I was finally able to connect to mid.ru to pull the transcript of the March 24, 2022 briefing. Here's a machine translation of the official Russian document.
Note that this is not the official English language transcript but rather a machine translation of the official Russian language transcript from...
https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1806275/
24.03.2022 19:03
Briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, March 24, 2022
615-24-03-2022
On the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov in the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the A. M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Foundation
On the meeting of the Commission of the General Council of the United Russia Party on International Cooperation and Support of Compatriots Abroad
On the upcoming ministerial conference of Afghanistan's neighboring countries
About the situation in Ukraine
On the recruitment of militants in Syria to be sent to Ukraine
About the video prank with British Defense Minister B. Wallace
Briefing by I. A. Kirillov, Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces of the Russian Armed Forces
About the arrest of Ukrainian activist Ye. G. Berezhnaya
On the statements of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
On the statement of the group of Western states in connection with the next anniversary of the beginning of events in Syria
On the anniversary of the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia
About the Waffen-SS legionnaires ' march in Riga
Launch of the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center
About the Independence Day of the Hellenic Republic
On the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States
About the A. A. Gromyko Contest of Young International Students of the CIS
On lifting temporary restrictions on entry to the Russian Federation
From the answers to the questions:
On the reaction in Italy to the statements of the Director of 1ED of the Russian Foreign Ministry A. V. Paramonov
Possible ban on Russian ships entering Latvian and EU ports
Termination of the activities of the Russian Representative Office to the Council of Europe
On the accusations of EU representatives against Russia
Possible mediation of Turkey and Azerbaijan in the settlement of the situation in Ukraine
On the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Russia
On the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan
On the implementation of the trilateral agreements on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
On the humanitarian situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict area
On violation of the Line of Contact in Nagorno-Karabakh
On the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia
On the aggravation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
On the Russian reaction to the situation in Ukraine
About anti-Russian statements
On the consequences of breaking Russian-American relations
About the specifics of issuing visas in Russia and the United States
On the involvement of foreign mercenaries in the conflict in Ukraine
Progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine
On the possibility of a dialogue between the leaders of Russia and the United States
Turkey's refusal to transfer S-400 complexes to Ukraine
On developing trade and economic ties with ASEAN
On further relations with Western countries
On the US attempts to draw India into the anti-Russian bloc
On combating Russophobia and discrimination against Russian citizens
About providing consular assistance to our citizens
On the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov in the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the A. M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Foundation
As we reported at the last briefing, on March 25 this year, a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the A.M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund will be held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov. The results of activities in 2021 will be summed up, and the directions of work for the future will be approved, taking into account the ongoing complex transformation of the sphere of international relations.
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On the meeting of the Commission of the General Council of the United Russia Party on International Cooperation and Support of Compatriots Abroad
On March 28, the second meeting of the Commission of the General Council of the United Russia Party on International Cooperation and Support for Compatriots Abroad, established on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will take place at the Mansion of the Russian Foreign Ministry under the chairmanship of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The main topic of the meeting will be the long-term violations of the rights of the Russian-speaking population in the Donbas and Ukraine, ensuring security and protecting the rights and interests of Russian compatriots abroad, and a comprehensive counteraction to the Russophobic media campaign and illegal sanctions imposed by the collective West. It is also planned to discuss further development of inter-party cooperation with the CIS countries, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
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On the upcoming ministerial conference of Afghanistan's neighboring countries
On March 31, the third ministerial conference of Afghanistan's neighboring countries (Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) will be held in Tunxi, China. The Russian delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The meeting will provide a good opportunity to discuss the coordination of regional efforts on humanitarian and socio-economic assistance to Afghanistan, as well as to compare approaches to countering the threats of the spread of terrorism and drug trafficking emanating from Afghan territory.
On the sidelines of the event, a dialogue between the foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighboring countries and a delegation of the Taliban Movement is planned, as well as a regular meeting of the expanded troika on Afghanistan at the level of special representatives (Russia, China, the United States and Pakistan).
We will promptly inform Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about any additional contacts.
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About the situation in Ukraine
Exactly one month has passed since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. Its goals remain unchanged – the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, the protection of the residents of the DPR and LPR from aggression by the Kiev regime, and the elimination of threats to Russia from the territory of this country. The operation is carried out strictly in accordance with the planned plan. All stated goals will be achieved.
I would like to emphasize that the Russian military is carrying out the tasks assigned to them very clearly and accurately, protecting civilians, and unilaterally opening humanitarian corridors for them to leave for safe areas. This is counteracted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and their nationalist battalions. In the territories already liberated from nationalists, a normal course of life is being restored.
The Kiev authorities do not care about their own citizens. Ukrainian armed groups use civilians as "human shields" (the world has never seen such a thing in modern history), forcibly detain them in blocked settlements, forbidding them, under threat of execution, to evacuate towards Russia. We are talking about the desire of Ukrainian citizens to leave dangerous regions in the direction of our country, because they have friends and relatives. Punishers (it is impossible to call them anything else) forbid doing this.
Only after the unblocking of Mariupol and the breaking of the neo-Nazi resistance by the DPR People's Militia, with the support of the Russian Armed Forces, was it possible to start the work of humanitarian corridors and start evacuating people. At the same time, Ukrainian militants, who criminally held civilians hostage, are once again shamefully hiding behind the backs of women and children, trying to escape under the guise of ordinary citizens.
Ukrainian embassies abroad continue to recruit volunteers and mercenaries to take part in military operations. An unprecedented story. The authorities of many countries where such recruitment is carried out turn a blind eye to the fact that this is a violation of international law, first of all, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, as well as their domestic legislation.
NATO member states continue to actively pump Ukraine with weapons. This not only leads to the prolongation of hostilities, but is also fraught with unpredictable consequences. In recent weeks, Washington alone has sent a total of $ 1 billion in military aid to Kiev, providing hundreds of Stinger man-portable air defense systems, thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. According to the White House, at least 30 other states have provided Ukraine with various types of weapons. We are talking about the fact that this is a threat to the security of the civilian population, given that Ukrainian nationalists and militants use them as" human shields " and hide behind their backs in residential areas.
By making such transfers, Western countries are flagrantly violating their own non-proliferation and safe storage obligations, including the OSCE documents on small arms and light weapons, the "Principles Governing the Transfer of Conventional Weapons"and the" Principles on Export Control of MANPADS".
Let our Western " partners "not be surprised later when the weapons they provided to Kiev" pop up " in the most unexpected places, as it always has been. By their actions, they have created a terrorist threat not only for Europe, but for the whole world. We have already seen how civilian aircraft were shot down earlier, just when extremists, terrorists, and militants used US-supplied MANPADS in those regions of the world where they supported regime change or moderate extremist terrorists-where they considered it necessary to " support democracy." Then the extremists used these weapons to shoot down citizens of NATO countries. There are a huge number of examples.
