimed at maximizing its influence in the region in order to undermine the opportunities of the Russian Federation for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries of the South Caucasus and our state.

Question: Do you regret that Tbilisi refused to participate in today’s meeting? After all, the 3+3 format could be a good reason for almost direct Russian-Georgian contacts. Do you think the time will come when Georgia will participate in the 3+3 format? Are there any prerequisites for this?

Sergey V. Lavrov: As soon as Tbilisi decides, they can come and sit in their chair at any time. The chair and the door are always open for them.

As for the contacts. We have contacts with Tbilisi, and the Interests Section of the Russian Federation is functioning at the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in Georgia. Our diplomats work there. They have the opportunity, as necessary, to discuss current issues, primarily in the field of trade, tourism, and people-to-people contacts, directly with the relevant Georgian authorities.

Question: Of the currently existing platforms where the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is being discussed, which, in your opinion, is the most viable?

Sergey Lavrov: The one where you can come to an agreement. If they can come to an agreement directly, we will be only glad.

Today they offered, if they are ready for this, to use the 3+3 platform. This would be natural, given that it is in this format that the neighbors of Armenia and Azerbaijan meet. But it is up to Baku and Yerevan to decide.

Question: Against the background of the publication of the so-called “victory plan” by V.A. Zelensky, it became known that J.Biden will not meet with him in Germany. Are these events interrelated? Can we expect a change in Western policy towards Ukraine before the American elections?

Sergey Lavrov: It is difficult to speculate on the subject of what the President of the United States, John, is guided by.Biden, and even more so V.A. Zelensky.

We proceed from the fact that Russia’s position is well known to everyone. It was outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin in June this year, when he spoke at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

I want to remind you once again that every time Russia shows good will and supports concrete negotiated solutions, it is Ukraine that has been destroying all these agreements since February 2014, when the agreement between the president and the opposition was broken literally the next morning, and a coup took place. Then there were the Minsk agreements, which, as you know, according to the recognition of the Ukrainian and Western participants, they were not going to implement. It was another “broken” opportunity.

Then, here in Istanbul, in April 2022, an agreement was reached to stop the fighting and resolve the situation between Russia and Ukraine on the basis of fair security guarantees and from the point of view of the interests of Russia and Ukraine. This agreement, which we supported, was destroyed by the Kiev regime.

Each time, as the agreements reached over the past ten years “exploded”, “undermined” and violated by the Ukrainian side, Ukraine lost territories. Every time it gets smaller and smaller. Therefore, what Russian President Vladimir Putin said in June this year must be considered from the point of view of the realities “on earth”.

Our position is clear – no joining NATO, neutral status, solving the problems of the Russian-speaking and Russian population, who in gross violation of the UN Charter and numerous conventions were deprived of the right to do anything in their native language. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is being destroyed – also in violation of the UN Charter and numerous conventions.

Of course, we will not accept any option in which Ukraine retains the opportunity to be used by the West to create direct threats to the Russian Federation. The realities “on the ground” will be taken into account as the West advances its concepts, is torn between supporting V.A. Zelensky and realizing the impasse of this line.

The “victory plan” contains the essence of what V.A. Zelensky wants. He wants to win and play on the fact that the West is still threatening to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia on the battlefield. Here is the difference in approaches – purely psychological and political.

When an agreement was signed in February 2014 between then-President of Ukraine Viktor F. Yanukovych and the opposition, it was to hold early elections within 6 months. For this period, as it was recorded and secured by the signatures of the parties, a government of national unity was created. And the morning after the coup, the putschists took to the Maidan and declared that they had formed a “government of winners.”

That is, they have been striving for victory for a long time, but the result will be the same.

Question: Does the Russian Foreign Ministry have data on what exactly is contained in the secret annexes to the “V.A. Zelensky plan”? What is the reaction of the West to these initiatives of Kiev?

Sergey Lavrov: We are not interested in secret applications. We don’t ask our Western colleagues for their reaction either, even if we talked to them. It is on all screens and pages, in all social networks and channels.

I can only say one thing: there are leaks. According to one of them, the main thing for V.A. Zelensky is to get a weapon. The West has long understood that this is an unacceptable scenario, which threatens with great losses and difficulties for itself.

In his paragraphs, V.A. Zelensky spoke in a veiled way about some kind of economic side of the issue. According to leaks, the secret appendix to this part of the “victory plan” was that he was ready to give all Ukrainian natural resources to his Western masters for management or ownership, thereby, in fact, selling Ukraine.

The last paragraph talks about the security of the whole of Europe. According to the leaks, it is also accompanied by a secret appendix, which states that after the “victory” the Ukrainian army will be ready to defend Europe, deploy its military personnel under contract or even replace the American contingents stationed in Europe.

