Russian MFA 🇷🇺

🎙 Explanation of vote by Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia after UNSC vote on a draft resolution on admission of Palestine to full UN membership

💬 This day could have made history as the day when after three quarters of a century the global community finally made the right step towards improving the years-long historical injustice as regards Palestine and legitimate aspirations of its heroic people.

It was essentially a simple question whether the Palestinians deserve to be part of the world family and to participate fully in all decisions of international life. A question to which we have consistently responded “yes”, both when we admitted Israel to the United Nations and when we admitted dozens of states liberated from colonial oppression.

❌ However, our American colleagues see things differently. By exercising their veto power for the fifth time since the beginning of the escalation in Gaza, they have once again demonstrated their true attitude towards the Palestinians. For Washington, they do not deserve an independent state of their own.

They are only an obstacle to the implementation of Israel's interests. That is why the US is ready to turn a blind eye to Israel's crimes against the civilians of Gaza to the last, to ignore the illegal settlement activity of Israel in the West Bank.

The goal is to break the will of the Palestinians, to force them to unconditionally submit to the occupying power, to turn them into servants and second-class citizens and, perhaps, to expel them from their homeland.

Indulging in the most reckless actions of its ally, unwillingness to seek just solutions within the existing international legal framework is a direct way to the abyss of war that could engulf the entire region.

❗️ We call on the US to listen to the voice of reason, think about the consequences of its decisions, and urgently join the efforts of the other members of the Security Council to establish an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Read in full

📸 Dmitry Polyanskiy

🎙 Statement by Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question

🔸 For seven months now, the Middle East has been engulfed in a violent conflict that has already claimed the lives of more than 34,000 civilians in Gaza. The escalation is spiraling daily, spreading to other countries of the region, for whom the threat of a full-scale armed confrontation has started to loom for the first time in decades.

🔸 It took Washington six months to finally realize that it had lost all leverage over Israel and ended up in a situation where "the tail was wagging the dog" - when Tel Aviv was actually dictating its terms, demanding unconditional American support for any of its reckless decisions.

🔸 Israel's cleansing of Gaza has already set a historic anti-record for the death toll of UN humanitarian personnel - more than 240 people have been killed. Israeli military has been hitting humanitarian convoys, blocking access, slowing down the passage of supplies. Western countries criticize them fiercely only if such actions kill Western citizens.

🔸 The disdainful attitude of the West towards certain states and their rights, dividing the world into friends, who stand above the law, and foes, whose legitimate interests can be ignored, has brought the Middle East to the brink of a major war.

🔸 The international community has failed (because of the position of one State, which has blocked all our efforts) to protect the Palestinians from the Israeli slaughter. Nor has it been able to alleviate their humanitarian suffering. Nor has it been able to stop the spiral of violence.

🔸 We are convinced that recognizing the status of Palestine as equal to Israel will contribute to a long-term settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the well-known international legal framework approved at the United Nations and reinforced by the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.

Read in full

🇷🇺🇱🇰 Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka:

On the "Daily News" article about presumed recruiting of Sri Lankan mercenaries for the Russian Army by Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe

💬 The Embassy possesses neither information about the participation of Sri Lankan nationals in the Ukrainian conflict on the Russian side, nor any data regarding possible numbers of them. Neither we are aware of a local recruiting agency which ostensibly hires people to join such activities while deceiving about their true nature.

The Embassy denies any connections with the return to Sri Lanka of a corporal who allegedly fled from the combat zone as it follows from the "Daily News" article "Popular tele actresses found recruiting mercenaries" by Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe. We would like to note that protection of interests and rights of Sri Lankan citizens in the territory of Russia is under the jurisdiction of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow.

At the same time the Embassy finds it necessary to stress that visas are issued to Sri Lankans by its Consular Section in Colombo on the basis of valid documents of applicants in confirmation of their travel goals which have nothing to do with military operations. In order to prevent the entrance of persons with such intentions to Russia the Embassy conducts additional interviews with them.

☝️ However, if the Sri Lankans decide to change their travel goal or nature of activity performed in Russia, we cannot impede them to act so. We would like to reiterate that the issues related to foreigners residing in Russia fall within the competence of relevant diplomatic representations in Moscow while the Russian Embassy in Colombo is in charge of protection of the Russian citizens' in Sri Lanka.

Should the Embassy receive an official request from Sri Lankan officials, it will provide available information.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the presentation of the Republic of Bashkortostan (April 17, 2024)

Key talking points:

💬 We have gathered today for a presentation of a region of the Russian Federation at the Foreign Ministry’s Main Administration for Service to the Diplomatic Corps. Such events have become a good tradition. We take pride in performing this function as it allows us to introduce our foreign friends to the richness of the Russian Federation.

• Situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, in the very heart of Eurasia, Bashkortostan is emerging as a driving force in global economic and investment endeavours, as well as in the convergence of global civilisational processes.

• Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan is home to 110 ethnicities practicing different religions and speaking different languages. Accord between them, as well as between all other ethnic groups in the Russian Federation, is built on mutual respect and a careful preservation of traditions, history, faith, way of life and customs.

• Today, Bashkortostan is among the leading industrial and agro-industrial regions of the Russian Federation.

🌐 It is encouraging to see that the republic is striving to expand its foreign trade relations. It has signed foreign trade agreements with 105 countries and prioritises cooperation with the CIS and the EAEU, as well as the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

• We welcome the focus of Bashkortostan’s leadership and its business circles on expanding foreign relations and looking for reliable foreign partners.

🚣 Bashkortostan is generously endowed with natural riches. Water tourism and mountain river rafting have played a significant role in shaping the person I am today. This passion of mine was born in Bashkortostan, for which I am deeply grateful to this remarkable land.