Ukrainian soldiers have created serious risks for navigation in the Black Sea and other seas. We are talking about about four hundred Ukrainian anchor mines of obsolete types installed on the approaches to the ports of Odessa, Ochakov, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. As a result, about 60 vessels cannot leave Ukrainian ports. Mines that have broken away from their anchors drift towards the Bosporus Strait and can even reach the Mediterranean Sea, which poses a threat to civilian navigation. The Navigation Hydrography and Oceanography Department of the Turkish Navy has already issued a notification warning in this regard.
Currently, negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations on the draft treaty on the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, its neutrality and guarantees of its security are continuing via videoconference. Military, political and humanitarian aspects are discussed.
We hope that Kiev will come to realize the inevitability of a peaceful solution to the problem of demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its transformation into a neutral state for the benefit of the population of the "square" itself and the whole of Europe. The sooner the representatives of the Kiev regime and their curators understand this, the sooner the special military operation will be completed. We call on the administration of V. A. Zelensky to think about the fate of the country, the life of its population, draw conclusions and make appropriate decisions.
They have already missed the main chance for the existence of a sovereign, independent Ukraine within their own borders. They were given this chance again in 2014 and 2015. For seven years, first the team of P. A. Poroshenko, then V. A. Zelensky, was persuaded to use it so that the state would be prosperous. We used all platforms (international and bilateral channels) to explain that there is no other option for the State of Ukraine than to take appropriate steps under the Minsk Action Plan. Otherwise, the country will collapse – what we see now. This is happening in front of the whole world. Apparently, the "will" of the main curator of the Kiev regime, who did not need Ukraine as a state, is too strong. For Washington, it was a tool, an inanimate object – both Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. They were thrown "into the furnace "in order to" warm up "their ambitions and assert their own"exclusivity".
Now we really have a chance, despite the fact that we hear a lot of questions: why do we have a dialogue with people who hate even their own people and are ready to do anything for the sake of an absolutely imposed ideology? We assume that there is a chance.
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On the recruitment of militants in Syria to be sent to Ukraine
In the Middle East, relying on the Ukrainian embassies operating there, in violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention, work is actively underway to recruit local militants for their subsequent use against the Russian Federation.
This operation, according to reports, is carried out within the framework of close coordination between Western intelligence services and the SBU. In fact, we are facing yet another attempt by certain circles in the West to "tame" Middle Eastern radicals and channel their destructive energy into the fight against Russia and, in general, against the world order based on international law. Anglo-Saxon geopolitical engineers are not deterred by the failed results of previous experiments of this kind. The frenzy of Russophobia, apparently, completely deprived them of the memory of September 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks in London, other European capitals, and thousands of them our compatriots who died in Iraq, and the shameful flight from Afghanistan. They hope that the Ukrainian "experience" will be successful, that there they will finally be able to raise "obedient" terrorists who will continue to obey them. The Western world has had such illusions for decades. They fed them, and then they brutally, bloodily struck directly at their own creators. Such extremists and terrorists are brought up on blood. Now it is the blood of Russians, Ukrainians and representatives of other nationalities living in the region. For fighters imported to Ukraine from the Middle East"We all look the same. They will not think whether it is a representative of the Russian Armed Forces or a Ukrainian, Hungarian, Pole, Jew, or Greek. They will simply revel in the violence provided by their recruiters.
A special cynicism of Westerners is manifested in the fact that they have put the mobilization of terrorists on a large scale in Syria – in territories not controlled by the legitimate government of this country. Since 2014, the US military and representatives of other NATO member countries have been illegally present there under the pretext of fighting international terrorism. They are not going to answer to anyone, put ashes on their heads, or make their own excuses. They're just there. They pump oil, carry out operations to recruit terrorists and transfer them to other regions of the world. They need to be there – they are present. Journalists don't ask their own government any questions. Who is dying at the hands of the US military? On what basis are they there? Where does the money from the illegal sale of Syrian oil and other natural resources of this independent country go? Probably, over time, this struggle developed into a" fighting brotherhood", which allows us to count on the help of captured igilovites in"protecting democratic Ukraine from Russian aggression."
I would like to ask a question: how do such steps combine with the current Russian-American deconfliction mechanism in Syria? Is there anyone on the other end of the phone in Washington who can answer?
Once again, we warn you that flirting with terrorists will not lead to good results. Anyone who sets a rabid dog on their neighbor runs the risk of being torn up themselves.
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About the video prank with British Defense Minister B. Wallace
We noticed an amazing event. It shocked not only us, but also the UK. We are talking about the interview of the Minister of Defense of this country B. Wallace to prankers. He had a wonderful conversation with them.
First we had some questions – is this a real video or a deepfake? Based on the statements of the British Ministry of Defense, this is indeed an existing interview with their Minister of Defense.
It is not surprising that B. Wallace could not distinguish between prankers and Ukrainian officials. I leave it to the British public to decide. What is striking is the ease with which representatives of the United Kingdom talk about Ukraine's possession of nuclear weapons and, in principle, the possibility of supporting such a development from London. This does not cause them any protest, questions, or even fright. This confirms only one thing – such plans were not only in Ukraine, but also in NATO. They were prepared for this scenario.
I understand the protests of the British Ministry of Defense, which requires the American video hosting company YouTube to remove this video. According to them, it " poses a threat to the national security of the UK." By and large, the plan of what should have been done with Ukraine has been revealed.
The plan was as follows: first pumping weapons, then completing the "history" in the Donbass by force, and then a direct, open path to deploying everything that implies a NATO presence there. As a" cherry on the cake " – the creation and development of nuclear technologies in the form of appropriate weapons. Of course, from their point of view, it is necessary to remove the video urgently, because this is a historical fact.
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Briefing by I. A. Kirillov, Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces of the Russian Armed Forces
In the context of how the scenario in Ukraine should develop in the near future from the point of view of NATO ideologists, I would like to draw your attention to the briefing by the Chief of the Radiation, chemical and biological Protection Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation I. A. Kirillov. We're on the same station list. Probably because we present facts that cannot be countered with anything.
Igor Kirillov gave a regular briefing today. He spoke about new evidence, incoming materials that allow us to trace the scheme of interaction of the" state machine " of the United States with Ukrainian biological objects. This is a direct connection.
"Attention is drawn to the involvement in the financing of these activities of structures that are directly related to the current leadership of the United States, in particular the Rosemont Seneca investment fund." It is led not by anyone, but by H. Biden. "The Fund has significant financial resources. At the same time, the fund has a close relationship with major contractors of the US military, including Metabiota, which, along with Black and Veach, is the main supplier of equipment for the Pentagon's biolabs around the world."