On the one hand, V.A. Zelensky sold all the lands and all the valuable things that are embedded in them, and on the other hand, he offers his country as a private military company. It is significant for this mode.

Question: On Thursday, at the summit in Brussels, V.A. Zelensky returned to the topic of nuclear blackmail. There are publications in the Western media with reference to certain Ukrainian officials threatening to create nuclear weapons in a few weeks. What, in your opinion, is the reason for Kiev’s decision to return to this topic again and what consequences can this lead to? What is your reaction to Ukraine’s threat to develop nuclear weapons as soon as possible if it is not accepted into NATO?

Sergey Lavrov: Madmen. None of this, of course, will ever come out, under any circumstances. But he has already, in my opinion, abandoned these words. Probably woke up and “got up on the other foot.”

You can analyze the statements of this person and his team for a long time. But we have already realized the futility of all these attempts, the uselessness and even counterproductivity.

Question (translated from English): What is Russia’s position on the measures that need to be taken to prevent the conflict in the Middle East from escalating into a full-scale war in the region? What measures does Russia intend to take in the event of an escalation of the conflict and its transformation into a direct clash between Israel and Iran?

Sergey V. Lavrov: We regularly and in detail make statements on this topic. Our position is well known. We are for the immediate cessation of any violence. We condemn in principle any terrorist acts, as we did after the attack on October 7, 2023. But we also condemn the actions that amount to the brutal, aggressive, collective punishment of the Palestinians that we are currently witnessing. Moreover, besides the Palestinians, the Lebanese are already suffering. The strikes are being carried out on the territory of Syria and Iraq. The practice of political assassinations is being introduced, which is extremely negatively perceived in international law.

Of course, one of the tasks is to involve Iran in hostilities in the hope that this will then directly “drag” the United States into the war in the Middle East against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Parallels suggest themselves: V.A. Zelensky also wants to do something that would force the West, with its combat contingents, without hiding, without disguising its military personnel as mercenaries, to get involved in a war with the Russian Federation.

I am convinced that these plans regarding both the Middle East and the Ukrainian situation are correctly understood by responsible Western politicians (there are still such ones there). All this will lead to nothing.

We stand for an immediate ceasefire, because people are suffering, and for an immediate solution to humanitarian issues. When there is an attack on the staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, it becomes very difficult to provide humanitarian assistance. When peacekeepers from the UN mission in Lebanon are asked to move away because Israel needs to strike at the positions they occupy, this is also out of the ordinary.

I hope that the UN Secretary-General A.Guterres will stand up for his employees and do it from a principled position. In turn, we insist that the Security Council outline this requirement as soon as possible and as clearly as possible.

Source Выступление и ответы на вопросы СМИ Министра иностранных дел Российской Федерации С.В.Лаврова по итогам заседания Консультативной региональной платформы «3+3», Стамбул, 18 октября 2024 года – Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации (mid.ru)

Сообщение Speech and answers to media questions by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov following the meeting of the Consultative Regional Platform “3+3”, Istanbul, October 18, 2024 появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

Interview with the Director of the Consular Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry A.V.Klimov to the TASS news agency

Главный редактор — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 10:10:52 +0000

Question: A few days ago, a draft order of the Russian Foreign Ministry was published “On Amending the List of Foreign States in whose Territories a state unitary enterprise under the Jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation provides assistance to consular institutions and consular departments of diplomatic missions of the Russian Federation in order to perform certain consular actions, exercise certain powers regarding the reception of applicants’ documents”. It is planned to expand the initial list of such States by adding Argentina, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In connection with what was such a decision made and why were these particular States chosen?

Answer: First of all, I would like to recall those legislative innovations that preceded the development of the aforementioned order of the Russian Foreign Ministry. In March 2023, the updated version of the Federal Law of July 5, 2010 came into force. No. 154-FZ “Consular Charter of the Russian Federation”, which provides for the consolidation of the functions of assisting citizens in preparing documents for Russian foreign institutions in order to further perform a number of consular actions for specialized information and consulting centers that are branches of a business company, the founder of which is an organization subordinate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

This measure is aimed at reducing the waiting time for the applicant in the queue for consular actions and increasing the capacity of Russian foreign institutions in the context of a significant increase in the number of Russian citizens staying abroad over the past two years and an exponential increase in demand for consular services.

Thus, from now on, citizens interested in consular services, in addition to the opportunity to apply for it directly to a foreign institution, have an alternative option – to obtain the required document from the appropriate information and consulting center as soon as possible, without waiting for their turn to be admitted to the consular institution.

