Посольство России в Норвегии - Russlands Ambassade i Norge

#Arctic4You

🎙 Remarks by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin at a plenary session of the VI International Arctic Forum "The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue".

💬 Vladimir Putin: Russia is the largest Arctic power.

We have consistently advocated for equitable cooperation in the region, encompassing scientific research, biodiversity protection, climate issues, emergencies response, and, of course, the economic and industrial development of the Arctic. We are prepared to collaborate not only with Arctic states but with all who, like us, share responsibility for ensuring a stable and sustainable future for the planet and are capable of adopting balanced decisions for decades to come.

The role and importance of the Arctic for Russia and for the entire world are obviously growing. Regrettably, the geopolitical competition and fighting for positions in this region are also escalating.

As to Greenland, this is an issue that concerns two specific nations and has nothing to do with us. But at the same time, of course, we are concerned about the fact that NATO countries are increasingly often designating the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts and are practicing the use of troops in these conditions, including by their “new recruits” – Finland and Sweden, with whom, incidentally, until recently we had no problems at all.

Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic. However, we are closely monitoring developments in the region, formulating an appropriate response strategy, enhancing the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces, and modernising military infrastructure facilities.

☝️ We will not tolerate any encroachments on our country’s sovereignty and will steadfastly safeguard our national interests. By upholding peace and stability in the Arctic region, we will ensure its long-term socio-economic development, improve the quality of life for its residents, and preserve its unique natural environment.

Key points:

• Over the past decade, cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route – spanning from the Kara Gates Strait to the Bering Strait – has substantially increased. In 2014, a mere four million tonnes of cargo were transported via this corridor. By last year, that figure had risen to nearly 38 million tonnes – five times the Soviet-era record.

• The Northern Sea Route is poised to become a pivotal segment of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, stretching from St Petersburg through Murmansk to Vladivostok.

• Cargo shipments along the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor are set to increase on the back of growing minerals production and the advanced processing of these resources right here in the Arctic, and due to rising international transits.

• Russia already operates the world’s biggest icebreaker fleet. We must consolidate our leadership in this sector by building new-generation icebreakers, including nuclear icebreakers. Today, only Russia has them – no other country has a nuclear icebreaker fleet.

• Plans are in place to increase the capacity and turnover of our northern ports through the introduction of innovative and environmentally friendly solutions, including unmanned and automated cargo handling equipment. I would like to add that our partners from Belarus, China, the United Arab Emirates and other countries are showing keen interest in [the Murmansk transport hub] and in the development of the Arctic transport infrastructure in general.

• The regions of Siberia, the Urals, and Russia’s North-West will receive direct access to the North, to the Arctic ports, which will lessen the load on the Trans-Siberian Railway and promote effective use of sea transport. In addition, there will be new points of access to the Arctic from the North-South corridor, which connects us with Central Asia and the Gulf states.

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🎙 Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Vesti news programme (Moscow, March 26, 2025)

❓ Question: What core geopolitical principles were established by the decisions of the Yalta Conference?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: The principles were straightforward. I recently addressed this topic and even authored an article The legal embodiment of Yalta and Potsdam resides in the United Nations Charter. Who could possibly oppose its principles?

The imperative remains to uphold equality and the right of nations to self-determination. This very principle underpinned the decolonisation process that unfolded fifteen years after the UN establishment and the Charter’s ratification. African peoples will ultimately conclude that those governing them from metropolitan capitals – through “overseers on the ground” – fail to represent their interests.

Plainly, Ukraine’s current leadership – manipulated by Western puppeteers – fails to represent vast swathes of its population. Crimea, Donbass, and Novorossiya constitute settled matters, particularly given how referenda outcomes in these territories have been enshrined in our Constitution.

The principle of territorial integrity, already addressed, demands reciprocity: respect your people if you expect your borders to be respected. Do not prohibit native languages, historical memory, or ancestral child-rearing traditions. This, too, resonates with the UN Charter, which mandates respect for human rights irrespective of race, sex, language, or religion.

Ursula von der Leyen, alluding to President Donald Trump’s return to power in the United States, recently claimed European values (democracy, human rights, rule of law) face grave peril. This comes from an official who wilfully ignores laws exterminating the Russian language, media, culture, and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church – sister institution to Russia’s Orthodox Church – enacted by the Nazi regime of Vladimir Zelensky and his predecessor Petr Poroshenko.