The relationship of the Biden family with Ukrainian business has long been known, both in the United States and abroad, in the world as a whole. It's just that some scary new evidence has emerged. What they were going to do there is really a "path to hell". There is obvious involvement of the American public sector, the largest business, in fact, a corrupt bundle that went directly to Ukraine and was associated with illegal (illegal) activities related to biolabs and the development of biological weapons on the territory of this country.
Once again, I would like to draw your attention to the briefing by the Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Igor Kirillov. These are the proofs. They cannot be refuted by empty statements made by representatives of the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon. Press secretaries have nothing to do there. Specialists and lawyers should work here – those people who should deal with the criminal activities of the United States on the territory of Ukraine.
This is not a threat to Ukraine or even to the region. We are talking about continents. First of all, about Europe and Asia-Eurasia.
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About the arrest of Ukrainian activist Ye. G. Berezhnaya
We are extremely concerned about the ongoing arrests of civil society activists in Ukraine.
In particular, we are talking about the head of the public organization "Institute of Legal Policy and Social Protection" E. G. Berezhnaya, who was detained on March 17 this year.
It should be noted that E. G. Berezhnaya is well-known in the international human rights community. Since 2014, she has repeatedly spoken at the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe platforms with criticism of the discriminatory policy of the "Maidan authorities" towards the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine, constantly drew attention to the facts of persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and actively opposed the planting of the cult of Bandera and other Nazi collaborators in the country.
In connection with the detention of E. G. Berezhnaya, there are serious reasons to fear for her life and health. We see what is happening in Ukraine right now: people are being taken hostage, they are being used as a "human shield", they are being abducted (not only adults, but also children). We demand the immediate release of the Ukrainian human rights defender, other illegally detained public figures and civilians.
We also expect a reaction and intervention from relevant international structures and bodies, in particular, through the UN and OSCE, which constantly declare their increased attention to the problem of inadmissibility of any reprisals against human rights defenders.
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On the statements of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
We drew attention to the statements made a few days ago by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian about Russia in the context of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
I would like to emphasize that recently a number of foreign ministers of Western countries, having forgotten about the rules of decency and legality, allow themselves to make statements that are not consistent with professional ethics and with the legal side of this case. Among them is J.-I. Le Drian. On various media platforms, he exercises in emotional anti-Russian rhetoric, accusing the Russian leadership of committing "war crimes" in Ukraine, as well as unleashing an "information and propaganda war". Is that us? I think he's got something mixed up. Maybe he doesn't know much about the history of his country. Let him read it, just in case he finds some familiar words about Libya. About propaganda and information warfare – everything is mixed up there. Perhaps he should watch the newscasts and read the French media. Did the French Foreign Minister see the issue of the French edition of Charlie Hebdo? If he doesn't follow, I can tell you – this "satirical magazine" called Ukrainians "animals". You can treat politicians and the regime as you like, practice satire and humor as you like. But if you speak out in support of people, the civilian population, then watch how your media and journalists speak out against them. We understand that the situation on Ukraine and the statements of Ukrainian journalists go beyond all legal limits (this is what the denazification operation is connected with), but it seems that their state has always treated French correspondents with respect before, based on the principles of freedom of speech. What's going on there? Where is the objective view, the pluralism of opinions? Where is the slightest respect for the people who were forced to leave their country and seek refuge all over Europe? They are forcibly prevented from entering the territory of the Russian Federation. Although they want to come. At the same time, these people are called "animals"by the French media. Probably like thisThe Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, such is the satirical magazine, judging by the statements.
This raises a question. It's been so many years. Did Paris really not bother to understand the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis? They were co-sponsors, it was their job-not from time to time, but on a permanent basis. Let me remind you that France had eight whole years to do this, while it, together with Germany, unsuccessfully (as we now see) acted as a guarantor and, in fact, a mediator in resolving the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine in the "Normandy format". From the very beginning of the dramatic events in Ukraine, launched by the Western-backed unconstitutional coup d'etat We patiently pointed out to Paris and Berlin the outrageous selectivity of their approach to what is happening. We have repeatedly spoken about the perniciousness of deliberately silencing the absolutely illegal Russophobic antics of the Kiev regime and its open unwillingness to implement the Minsk Agreements, which was accompanied by an endless military aggression against the population of Donbass by Kiev, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and nationalist battalions that joined the ranks of the Ukrainian army. Numerous civilian casualties also went unnoticed by the collective West.
Now our Western partners are actively pumping discredited Kiev authorities with various weapons, including MANPADS. It is no secret that it is distributed without control to all comers, including criminals released from prison. Still, Paris should understand where these criminals with MANPADS will go next. No Poland or Czech Republic can stop them. They will go further. The West is now shaping its future. There is no need to ask rhetorical questions: where, when and at whom will the distributed Western weapons shoot, which turned out to be in the hands of not only nationalists, but also criminals and criminals, released from prison. The answer is obvious-weapons will be used against NATO members and residents of these countries, who are now actively encouraging this. You may ask why? Because it's always been like this. All the extremists and militants who were politically and ideologically created and armed in the West always returned to them. I don't know by what "law of philosophy", a mystical combination of circumstances. It's hard to say. But it's always been like this. So it will be now.
More than one fiction and documentary work is devoted to this strange, seemingly logical relationship. It is better to understand this now. Maybe in Paris, Berlin, London there is a feeling that the same" buffer " in the form of Eastern Europe will stop the militants? No. It won't stop you. They will get to the"desired". Just like they always did. I do not frighten, but warn and explain how it will happen.
Before discussing the topic of "war crimes", we should first recall our own history, the NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia and Libya, and Iraq. I know that France did not participate in this. But as a member of NATO, it took part in many other events. Now everyone has urgently forgotten that Ukraine itself participated in the anti-Iraq campaign-and nothing is normal, only encouraged. You will laugh, but Savchenko herself served in the Ukrainian contingent sent as part of the NATO operation against Iraq. Such" grimaces " of history. It will also develop now.
As for the collapse of the Libyan statehood, Paris played "first fiddle" there. All this has led to a humanitarian catastrophe in the once prosperous state that has been going on since 2011. When will the Champs-Elysees gather to answer for their own actions in this area? Never? Sorry. In this regard, we also remind the French Foreign Minister that the consequence of those actions was the formation of various terrorist groups in the region, which quickly spread from Libya to the Sahara-Sahel zone. At the same time, as we can see, the attempts made by Paris over the past ten years to counteract the terrorist threat in the Sahel have been completely fruitless. Probably, in Paris, they remember the terrorist attacks that recently "swept" all over France? They also didn't appear out of nowhere. Apparently, they are also connected with something. This is always the case if you conduct experiments on regime change and supply weapons to extremists and terrorists. There is a historical law – then all this is returned to the countries from which it came.