At the same time, I want to emphasize that, as before, in order to carry out consular actions of interest to them, Russians have the right to apply directly to Russian foreign institutions, subject to an appointment in advance, having prepared the documents necessary for the provision of consular services themselves.

Last year, information and consulting centers in Turkey have already started their work in a pilot mode: in Ankara, Antalya and Istanbul. We assess the first results of their work very positively and note positive changes in reducing queues for reception at consular offices in the cities where the centers operate. The results of monitoring their activities indicate the demand for their services among applicants and the high demand for their provision in other foreign countries where large diasporas of Russian compatriots live.

In this regard, the development of the aforementioned order of the Russian Foreign Ministry on expanding the list of countries in which the relevant centers will operate is aimed at further phased implementation of these provisions of Federal Law No. 154-FZ dated July 5, 2010 “Consular Charter of the Russian Federation” and subsequent systematic development and scaling of the project.

When forming the list of foreign states, factors such as the size of the Russian diaspora, the level of demand for consular services, the staffing capabilities of the relevant diplomatic mission or consular institution, and the efficiency of providing consular services by Russian foreign institutions were taken into account, first of all.

Question: Will such state unitary enterprises be analogues of visa centers, what is their functionality supposed to be? Will the opening of such state unitary enterprises make it easier for ordinary citizens of these countries to obtain visas, in particular for tourists? Will they also serve compatriots and what services will they be able to receive?

Answer: The content of the activities of information and consulting centers does not replace the functionality of visa centers, which mainly accept visa documents from foreign citizens, process them and then send them to Russian foreign institutions to make a decision on obtaining a Russian visa.

In their activities, information and consulting centers are mainly focused on providing assistance to Russian citizens.

The types of consular actions that information and consulting centers assist in are regulated by Order No. 2973 of the Russian Foreign Ministry dated February 27, 2023.

These include, in particular, the registration and issuance of a foreign passport, the performance of consular actions related to the registration of documents on citizenship of the Russian Federation, the state registration of acts of civil status, the performance of notarial actions, the demand for documents relating to the rights and interests of citizens and legal entities, as well as the consular legalization of foreign official documents intended for submission to the territory of the Russian Federation.

I would like to emphasize that the limits of the centers’ provision of appropriate assistance are limited in cases where, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, a requirement has been established for the applicant’s personal appearance at a foreign institution to perform consular action against such an applicant.

Question: When can these organizations start working?

Answer: The relevant organizations will start working as soon as issues related to the regulation of their legal status on the territory of foreign States are resolved. Information about their opening will be brought to the attention of the public in a timely manner.

source https://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1928875/

Сообщение Interview with the Director of the Consular Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry A.V.Klimov to the TASS news agency появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

The Kazakhstan Association of Business People has been established in Antalya

Главный редактор — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 11:30:36 +0000

Antalya, December 26, 2023 – With the support of the Consulate General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Antalya, the official opening of the Kazakhstan Business People’s Association took place.

This Association was established on the initiative of Kazakhstanis living in Antalya in order to unite citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan on a voluntary basis and assist compatriots in general adaptation issues, including support for the native language, culture, traditions and customs of the Kazakh people.

The President of the Association Dinara Murzagalieva shared plans for the development of the activities of the new community. In particular, she said that in the near future it is planned to open courses on the study of the Kazakh language and the history of Kazakhstan on a free basis.

The event was attended by representatives of Kazakhstani associations in Alanya and Istanbul, as well as community leaders from a number of foreign countries in Antalya.

At the official opening of the Association, Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Antalya Kuat Kanafeev congratulated his compatriots on this important event and wished them successful implementation of their plans.

A source: www.gov.kz

Сообщение The Kazakhstan Association of Business People has been established in Antalya появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

An exhibition of paintings entitled “Women of the Great Steppe” was held in Istanbul

Главный редактор — Tue, 26 Dec 2023 09:00:36 +0000

Istanbul, December 25, 2023 – The Consulate General of Kazakhstan in Istanbul, together with the socio-political and information and educational magazine Sultan Magazine, organized an exhibition of paintings “Women of the Great Steppe” in Istanbul.

“The introduction of the Turkish public to the exhibition “”Women Of The Great Steppe “” presented paintings of representatives of the Kazakh people, including a special place in the study and culture, spiritual life and history of the country.” These are the faces of the great poet and writer Abay Kunanbayuly – Zere, as well as Domalak Ana, Aisha Bibi, Umai Ana, Hiuaz Dospanova, Aliya Moldagulova, Manshuk Mametova, Tomiris, AK Kadyn, Kyz Zhibek, Diamond and kuishi Dina.