Western hypocrisy reveals one truth: refusal to accept the emergent multipolar era. All nations must stand equal, mutual respect must prevail, and competition must be honourable. When the Soviet Union dissolved, the West lectured us about a new epoch and “end of history.” We are all on the same page now: globalisation, fair competition, and presumption of innocence. These principles now lie discarded.

In recent pronouncements by Ursula von der Leyen and other European Union leaders (I do not intend to offend all, but the majority), it is conspicuously evident that, irrespective of circumstances, “the way we interpret democracy is how it must be.” In Ukraine, it is permissible to prohibit the Russian language. In Switzerland, envisage a ban on French, or in Ireland, English (currently, the English and the Irish are at odds there). Were the English language to be banned in Ireland, one would witness an outcry reaching the heavens. Numerous analogous examples abound.

It was determined that in Romania, Călin Georgescu would not run for the presidency, notwithstanding the Constitutional Court of the country having cleared him of all suspicions. Yet the Central Electoral Commission declared: “We do not care about the Constitutional Court; the President has ordered us not to allow ‘this one’ to proceed because he does not denounce Vladimir Putin and Russia.”

The genetic inclination of the West to perpetually perceive itself as a hegemon thus continues to undermine the foundations of the Yalta-Potsdam system. This is a profoundly just system.

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🎙 Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Channel One (Moscow, March 25, 2025)

💬 Sergey Lavrov: Before proceeding to the political part of our conversation, I would like to all those who remembered my birth anniversary, those who did not just call to congratulate me, but put their hearts into reciting my modest poems, adding some of their lyrical, humorous and many other ‘finds.’

Key talking points

• We will need clear-cut guarantees [regarding any agreements]. Given the disappointing experiences of our past agreements with Kiev, the guarantees can only exist in the form of a directive coming from Washington to Zelensky and his team to do so and so and not otherwise. I think our US partners are receptive of this signal.

• Europe, led by Germany - starting with Ursula von der Leyen and everyone else on that list - is beginning to seriously ponder remilitarisation that will set them back outlandish amounts running into hundreds of billions of euros in a situation where its economy and social sphere are circling the drain after the Biden administration let them off the leash and sent them to wage war against the Russian Federation.

• Europe is not only disregarding Donald Trump and his team’s assessment that territorial issues must be resolved outside NATO’s influence – it is actively encouraging Zelensky’s stance.

• We sensed before the Riyadh meeting that the Americans wanted to place Russians and Ukrainians in adjacent rooms, engaging in shuttle diplomacy to ultimately produce a coordinated document. However, we have reiterated what our presidents discussed – our unequivocal stance, which has been agreed by our presidents, is that progress must be reliable and there must not be any unsubstantiated documents.

• Zelensky knows that his days are numbered, and that his positive image he has been cultivating among the people has long since faded, with the exception of those (quite numerous) who hold radical, far-right and revenge-seeking Bandera views.

• The fact that we have resumed dialogue [with the USA] despite all our differences signals a return to normalcy. We need this kind of dialogue, especially since it is not limited to Ukraine.

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🎙 Briefing by Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, March 20, 2025)

🔹 Ukrainian crisis
🔹 Kiev regime crimes
🔹 Attacks by the Kiev regime on Russian energy infrastructure
🔹 Western special services’ involvement in anti-Russia activities
🔹 Militarisation of Germany
🔹 Situation in Yemen
🔹 NATO aggression against Yugoslavia

📰 Read
📺 Watch

***

#West #KievRegime

The Brits quickly hushed up the fact that the “peacekeeping intervention” is stalling, shifting the focus to what they can do better: blowing smoke about the increasing unity of the West in putting pressure to bear on Russia and further military assistance to Kiev.

Not all EU and NATO member countries are ready to follow the proposed course of tightening sanctions against Russian assets.

Brussels seems to be still unable to comprehend which specific functions are required of the EU in the context of new dynamics regarding the Ukraine crisis.



Ukraine has become a bridgehead for carrying out a wide range of cyberspace operations against Russia. Entire units of special services and military departments from NATO countries are permanently stationed in Kiev and Lvov to coordinate the Zelensky regime’s actions in the digital environment.

Over 200'000 attacks were committed by the hacker community against Russian infrastructure facilities in 2023. The fact that the West does not denounce, and even encourages such malicious actions is quite telling.

#Germany #EUwarmongering

Friedrich Merz, chairman of the CDU/CSU and aspirant to the chancellorship, is urging preparation for confrontation with our country “in the coming years and decades.”