All criticism from Paris, and other representatives of the West in relation to Russia, as a rule, clearly fits into the outline of the Russian proverb: "In a stranger's eye we see a speck of dust, in our own we do not see a log."
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On the statement of the group of Western states in connection with the next anniversary of the beginning of events in Syria
We drew attention to the joint statement of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy, which was published on March 15 this year in connection with the eleventh anniversary of the beginning of what they call the "Syrian uprising." Now it's called this.
Let me remind you that the imperative of our policy in the Syrian direction has always been and remains respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. Over the years, we've heard a lot of things in our address, no matter how much we've been scared, no matter what we've been promised. History has put everything in its place. Thanks to Russia's actions, it was Syria that "crashed" the "wave" of destruction of statehood in the Middle East launched by the West. This would be a catastrophe for the whole world, given, alas, the availability of appropriate technologies that could lead to the emergence of weapons of mass destruction (it is clear that "dirty", unofficial), the number of weapons in the region, extremists, terrorists and fundamental ideology.
The chain launched by NATO (primarily the United States) could lead to a global catastrophe. It was prevented by our country. Russia has made a decisive contribution to the defeat of the largest terrorist group in the history of mankind, ISIS. Have you forgotten about it? Nothing in the West now reminds us of the existing global threat? Irreparable damage was inflicted on other illegal armed groups. Sorry it doesn't remind you. The wreckage of the statehood of countries like Iraq, their broken and destroyed armed forces, in the sense that they ceased to be organized and under the control of the state, became disparate representatives with weapons in their hands and a fundamental ideology that appeared after strangers came there – this was the "breeding ground" for the emergence of ISIS. No responsibility, regret, or self-flagellation is even close.
NATO's actions, as we can see in the case of Libya, have led to the spread of chaos in the region, with the consequences of which almost all the countries of North Africa and the Sahel are now facing. The bombing of Libya by aircraft of a number of NATO countries, which resulted in the collapse of the state, impoverished population, famine, migrant flows and civil war, cannot be called anything other than a war crime.
This propaganda product predictably reflects the flawed Western interpretation of events in the Syrian Arab Republic, is full of biased assessments and double standards. Apparently, they decided to take advantage of the moment and reverse the interpretation of those events. It won't work. This statement fully fits into the well-known line of the "collective West" on the active dissemination of disinformation and misleading the world community both in relation to what is happening in Syria and in other parts of the world. It reproduces traditional accusations against the legitimate authorities of the SAR, as well as Russia. Attempts in the text of the statement to draw parallels between the Syrian conflict and the situation in Ukraine could not be more cynical. In both cases, Russia is accused of creating a humanitarian catastrophe (our favorite). If there are parallels between these two situations, then in both cases the Russian Federation acted and continues to act in response to requests from the leaders of sovereign states in order to protect them, the population, and stabilize the situation, which was unbalanced by the fault of the same Western countries.
For our part, we consider it necessary to once again recall the destructive role of the United States and its allies, who from the very beginning of the Syrian conflict were purposefully engaged in fueling it. Pursuing their own narrow-minded, short-term, opportunistic interests, they did not disdain to provide full support to any forces opposing the Government of the SAR. They fed more and more extremists, including creating a new "layer" of international terrorists. At the same time, the West could not help but realize that such a policy leads to a prolongation of the crisis and the continuation of bloodshed. Apparently, this was one of the tasks.
The US-led "International Anti-Terrorist Coalition" did not so much fight ISIS as carry out massive bombardments of the territory of Syria with numerous civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
The targets of such strikes have repeatedly been the Syrian military, which liberated their country from hordes of terrorists imported and armed with the help of the West. I want to remind you about the dirty "chemical" provocations staged by groups supervised by Western intelligence services. They were called "humanitarian" and "human rights" organizations, NGOs (think of the White Helmets). In fact, this is part of an extremist chain. They provided all possible support to the terrorists. Naturally, this was done with Western money. The State Department openly funded everything (as for the "White Helmets"). This was managed by a retired agent of the British special services, who was later "removed" as unnecessary when he began to interfere.
The Americans still prevent the restoration of the sovereignty of the SAR in the Trans-Euphrates region. They are pushing local Kurds on the path of separatism, leading to the dismemberment of the country. The United States continues to occupy a 55-kilometer "security zone" around its illegal military base in the village of At-Tanf in the south of the country. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is deprived of access to hydrocarbon deposits and other natural resources located in the north-east of Syria.
The US and its allies are doing everything possible to slow down the post-crisis recovery of the Syrian Arab Republic by consistently expanding the scope of unilateral restrictive measures against Damascus. We remember how it was introduced despite the deteriorating situation on the ground due to the pandemic. Blow after blow was delivered in order to hurt, put the lives of the civilian population in unbearable conditions and, thereby, influence Damascus. A monstrous story. First, there are attempts at regime change, destabilization, chaos in the country, arms supplies to Syria, recruiting extremists and militants, carrying out experiments and terrorist acts, including using chemical weapons, bombing from above, pumping oil, and looting the state. Then, when it didn't work out because of Russia's active actions, there were suffocating sanctions against the background of a pandemic for Syria, which had already resisted and tried to survive for ten years.
I recall the words of former US Secretary of State Michael Albright. In the 1990s, Western journalists (then they could afford to) asked her how the United States estimated the thousands of children's lives (and it was called half a million) who died under US sanctions against Iraq. She calmly (there is a video) answered - as reasonable measures. That's all. Then they coined the term "collateral damage – - the sacrifices that must be made in order for the American point of view to prevail, so that they dominate and emphasize their "exclusivity". Just "justified victims". Now they consider what is happening in Ukraine, the number of refugees, etc. Count the number of civilian casualties caused by US sanctions alone in Latin America and the Middle East. I'll tell you about the bombing separately. The process of political settlement of the Syrian crisis and the return of refugees and internally displaced persons is artificially hindered in the Syrian Arab Republic. This is also done by Westerners.
We would like to emphasize that the countries that adopted the above-mentioned statement bear the main responsibility for the tragic events on Syrian soil: almost half a million deaths and even more injuries, multibillion-dollar damage to the Syrian economy and social infrastructure, and the most severe suffering of the people who overwhelmingly rejected the geopolitical project of the West. They need to denounce Syria and Russia, which has played a key role in ensuring the defeat of ISIS and continues its consistent efforts to promote the long-awaited peace on Syrian soil.
We called for doing this together. Create an anti-ISIS, anti-terrorist global coalition. This was in 2015. They just laughed at us because it didn't fit their plans. They thought we couldn't do it. Turn out. Apparently, they decided to take revenge on us. It won't work this time either.