Read in full

#PresentationOfRegions

⚡️ Russia's Foreign Ministry statement on personal sanctions on members of Australia’s municipal councils

❗️ In response to the politically motivated sanctions imposed on Russian private individuals and legal entities by the Government of Australia as part of the collective West’s Russophobic campaign, the decision has been made to indefinitely deny entry to Russia to 235 Australian nationals who are members of municipal councils actively promoting the anti-Russia agenda in their country. The complete list of individuals affected by this measure follows below.

📄 List of names of Australian citizens that are now denied entry to the Russian Federation

Given that official Canberra shows no sign of renouncing its anti-Russia position and the continued introduction of new sanctions, we will further update the Russian stop list accordingly.

🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks during a meeting of the United Russia General Council’s Commission on International Cooperation and Support for Compatriots Abroad

📍 Moscow, April 16, 2024

#Election2024

• The high interest in voting [during the 2024 Presidential election] was overwhelming, which was confirmed by high turnout as well as the large number of journalists, public figures and representatives from compatriot organisations who observed the elections.

• The electoral process took place amid the hybrid war against Russia unleashed by the collective West. Nevertheless, the Russian Foreign Ministry and its foreign missions have coped with the task. Hundreds of thousands of Russians got the chance to exercise their constitutional right.

#BRICS

• The action plan [of Russia’s current BRICS chairmanship] envisages active work in three main areas, including politics and security, the economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian contacts. The key priority now is to ensure the new members’ harmonious integration into the strategic partnership architecture and to preserve the effective operation of all existing BRICS mechanisms.

• In addition to working on the partner states category, the BRICS members are going to deepen dialogue with friendly countries in the BRICS Plus/BRICS Outreach format. They are planning to involve our associates in the EAEU, CIS, CSTO and the SCO by using this format.

• We are interested in enhancing the role of the BRICS states in the currency, financial and trade systems, developing interbank cooperation, expanding the use of their national currencies in mutual trade and pooling efforts in creating a rating agency and the association’s exchange.

Read in full

🇷🇺🇵🇰 Russian Embassy in Pakistan:

Today H.E. Ambassador Albert Khorev inaugurated the Russian Language Centre at Punjab University in Lahore. After the ceremony the Ambassador met with Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood and the faculty.

#RussiaPakistan

Russian MFA Spox Maria Zakharova:

💬 When asked at today’s briefing if Antonio Guterres thinks that the UN should know who is responsible for the strikes at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujjaric said they do not have a forensic capability of reporting on these strikes, nor does the IAEA. Nor do we have an investigative mandate, he added.

What about his conclusions on Bucha two years ago?

At the briefing on April 7, 2022,Stephane Dujjaric said they wanted to see a transparent investigation. He said there are various mechanisms within the UN system to ensure accountability for what could be very serious crimes. Those mechanisms are currently underway, he added.

So, are these mechanisms underway or is the mandate missing?

❗️ On this day nine years ago, Ukrainian writer and opposition journalist Oles Buzina was assassinated in front of his home in Kiev.

He became one of the many victims of the Kiev criminal regime because he posed a threat to it – he publicly criticised and exposed the true nature of the neo-Nazi forces that had gained power as a result of the bloody coup d'état in Ukraine.

Buzina urged the then Ukrainian leadership to establish a dialogue with the inhabitants of Donbass and spoke about the need to consolidate the rights of the Russian language, which seriously irritated the post-coup officials in Kiev. He also received threats from Ukrainian radicals because his interpretation of Ukraine's historical path did not coincide with the nationalist ideology.

☝️ Such an active and firm civil position of Oles Buzina cost him his life.

A few days before his death, the journalist's personal data, including his home address, appeared on the Myrotrvorets (Peacemaker) extremist website, which contains personal information about all public figures undesirable to the Kiev regime.

Despite the fact that condemnation of the murder, condolences to the victim's family and demands for a comprehensive investigation were voiced by the UN Secretary General, OSCE and US State Department officials and many civil society organisations, the perpetrators of his murder were never identified and the suspects were released.

After almost a decade, it is clear that the situation with freedom of speech in Ukraine has degraded to a critical level.

All media outlets in opposition to the Kiev regime are banned, and any manifestations of dissent are brutally suppressed and erased from the information space. Unwanted journalists, primarily Russian ones, are being hunted down with all possible weapons.

❌ Terrorist methods are being used to implement these criminal plans, while Ukraine's Western handlers and biased human rights organisations continue to turn a blind eye to these evil deeds.

Read in full

🇷🇺🇮🇷📞 Russia's President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi.

The Presidents discussed in detail the situation in the Middle East, escalated by Israel’s air strike at the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus and Iran’s retaliation measures.

☝️ President Putin expressed hope that all sides will exercise sensible restraint and will not allow a new round of confrontation that may be fraught with disastrous consequences for the entire region.

In turn, Ebrahim Raisi noted that Iran’s actions had been forced and limited. At the same time, he emphasised that Tehran is not interested in further escalation of tensions.

Both leaders stated that the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict was the root cause of the current developments in the Middle East. The presidents confirmed Russia and Iran’s principled stance in favour of immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, alleviation of the grievous humanitarian situation and creation of conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement of the crisis.

🤝 During the exchange of views on the current issues of Russia-Iran relations, both leaders expressed their mutual intention to promote steady bilateral cooperation across different areas, including the implementation of mutually beneficial infrastructure projects.

President Putin congratulated Ebrahim Raisi and all Muslims of Iran on the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the recently celebrated Eid al-Fitr.

#RussiaIran