Hotheads in Berlin and other European capitals must recognise that the Russian Federation will respond promptly and decisively to any militaristic ambitions to pre-empt threats to its own security.

#MiddleEast #Yemen

Over the past few days, the Americans have delivered missile and bomb attacks on the provinces of Sanaa, Sadah, Marib, Al Bayda, Dhamar and Hajjah, targeting not only military facilities but also civilian infrastructure.

We presented our views on the situation in Yemen in a statement following the March 15 telephone conversation between Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

We again call on parties to stop using force to resolve the conflict. We believe that only political and diplomatic methods can help find a durable stabilisation solution in Yemen and around it.

#Arctic4You

🌐 The VI Arctic International Arctic Forum "Arctic – Territory of Dialogue" has kicked-off in Murmansk. Held on March 26 and 27, it adopted Living in the North as its slogan.

💬 Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Plenipotentiary Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev:

“The key topics on the Forum’s agenda include the Northern Sea Route strategy and building new logistics chains, while preserving the region’s unique environment, promoting tourism, attracting human resources, and improving government support for Arctic investment projects. The Forum aims to offer new solutions for promoting sustainable development in the Arctic and stepping up cooperation with partner countries.”

The Forum’s business programme includes about 20 thematic sessions, divided into four blocks:

• The Arctic and the Northern Sea Route: Competing on the global stage;
• The Arctic and the Northern Sea Route: A magnet for investment;
• The Arctic and the Northern Sea Route: developing key settlements;
• International cooperation and the environment.

The business programme will be available for streaming on the 👉 Forum’s official website, including live streams.

***

💬 Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunov:

“The Arctic is where Russia is currently forging its economic might. Taken together, Arctic investment projects weigh 35 trillion roubles. These are world-class projects in minerals extraction and processing, energy, and logistics. It would not be an exaggeration to say that our country will derive much of its future wealth from the Arctic.”

💬 Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of Russia's Foreign Ministry Department of European Issues:

“Russia is open to constructive Arctic cooperation, including by utilising the Northern Sea Route together with all the interested countries, including our extra-regional partners such as India and China. We have already been quite effective on this front, and established dialogue among the relevant agencies.”

⚡️ Main outcomes of the Russia and United States expert groups meeting (March 25, 2025)

1. In line with the agreement reached by the presidents of Russia and the United States, the Russian and American sides agreed to provide for the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, which includes ensuring safe navigation, eliminating the use of force, and preventing the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea, while adopting appropriate control measures by inspecting such vessels.

2. The United States will help restore Russia's access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.

Note:

Clauses 1 & 2 will come into force following:

the removal of sanctions imposed on Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank) and other financial institutions involved in ensuring international food trade (including fish and fish products) and fertilisers, their reconnection to SWIFT, and opening of relevant correspondent accounts;

the removal of restrictions imposed on trade finance operations;

the removal of sanctions imposed on companies producing and exporting food (including fish and fish products) and fertilisers, as well as restrictions banning insurance companies from working with food cargoes (including fish and fish products) and fertilisers;

the removal of restrictions on servicing ships in ports and sanctions against ships flying the flag of Russia, if they are involved in food trade (including fish and fish products) and fertilisers;

the removal of restrictions on supplies to the Russian Federation of agricultural machinery and other goods used in the production of food (including fish and fish products) and fertilisers.

3. Russia and the United States agreed to develop measures for implementing the agreement between the two countries' presidents to ban strikes against energy facilities of Russia and Ukraine for 30 days starting on March 18, 2025, with an option to extend the agreement or to withdraw from it in the event of non-compliance by either party.

4. Russia and the United States welcome the good offices of third countries with a view toward supporting the implementation of the energy and maritime agreements.

5. Russia and the United States will continue working toward achieving a durable and lasting peace.

#RussiaUnitedStates

⚡️ Russia's Foreign Ministry Statement in connection with media reports on the future of Zaporozhye NPP

In view of media speculations about possible transfer of the Zaporozhye NPP (ZNPP) to Ukraine or establishment of some kind of joint control over the plant with Ukraine, the United States or representatives of international organisations, we would like to make the following clarifications.

☝️ The ZNPP is a Russian nuclear facility. As a result of the referendums held at the end of September 2022, the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions joined the Russian Federation as full-fledged subjects. On October 5, 2022, President of Russia signed Executive Order No. 711 On the Specifics of Legal Regulation for the Use of Nuclear Energy in the Zaporozhye Region, which secured the status of the ZNPP as a facility under Russian jurisdiction.