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On the anniversary of the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia
On this day 23 years ago, on March 24, 1999, NATO launched an aggression against Yugoslavia. Let me remind you of a European country, a full member of the UN, OSCE and other multilateral structures. Everything was violated: the UN Charter, the fundamental principles of international law. For 78 days, the United States and its allies bombed cities and villages, civilian infrastructure, blew up bridges, passenger trains and buses, and killed women, children and the elderly. Hundreds of members of the Yugoslav security forces died courageously defending their country. It was then that the West, with its own hands, destroyed the foundation on which security in Europe was based in the post-war period.
We hear statements that Europe has never seen anything like this, citing Ukraine as an example. Oh, really? Have you forgotten yourself in the 1990s in Eastern Europe, particularly in Yugoslavia? You may have forgotten, but they do remember. We remember. The world won't forget.
Washington and its satellites have arrogantly and unilaterally assumed the right to use force whenever they want. Just because their geopolitical experiment then began to "fail", not everything went "smoothly", not everyone "saluted". The peoples of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and other countries paid a terrible tribute to NATO's Moloch . Hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Some of them did not die, but were infected with depleted uranium-such shells were used against citizens of Yugoslavia. Citizens of other countries also suffered, and" on the other side " – NATO contingents deployed "on the ground". It's all useless. It's not anyone's fault. No claims were ever settled. There is no problem. That's all.
No one was punished in any way. Never. Not in any of the cases mentioned. Just "collateral damage". Losses that "accompany" the realization of the geopolitical ambitions of the United States, Great Britain and their satellites. It was only after some of the most egregious cases of civilian killings that the US military reluctantly issued its "apologies." And that's all.
In the current circumstances, when it comes to protecting people who were subjected to genocide, abuse, torture, and oppression in Ukraine for eight years, the United States and its allies hypocritically try to portray "righteous anger" and cynically talk about alleged violations of international law. They bombed it themselves in 1999, and then repeated this "successful" experience several times in the 2000s.
It is not for them to read morals to others.
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About the Waffen-SS legionnaires ' march in Riga
We talk about it every year. Zero reaction from international organizations, NGOs and human rights defenders.
On March 16, a traditional procession of former Waffen-SS legionnaires and their admirers from among representatives of local national radical organizations took place in the center of Riga. At the same time, the application of the Latvian Anti-fascist Committee for holding a protest action in the metropolitan municipality was rejected. Here is proof of the true attitude to the topic of neo-Nazism. This is happening in the center of Europe even now.
We regard the event aimed at glorifying former SS men as a blatant mockery of the memory of those who saved the world from the "brown plague"at the cost of their lives. They've been doing this for over 70 years. After the war, they were still somewhat shy. Then everything. NATO "suffered": rewriting history, textbooks, mutilated the history of the Second World War, mutilated the memory of people, violated the memory of heroes, copied the feat to criminals, making them false heroes. Now they are reaping the results of their own bloody experiments and twisted logic.
Once again, the Latvian authorities condone this shameful phenomenon for modern Europe. No need to say that "not so many" people passed through there. Like, big deal. You wouldn't think so!
These people have a lot of followers, they have received a corresponding signal. They know it's "normal." Everything was changed. These are not European freedom fighters, but banal collaborators. All this is not surprising given Latvia's comprehensive support for the pro-Nazi regime in Ukraine.
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Launch of the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center
On March 22, this year, a ceremony was held to launch the BRICS Virtual Center for Vaccine Research and Development with the participation of the heads of relevant departments of the five countries.
The initiative to establish the Center is recorded in the final declaration of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg (July 26-27, 2018). It includes leading research institutes and companies of the BRICS countries – the O. Cruz Foundation (Brazil), the A. A. Smorodintsev Influenza Research Institute (Russia), the Indian Council for Medical Research (India), Sinovac Life Science (China) and the South African Medical Research Council (South Africa).
The main objective of the Center is to share best practices and strengthen practical cooperation in the field of research, development, production and distribution of vaccines in order to ensure their greater availability. The new mechanism is designed to develop mechanisms for prevention, diagnosis and prompt response to new viruses, as well as to ensure timely and universal vaccination against the COVID-19 virus.
Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Mikhail Murashko stressed the important role of the Center in coordinating the work of the BRICS countries in monitoring existing infectious diseases, in particular influenza, tuberculosis, HIV, as well as potential biological threats.
We consider the launch of the BRICS Center for Vaccine Research and Development to be a major achievement of the five-sided cooperation in the year of the Chinese presidency of the Group of Five. We look forward to consistently strengthening cooperation in the healthcare sector, in particular through the implementation of the Russian initiative to establish a Comprehensive BRICS System for Early Warning of the risks of Mass infectious Diseases.
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About the Independence Day of the Hellenic Republic
On March 25, Greece celebrates its national holiday – Independence Day.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, our country supported the national liberation struggle of the Greeks, made a decisive contribution to its success and the formation of statehood. 2022 marks the 195th anniversary of the victory of the allied squadron of Russia, France and Great Britain in the Battle of Navarino, which brought the liberation of Greek territory closer.
The peoples of Russia and Greece have repeatedly stood shoulder to shoulder against common threats, coming to the rescue of each other in difficult historical moments, including in the struggle against fascism and Nazism during the Second World War.
Centuries-old ties of friendship and mutual understanding, cultural and spiritual kinship are the foundation on which strong equal and mutually respectful relations between countries and peoples are built. We are sure that Greek citizens share this approach.
These days I hear a lot of statements from Greek politicians. I want to appeal not to them (it may be useless), but to the people of Greece. Your cultural code includes countering fascism and neo-Nazism. Your twentieth-century culture reflects the suffering of Nazism and fascism. Don't you understand how the Donbass suffered for eight years, what a terrible catastrophe occurred in Ukraine when nationalist battalions became part of the armed forces of this country? They were "charged" with destroying populations that did not obey their will. Can't you learn a lesson from your own story that will help you understand what is happening? I believe that you should understand! You can't betray your memory!
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On the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States
On March 27, 1992, the Agreement on the establishment of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States was signed. Appearing almost simultaneously with the CIS, the Assembly has become a key platform for parliamentary diplomacy in the post-Soviet space. Over the 30 years of its existence, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly has become an effective tool for bringing the legal systems of the Commonwealth states closer together and creating conditions for comprehensive regional integration. The most important areas of work of this structure are the development of the legal framework for the common economic space of the CIS, international cooperation, and the study and popularization of parliamentarism.
In the context of the new world order that has begun to take shape, and the unprecedented pressure of the West, led by the United States, which is trying to dictate its own approaches and rules to the whole world, the institutions of people's diplomacy, including platforms for inter-parliamentary interaction between countries, are becoming increasingly political and humanitarian.