The event, held with the support of the administration of the Uskudar district, Istanbul, featured works of art by prize-winners of many international exhibitions, festivals and symposiums, famous artists in the country Zerde Bakytbek, Aitkul Tasmagambetov, Adilgali Bayandin, Kairat Zhayirbekuly, Manas Kozhakulov, Nurbek Zhardemov and Zhanuzak Musapir.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, a representative of the administration of the Uskudar district expressed gratitude to the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in Istanbul and other organizers, noting that this event will make an important contribution to further strengthening cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two fraternal states.

A source: www.gov.kz

Сообщение An exhibition of paintings entitled “Women of the Great Steppe” was held in Istanbul появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan R.Kazakbayev met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey B.Aquapark

Главный редактор — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 12:45:49 +0000

On December 13, 2023, Ruslan Kazakbayev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Republic of Turkey, met with Burak Akcapar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey.

During the meeting, a wide range of topical issues of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic, military-technical, cultural and humanitarian spheres were discussed, as well as the implementation of agreements reached within the framework of political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic, held on October 4, 2023 in Istanbul.

The results of the parties’ interaction during 2023 were summed up, as well as the schedule of upcoming events was reviewed and planned visits and meetings at the highest and high levels in the coming year were discussed.

The parties discussed in detail the issues of developing and deepening bilateral trade and economic relations and increasing mutual trade turnover between the countries, including through the establishment of the Kyrgyz-Turkish Development Fund (investment Fund), as well as issues of attracting Turkish investments to the Kyrgyz Republic and resolving issues related to the entrepreneurial activities of Turkish companies in Kyrgyzstan.

During the meeting, issues of deepening cooperation in the educational sphere between the countries were also discussed, as well as preparations for the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

The Kyrgyz side also noted the importance of the early resumption of the implementation of the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of health and medical sciences, which provides for the annual free treatment of 150 citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic in medical institutions in Turkey and requested that the quota be expanded to 500 people per year.

The issues of mutual trips of citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, simplification of the conditions of stay and extension of the validity period of the visa-free regime for citizens of the two states were also discussed.

A source: mfa.gov.kg

Сообщение Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan R.Kazakbayev met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey B.Aquapark появились сначала на embassylife.ru.

Uzbekistan expands trade and economic cooperation with the countries of the Middle East and South Asia

Главный редактор — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:15:58 +0000

Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aziz Kudratov took part in the 39th meeting of the Standing Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Istanbul (Turkey).

The event was dedicated to discussing efforts to strengthen partnership between the OIC member countries in areas such as trade, finance, transport, communications, agriculture, tourism, poverty reduction and digital transformation.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Laziz Kudratov held bilateral meetings with the heads of relevant ministries of a number of OIC member countries.

In particular, with the Minister of Commerce of Pakistan, Gohar Ejaz, the progress of the implementation of the protocol of the trilateral meeting “Uzbekistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan”, the “Roadmap” for cooperation in trade, industry, finance, banking, transport, logistics and agriculture was reviewed.

The conclusion of a Preferential Trade Agreement in 2022 made it possible to increase Uzbek-Pakistani trade turnover by 40%, in connection with which the parties agreed to jointly explore the possibilities of developing a free trade Agreement.

At a meeting with Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat in the context of taking measures to expand trade volume, which reached $ 2.6 billion in October this year, the parties supported proposals to work out mutual recognition of certificates of conformity and the formation of a list of products to reduce customs duties.

An agreement was reached with UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah Al-Mari to accelerate the preparation of a joint roadmap covering such areas as logistics infrastructure, banking and insurance, stock market development, mining and processing of minerals, cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence, programming and the creation of data centers. It was noted that over the past 5 years in Uzbekistan, the number of enterprises with the participation of UAE capital has increased 2.5 times to 240 units.

In 2022, the trade turnover with the UAE exceeded 500 million dollars. In this context, it is proposed to intensify the holding of joint events – meetings of the IPC and business forums with the participation of representatives of the business circles of the two countries.

Transport and logistics cooperation has also taken a key place on the agenda of negotiations with foreign colleagues. All sides noted the importance of diversifying transport corridors, increasing freight volumes, simplifying transit processes and developing transport infrastructure.

As a result of the meetings, mutual commitment was confirmed to further deepen the multifaceted partnership with the adoption of concrete measures of practical interaction and systematic monitoring of the implementation of existing agreements.

A source: https://gov.uz/ru/news/view/4037/

Сообщение Uzbekistan expands trade and economic cooperation with the countries of the Middle East and South Asia появились сначала на embassylife.ru.