The return of the plant to the Russian nuclear industry is a long-established fact that the international community only needs to recognise. The transfer of the ZNPP itself or control over it to Ukraine or any other country is impossible.

All employees of the station are citizens of the Russian Federation, one cannot play with their lives, especially given the atrocities that the Ukrainians have committed and continue to commit in our country.

❗️ Joint operation of the ZNPP with any state is not acceptable either. There are no such precedents in the world practice.

In this case, for example, it would be impossible to properly ensure nuclear and physical nuclear safety and settle issues of civil liability for nuclear damage. An important aspect is that close cooperation between Ukraine and NATO countries' intelligence agencies, which have an impressive sabotage potential, makes even a temporary admission of these states to the ZNPP impossible.

The idea of any international organisations participating in the plant's operation also seems absurd, since neither the mandate nor the competence of any of them allows them to engage in the operation of nuclear facilities.

Pursuant to international law, including key respective conventions, the primary responsibility for ensuring nuclear safety and security on their territory rests with the states themselves.

In the case of the ZNPP, it is the Russian Federation with no other option.

🎙 Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Anna Evstigneeva at a UNSC Open Debate on UN Peace Operations (March 24, 2025)

💬 Anna Evstigneeva: We ended up in a situation whereby [UN] missions have been present in countries for decades, incurring billions of dollars in expense for the international community. However, not all of them can boast of success: conflicts are spiraling out, people lose hope for positive change.

Moreover, the involvement of international players in domestic political processes may give rise to legitimate concerns among host governments about the risks of interference in their internal affairs. The flip side of the coin is the fear that those governments may lose their power as soon as such 'support' missions leave the country.

⚠️ This gap between the actual results and the cost of missions is becoming an increasingly stronger irritant.

All this attests to the fact that the UN's peacekeeping and political activities need to be reconsidered, improved and brought back to realistic scenarios.

However, what we’ve mainly observed so far is attempts at self-justification – it is being said that host countries are misbehaving, that the contingents are not properly trained, that the geopolitical context is hindering all the efforts, or that it is misinformation that we should blame for everything.

For our part, we are convinced that progress here is possible not until we honestly analyze why host Member-States are questioning the need to host missions, and opting for other (more effective) forms of assistance.

👉 Only based on such assessment can we find political, rather than technical, solutions to the problems that arise.



We believe that the Organization, for nearly 80 years of its existence, has accumulated sufficient expertise and tools to assist Member-States in preventing conflicts, reaching peace deals, creating conditions for implementing these deals or in peacebuilding. And each situation should be addressed using a tailor-made solution worked out precisely for it. In this regard, much can and should be gleaned from the past.

And yet, we are convinced that advancing the continuity in providing peacekeeping assistance may result in creating a category of countries that would be permanent recipients of UN assistance. Such countries will not only become dependent on the UN but they will also be limited in their sovereignty.

There is no need to automatically transform one form of UN presence into another, such as transforming PKOs into SPMs and the like.

It is important to bear in mind that the best option here is to make sure that as soon as the mandate is fully fulfilled, all responsibility for conflict prevention and conflict management is transferred to Member-States themselves.

☝️ This is the goal we need to be focused on.

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#NoStatuteOfLimitations

Over 11 weeks of NATO’s "military operation" against Yugoslavia, 3'000 cruise missiles were fired, and 80'000 tonnes of bombs were dropped, including cluster munitions and depleted uranium munitions, were dropped on the sovereign European republic.

Serbian authorities estimate that approximately 2'500 people, including 89 children, were killed during the barbaric bombardment. Over 12'500 people were injured, and 1'500 settlements were destroyed. According to some sources, the material damage was estimated at between $30 billion and $100 billion.

Using the mocking label of “humanitarian intervention,” NATO targeted primarily civilian sites: residential areas, hospitals, schools, bridges, passenger transport and refugee convoys.

❗️ The US and NATO "military operation" against Belgrade was launched without approval from the UN Security Council, based on unfounded accusations against the authorities of Yugoslavia of conducting "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo, allegedly triggering a humanitarian disaster in the region.

#KievRegimeCrimes

📑 The International Public Tribunal on the Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis chaired by Maxim Grigoriev, has prepared a report "Kiev regime Atrocities against Captured Russian Servicemen".