It is significant that the next session of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly will be held in a few days, on March 29, in Alma-Ata, where the Agreement on its establishment was signed 30 years ago.
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About the A. A. Gromyko Contest of Young International Students of the CIS
I would like to draw your attention to the announcement posted on our website about the opening of the admission of works for the A. A. Gromyko Contest of Young International Students of the CIS.
The A. A. Gromyko CIS International Students ' Competition has been held annually since 2018 and has brought together more than 1,100 young scientists from 11 countries, 243 cities and 252 leading universities for 4 years. The competition was positively evaluated by the Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia V. I. Matvienko and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia S. V. Lavrov, who is the Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the A. A. Gromyko Association for Foreign Policy Studies (AVI).
To participate in the contest, you must submit an application via the electronic form on the official website of the contest by May 12, 2022 inclusive, enclosing the participant's application form and the contest entry.
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On lifting temporary restrictions on entry to the Russian Federation
In accordance with the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 522-r of March 17, 2022, temporary restrictions on entry to the Russian Federation of foreign citizens and stateless persons, including Ukrainian citizens entering from the territories of the DPR, LPR and Ukraine, will be lifted from March 18 this year.
Restrictions are also lifted for citizens of the Republic of Belarus entering the Russian Federation through the Russian-Belarusian state border, and for Russian citizens entering the Republic of Belarus through the Russian-Belarusian state border.
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From the answers to the questions:
Question: Italy saw threats in the comments made by the Director of the First European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Paramonov. He also spoke about bilateral energy cooperation. How would you comment?
Answer: We have had a wide response to the wild statements made by Italian officials over the past few weeks. This, first of all. Secondly, within the framework of anti-Russian Russophobic attitudes, much is now focused in Italy on finding non-existent threats and identifying meanings. That is why the interview of the Director of the First European Department, dated March 19, was so crudely and cynically distorted.
In this interview, the facts were stated in a calm, non-confrontational way and concerns were expressed in connection with the increase in the degree of anti-Russian statements by Italian politicians. He also drew attention to the further deterioration of Russian-Italian relations. All this was presented by some employees of the information industry as a kind of veiled threat to Italy. This may be due to translation difficulties. We must try very hard to see in these lines a certain veiled threat to Italy. Maybe this is an internal perception through the prism of your own phobias. There's nothing there that they attributed to him.
What was launched in the media and went on is a classic fake: the phrase is taken out of context, meaning is put there that was not there. Further, an information war is ignited, which, it is not clear why, is used by the Italian establishment.
I would not like to believe that Russian-Italian relations, with their centuries-old history and vivid examples of fruitful cooperation, have entered the era of the "witch hunt", the persecution of everything related to Russia.
The main thing is not to succumb to provocations by either the Italian media or politicians, which are clearly organized by NATO institutions in the information sphere.
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Question: Latvia plans to ban Russian ships from entering its ports. This was announced on Monday by the Minister of Communications T. Linkaits. He called for a ban on behalf of the European Union. How do you assess the prospects and consequences of such a decision by the EU?
Answer: Such an initiative is absurd. Apparently, the authors in the anti-Russian frenzy decided to make their own contribution and strike at international transport and logistics chains. Their violation even without this initiative has led to an outbreak of inflation, a shortage of goods in Europe, the European Union in particular. Do we need to increase the suffering of our own population?
I understand perfectly well that in any Latvia they do not think about the citizens of Latvia, nor about the citizens of Estonia and Lithuania, much less about the citizens of Russia or the same Ukraine. They hardly think about Polish citizens. They should also understand that even their supervisors in Brussels will be dealt a direct blow.
We all know that the Baltic states and their political establishment are directly controlled from London and Washington through NATO structures or purposefully in manual mode. Apparently, this is beneficial for the Anglo-Saxon duo, but in Latvia they should understand that they themselves will suffer.
As for the Baltic ports, the dynamics that we are currently seeing (I mean the downward dynamics of loading) are well known to everyone. If the politicians of these countries have decided to further reduce cargo turnover in their own ports, this is their business. It is significant that the willingness to sacrifice one's own economic interests goes hand in hand with requests to ask Brussels for appropriate compensation. If another anti-Russian decision is made by Latvia and Lithuania, our cargo flows will be reoriented as necessary. Russian ports in the Baltic and Black Sea basins will continue to function and develop rapidly, but the economic interests of European countries will inevitably suffer. They can't help but understand this.
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Question: What will happen to the Russian diplomatic staff when Russia leaves the Council of Europe? When do you plan to liquidate the representative office?
Answer: Due to Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe, the Permanent Mission of Russia in Strasbourg will cease its work. Specific terms, modalities, and forms are subject to further agreement.
I would like to remind you that in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the authorities of the host country (in this case, France) are obliged to provide the necessary assistance to our diplomatic mission, including in ensuring the security of its employees and their families, premises and property.
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Question: Head of the European Diplomacy Zh.Borrell and European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries V. Sinkevicius accused Russia of using water resources in Ukraine as a weapon. How could the Russian Foreign Ministry comment on such statements?
Answer: This is a masterpiece and a "record" of the depth of moral and professional decline in Brussels.
First, the Mariupol City Council notified on February 19 of this year, i.e. even before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, that due to damage to the South Donbass water Pipeline, which supplies water from the river to Seversky Donets, the city switched to backup water supply from the local Starokrymsky reservoir. It was stated that "the situation remains fully controlled, and" residents did not feel a failure in the water supply."
On March 11 of this year, city officials reported that the water supply began to be restored the day before. At that time, the distribution of water looked like this: 30% - through the water pipeline, 70% - from the reservoir. In normal mode, the proportion is reversed.
This means that there is water for the city. In principle, the issue will be resolved after the DPR troops, with the support of Russian forces, liberate both Mariupol itself and the rest of the republic's territory from national radicals, and Ukraine will be demilitarized.
Secondly, while accusing Russian troops of deliberately "cutting off" the civilian population of Mariupol from water, the European Union and its leaders ignore the fact that two days earlier, on March 20, the Interagency Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine stated that the Russian Defense Ministry opens humanitarian corridors for both the civilian population and the Ukrainian military to leave Mariupol on March 21, but without weapons. Also declares "silent mode".
The statement does not mention that Ukrainian nationalists continue to hide behind local civilians as a "human shield". In previous days, between 80 and 235 civilians a day were simply killed by militants while trying to leave the city. This is also not mentioned. It does not say that Russian humanitarian convoys were organized from the eastern side in Mariupol on March 21; that the Russian military managed to evacuate 68 thousand people from Mariupol (as of the end of the day on March 28) without any participation of the Kiev authorities. What happened yesterday March 23 this year the armed forces of the Russian Federation announced two more routes from Mariupol-in the direction of Rostov-on-Don and Zaporozhye.