In February 2025, the International Public Tribunal on the Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis interviewed thirty-three Russian servicemen who had been tortured in Ukraine.

❗️ Released prisoners describe the crimes and brutal torture to which they were subjected by Ukrainian servicemen, members of the Security Service of Ukraine and their accomplices.

▪️ D.S.Rychin testifies: "Alexei Soprykin and I were taken prisoner near the village of Peschanoye. I had a bullet wound, and Alexei had multiple shrapnel wounds. Alexei, unarmed, was shot by a Ukrainian fighter"

▪️ S.V.Tarkov: "Two boys could still be helped. I still managed to help one of them to rewrap his leg. The Ukrainians came through and shot them. The wounded were killed before my eyes"

▪️ D.N.Agashin tells: "For a kilometre and a half we were led by the Ukrainians. They shot one person. Torture began on the following day"

▪️ S.A.Levin says that before they started torturing, one of the POWs was killed: "I said, there is a wounded fighter. And I just heard him being shot dead by the Ukrainians. There were two ofus when they handed us over to the 'Right Sector'. They brought us to some base and shouted: "Take offyour clothes. " They started beating us with sticks and metal pipes. Our eyes were blindfolded"

▪️ S.V. Prilutsky says that, like Nazi troops during the Great Patriotic War, Ukrainian servicemen shot the wounded: "When I was taken prisoner, Ukrainians shot a heavily wounded man. They killed him. He was my fellow serviceman. On the way they killed another one. He lay down and said: "I can't walk. And theyjust shot him"

▪️ A.V.Malinovsky says that the Armed Forces of Ukraine not only did not hide the practice of killing Russian prisoners of war, but also used it as one of the means of terror: "They said that as long as they had us in the hands of Ukrainian intelligence, we were not yet prisoners of war. They could shoot us right there. They said: "So you are nobody, you don't exist".

▪️ S.V. Kozlov testifies: "Ukrainians put me on the electric chair. A battery, like from a car, and electrodes were attached to my penis and lips. And they tortured me all day long. I was also beaten with metal ropes, hit on the head with a ladle. They set the dogs on me and left scars on my back"

▪️ E.V. Nekrasov also speaks about it: "In the camp people told me that they were tortured with electric shocks and put on the electric chair. " Drunken Ukrainians shot them with pistols, shot them in the knee and legs. They would get drunk and start abusing them. Ukrainian servicemen practiced cutting off, drilling, shooting limbs and breaking fingers ofRussian servicemen"

▪️ M.V. Likhachev describes how he was personally tortured: "My finger was cut off three times with pruning shears used to cut branches. Four teeth were pulled out with pliers. They put me on an electric chair. They set the dogs on me"

👉 Read the report in full (pdf)

👉 Annual report on the crimes committed by the Kiev regime in 2024 by Rodion Miroshnik, Russian MFA Ambassador-at-Large.

Today is the anniversary of the horrific terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. 22.03.2024...

This barbaric crime shook the entire world.

In the very first minutes and hours of the tragedy, officials and ordinary people from different countries and corners of the globe expressed their solidarity with our country and our people, showed support. Compassionate people across all continents, as well as Russian compatriots and friends, extended their heartfelt condolences, brought flowers and paid tribute to the victims – adults and children alike left toys and flowers at Russian diplomatic missions abroad.

The world mourned the victims together, as one.

Condolences from abroad continued to pour in for a long time and are still being received to this day.

March 24, 2024, was declared a national day of mourning in Russia. State flags were lowered on the main building of the Russian Foreign Ministry and at Russian diplomatic missions worldwide.

At the Ministry and Russian embassies, condolence books were opened, and Russian diplomats lined up to donate blood for the victims of the attack.

On March 30, 2024, a ceremony was held to lay flowers at the makeshift memorial near Crocus City Hall, attended by members of the diplomatic corps.

Meanwhile, Western media – having lost all sense of morality and decency – cynically exploited the terrorist attack to speculate about interethnic relations in Russia while simultaneously attempting to whitewash the terrorists. We responded with an Anti-Fake, documenting the most outrageous and unethical publications.

Detailed factual information was also provided about the attack and the course of the investigation, along with a summary of terrorist attacks committed in previous years, attacks orchestrated with the involvement of Ukrainian special services, and the role of the Western mainstream media.

***

Today, a memorial was unveiled at the site of the tragedy in Krasnogorsk – a black granite stele standing opposite the concert hall. It bears the image of white cranes.

The Investigative Committee of Russia has announced that “the investigation of 19 individuals accused of terrorist crimes has been completed. They remain in custody and are currently reviewing case materials.”

Based on the collected evidence, the investigation has concluded that the terrorist attack was planned and orchestrated by the security services of an unfriendly state with the aim of destabilising the situation in Russia. Members of an international terrorist organisation were recruited to carry it out.

#NoStatuteOfLimitations

📷 ©Alexey Maishev / RIA Novosti

🕯 On March 22, 1943, at around this time Nazi invaders and their cronies - Ukrainian nationalist collaborators — destroyed the Belarusian village of #Khatyn, having burned alive & shot almost all of its inhabitants — 149 people, including 75 children... They were all gathered in a barn, locked and burned alive...

The blood and ashes of innocent civilians are on the hands of the Nazis from the Dirlewanger Waffen-SS special battalion & Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118 comprised of Ukrainian nationalists (now revered by the neo-Nazis in Kiev).

The memory of the victims is being dearly preserved in both Russian and Belarus.

☝️ #WeRemember how much grief Nazism brought to our peoples. The lessons of #WWII shall not be subject to oblivion! #LestWeForget

🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with "Krasnaya Zvezda" (Red Star) Media Holding Company for the film "Diplomacy as a Way of Life: I Prefer Fair Play" (March 21, 2025)

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💬 Sergey Lavrov: The leadership focused [in 1994]on creating proper conditions for deepening partnership with the West. As it turned out later - in fact, it became clear fairly quickly, but almost all our politicians and citizens found it out later - our role in that “partnership” was that of the “little brother.” We were assigned this role. This, of course, was a huge mistake.

Many Western analysts are saying in their memoirs that there was no point in expanding NATO and keeping Russia out of the picture. However, our goal was to join the G7. Even in the 2000s, we did not give up on the idea of expanding cooperation with the West.

❓ Question: Back in the day when you worked at the UN - I’m talking about 1994-1996 - did the position of our leadership sat well with you in terms of how Russia should be represented in the international arena?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: Our leadership was primarily focused on the West, notably G7-Russia relations. The leadership focused on creating proper conditions for deepening partnership with the West. As it turned out later - in fact, it became clear fairly quickly, but almost all our politicians and citizens found it out later - our role in that “partnership” was that of the “little brother.” We were assigned this role. This, of course, was a huge mistake.



Starting with Yevgeny Primakov, our foreign policy began to change towards multipolarity. It was not designated in these terms back then, but Yevgeny Primakov introduced it in the legitimate diplomatic lexicon and formally advocated for promoting the interests of a multipolar world.



The UN Charter requires no revision. It remains contemporaneous. It must simply be respected and implemented. When Kosovo declared independence without a referendum, this was hailed as self-determination. Yet when Crimea conducted a transparent referendum with hundreds of European observers, parliament members, and public figures in attendance, it was decried as a violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Duplicity, cynicism, hypocrisy – these are the forces we confront.

Key points:

• Multipolarity means you should be interested in addressing your economic and other needs, such as security, but you never clam up or refuse to talk to any country in the world. Listening to what someone else has to say doesn’t put anyone under any obligation. Often enough, a simple contact, a conversation can help identify new areas of mutually beneficial interaction. This is fully consistent with the UN Charter.

• Our ideas on every matter in global politics will never align [with the US]. We acknowledged this in Riyadh. The Americans acknowledged this, too. In fact, they were the ones who said this. Common sense suggests that it is foolish not to use the points where our interests align in order to translate then into some practical actions and obtain mutually beneficial results.

• Where our interests do not align (US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said this), it is the duty of responsible powers to prevent this divergence from deteriorating into confrontation. This is absolutely our position.

• Zelensky made a 180-degree turn from someone who came to power with peaceful slogans or slogans like “leave Russian alone; it is our common language and our common culture” (this can be found on the internet) and, six months later, transformed into a full Nazi and, as President of Russia Vladimir Putin rightly said, a traitor to the Jewish people.

• No other language has been subjected to such aggression [as Russian]. But imagine if Switzerland were to ban French or German, or Ireland were to ban English. The Irish there now want “some” self-determination. If the Irish tried to ban English now, they would have shaken all the UN “pillars” demanding Ireland’s condemnation.

❗️ Diplomacy mirrors life: complex, yet we must endure and labour on.