Moreover, humanitarian corridors are being opened daily in the Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv directions - one humanitarian corridor to Russia and one more to the west. At the same time, no corridor towards Russia has been agreed upon by official Kiev. The European Union does not want to see this. Where is the EU statement on this? They just don't exist. Perhaps, through journalists, it is somehow possible to shake the reaction out of Zh.Borrell on this point. At least he'll get a word of the truth out of himself.
The third point. Any lamentations of Brussels in this regard, perhaps, would be worth listening to, if not for one "but". From April 2014 and for almost eight years thereafter, the European Union could have protested with comparable energy against cutting off the water supply from the Dnieper River to the Crimean Peninsula via the North Crimean Canal. But I didn't do it once, never, despite the fact that all the materials were there. Until 2014, this canal provided up to 90% of Crimea's fresh water needs. First, the Kiev regime closed these floodgates, and in 2017 it built a real concrete dam. Thus, the water supply was blocked. Something else was planted there to cement this decision forever.
By such actions, Ukraine violated its international obligations under article b of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and articles 1 and 2 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
How many times have we talked about this at these briefings? How many materials were sent to all international organizations! How many times have Russian permanent representatives to international organizations spoken on this issue! Not once, not a word. Neither J.Borrell, neither his predecessors, nor any other figures, environmental activists or international officials have spoken out on this issue. The wrong people were suffering, or the civilian population was deprived of water. This is in line with the" selective " attitude, the imposition of real segregation. And all this against the background of statements that some are exceptional, the second-ordinary. That some people can and should fight for their existence, while others refuse to do so. That some people need water, but others can suffer for many years without water. About eight years old. We know what it's called. We've all been through this before. We were warned about all this.
The European Union has never bothered with this issue in all these years. This is a direct responsibility, including for the Western media, which serve the interests of Brussels. Never once did they send requests to this account, did not make stories. The European Union has not been concerned about this issue for all these years. Neither water, nor human rights. There were no statements from Brussels to Kiev that water should never be used as a means of waging war. They only gave me money. Tranches, millions, loans, weapons, technology. Moreover, the European Union supported the policy of discrimination against Crimeans, trying to punish the inhabitants of the peninsula with their own restrictions for their democratic choice in favor of Russia. The wrong people. Clear segregation. They simply did not name it, but the policy was carried out exactly in this direction.
Russia has solved the problem of water supply in Crimea on its own. We told you about it. A whole complex of works was carried out to use its own water sources on the peninsula. New water intakes and conduits have been built. In the first days of the special operation, on February 26, the dam that blocked the North Crimean Canal was blown up. Water from the Dnieper started flowing again and has already arrived in the Crimea, as it has been for many years.
The question arises whether Brussels is aware of the facts I have listed, or whether they simply do not want to know about them. We published them all the time, what did we do with them at the EU headquarters? Was it placed under the leg of a "lame" chair? Depending on the answer, it will be possible to conclude whether this is a banal lack of professionalism of European officials or a cynical misinformation of the European international community.
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Question: How does Russia assess the fact that Turkey regularly offers to mediate in the situation with Ukraine? We saw Sergey Lavrov's meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart mediated by the Turkish Foreign Minister. It is known that official Baku has repeatedly stated its readiness to provide its own platform for negotiations. How does the Russian Foreign Ministry perceive these proposals?
Answer: You answered your own question. We have never refused the assistance that countries have offered. We believe that over the past eight years, States that have expressed such a desire have been able to exercise their capabilities in terms of influencing the Kiev regime and encouraging it to fulfill its obligations.
We are currently considering all constructive suggestions. We respond to useful, effective initiatives (at least those that can lead to some results). You mentioned a few examples yourself.
On the other hand, meetings for meetings and initiatives for initiatives are not an option. Anything that is constructive will be considered.
We are grateful to all those who even verbally express their readiness and choice in favor of such mediation and assistance to the diplomatic settlement, which is also underway now.
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Question: Minister Sergey Lavrov held telephone talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart. Among other issues discussed were preparations for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in April. Could you tell us what specific events are planned and give an assessment of the level of our relations?
Answer: Let me remind you that diplomatic relations were established 30 years ago on April 4, 1992. The history of relations between our peoples is much longer, deeper, and has historical roots, but there is also a formal side. We are talking about diplomatic relations. Together with our Azerbaijani friends, we have prepared a number of significant events for this anniversary. This includes the exchange of official congratulatory messages and meetings at various levels.
Special emphasis is placed on the development of cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Exhibitions and concerts within the framework of the Days of Azerbaijan in Russia have started. The Ministry of Culture of our country is preparing a number of events in Azerbaijan.
It is symbolic that the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations is celebrated against the background of the signing of the Declaration on Allied Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on February 22 in Moscow. This document opens up new opportunities for further strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas, including trade and economic, military and political, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
This year, a whole series of 30-year anniversaries will be celebrated, as you know, in connection with the establishment of diplomatic relations with a number of other CIS member states. There are also cross-border events. Therefore, we are preparing and already implementing it. We will talk about this regularly.
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Question: Is a meeting of the Foreign Ministers planned?
Answer: There is no exact date yet. Let's proceed from what will be agreed upon. We always share this information.
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Question: During the telephone talks, the ministers discussed the implementation of key provisions of the trilateral agreements on the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement. At what stage is the implementation of the agreements, what topical issues are being resolved at the moment, including the unblocking of transport and economic ties and the creation of a delimitation and demarcation commission?
Answer: The negotiations are held behind closed doors. We share all the information that you can. A corresponding press release was published on March 21 (1, 2).
The implementation of the agreements of November 9, 2020, January 11, and November 26, 2021 focuses on several priority areas. Within the framework of the Trilateral Working Group co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers, a package of projects for the development of transport highways with a focus on rail and road communication is being coordinated. Interdepartmental contacts are continuing with Russia's advisory assistance to launch the process of delimitation and subsequent demarcation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border.
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Question: Recently, the humanitarian situation in Artsakh has significantly worsened. Despite these calls, the Azerbaijani side is hindering gas supplies to Artsakh. During the repair of the blown-up gas pipeline, the Azerbaijani side installed a valve and, after a short-term restoration of gas supply, on March 18 this year, the next day it manually cut off the gas supply. How does the Russian side assess the actions of the Azerbaijani side, which have created serious humanitarian problems for the population of Artsakh?
Answer: We have previously commented on this topic. In our contacts with both sides, we urge to resolve the problem of gas supplies to this region as soon as possible. Relevant work is being carried out through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Energy of Russia and Gazprom. We believe that the difficult humanitarian situation must not be further aggravated. Ordinary residents should not suffer.
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Question:According to the statement of the Artsakh information Headquarters, at 16: 00 today, the Azerbaijani armed forces violated the line of contact in the direction of the village of Parukh in the Askeran region. Representatives of the Russian peacekeeping forces are trying to stop the enemy's further advance through negotiations and return it to its original position. How do you assess this clear violation of the tripartite declaration?
Answer: This should be assessed by our peacekeeping forces stationed there. I repeat what was said today: the situation is already tense and complex. It should not be compounded by the actions of any of the parties.
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Question: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia, as well as the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Armenian-Russian Treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. What bilateral events are planned in connection with these anniversaries?
Answer: We will definitely provide detailed information on this issue. Today I have already told you about how we prepare anniversary events. I will definitely share this information.
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Question: I will return to today's offensive of the Azerbaijani troops. No matter how much it concerns the peacekeepers, we see a strong reaction in the Armenian society. There are analogies with the operation "Ring" of the Soviet Union. How does Russia plan to implement the trilateral statement?
Answer: As for the political statement, I have already said that neither side should worsen the situation, which is already tense. If we talk about the situation "on the spot" with the conduct of facts, then this is a question of military experts who are there.
I'll try to clarify the invoice. Perhaps we'll give you an additional comment.
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Question: Now openly fascist actions and statements are coming from Ukraine. From the video of torture of our servicemen and Ukrainian citizens. Before the statements about the castration of our prisoners of war, revenge on our servicemen after the special operation and their families, comparing Russians with cockroaches…
Is this a reason to call an extraordinary session of the UN, where it will be possible to go through official Ukrainian sources, excluding accusations of Russian propaganda? It is clear that we will not be able to convey to the United States and Europe, it is useless to prove something to them. But somehow we can go out and talk about it
Answer: We can somehow. Now we are engaged in denazification. And before that, for many years we transmitted materials, called conferences, and distributed videos of official documents. This is not just about public statements, an ugly "frenzy", but about the fact that under this ideology, the West supplied weapons there and incorporated nationalist battalions into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under its auspices, infecting them with the bacillus of neo-Nazism. That's the problem.
As for the prospects of weapons of mass destruction. I've already talked about this today. Don't go back a year, two, three, five. We went through all this and used it: we invited journalists there, distributed materials, talked about it every briefing, quoted, sent, translated materials. But they are engaged and were engaged in the destruction of their own state. But they did it in the region, setting as their goal the extermination of Russian citizens and Russians living both on their territory, and on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk, and on the territory of our country. This was from add statements to the application. No one disavowed it. There were no investigative actions or investigations. What are we talking about? What an investigation of nationalist rhetoric, when the murders were not investigated on the territory of Ukraine. They were committed against public figures, publicists, journalists, and the civilian population on the fact of their disagreement. People were driven to the House of Trade Unions in Odessa and set on fire. They screamed, begged to be released, and the crowd raged and watched as people burned there. And you tell someone to show them something, highlight it, and distribute it. Books have already been published on the topic of the tragedy in Odessa. But in parallel with the publication of books about this tragedy, a generation of nationalists grew up and nurtured, who joined the ranks of the "battalions" and were trained (including on this tragedy) as future "great warriors" who should fight with Russia and with Russian culture.
As for today's specific nationalist statements and threats. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation is working. You can go to their website. They promptly publish relevant materials about their decisions. Many criminal cases have already been initiated there. I'm not a representative of this structure, so I'll just forward you there to take a look in the original source.
As for Western curators. This is a frequently asked question for me: "Have you tried informing them?" "How do you deal with the information threat?". Who should I inform? Maybe we should inform the British? About the horrors that the population of Ukraine has faced for eight years? Look at what they're doing right now. We have published lists of Russian citizens who have property and real estate in the UK. For what? In order to somehow take advantage of this property. So they already occupied it, and there were exclamations that it should be occupied. What is this? Where is the concept of private property? Even if there are questions about the origin of this money. There are judicial procedures, investigations, law, legality, lawyers. Where did it all go?
This is a misunderstanding of the fact that Europe has already been through all this. Remember the presentation? There was such a term. According to the same lists of owners and owners calculated in this very Europe. Their property was taken away and transferred to other persons. Without trial, without changing the political course of the country or the political system. Not because of revolutions or rebellions, but because of the legitimate government, property was seized from people of one nationality and transferred to people of another nationality. Do you see something new now, what is happening in Europe? Yes, it's all the same. Who will we tell and prove something to? We've done this before. Now they have shown their true nature, repeating what they did in the 1930s and 1940s.
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Question: Do you have any signals that the West is beginning to understand what their anti-Russian hysteria is leading to? Is there any possible Russian response being worked out to the massacre of Russians that may occur?
Answer: All relevant warnings have been issued and will continue to be issued to the Governments of these countries. We work both through our embassies and with their diplomatic missions here. We make public statements with warnings about the threat of such events and their development if this nationalism continues to develop in Europe. We present historical facts, parallels, analogies, etc.
As for whether they understand. A part of society understands. People who are already experiencing domestic violence on a national basis. Those who are enlightened and educated know not from their own experience, but from historical examples.
This awareness is beginning to come to those people who see one-sided, creepy, scary, nationalist propaganda through their media. I responsibly declare that if one nation is put at the head of all troubles, for many years and even decades, this is called nationalism. The facts are not given, all the arguments they rely on turn out to be false, and any action of the people is considered in a negative way, this action is called nationalist propaganda.
We see all this in relation to the citizens of our country and our people. In English, the term "Russian"is used for all people in our country. They don't even hide it.
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Question: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that " the United States is working towards a breakup, there is no doubt about that." If a break in relations with the United States occurs-apart from the closure of diplomatic missions, what does this mean? I.e., what are the immediate consequences for citizens and the economy?
Answer: The US administration's absolutely unacceptable behavior, dictated by impotent anger at the failure of the plan to turn Ukraine into an "anti-Russia" and then use Ukraine as a large-scale springboard for striking at the territory of our country, has practically brought us to the virtual point of "no return" in bilateral relations. This was their way. We have warned you many times. But they keep going.
The Americans probably thought (and this was calculated) that after they included "unprecedented hellish sanctions" (here even the word "expropriation" does not fit, because there is at least some legal basis for it), we should have backed down. It was just a robbery of assets, part of the foreign exchange reserves in Western banks, blocking of accounts, threats of confiscation of property). I don't know what they're imagining. Apparently, it was not assumed that Russia would withstand the blow, and problems –according to the law of communicating vessels-would begin to multiply in the United States itself, not to mention its EU satellites singing along with them. This is exactly what they didn't expect. They thought it would be a "one-way ticket", but then "the train is back". It is here that the roots of aggressive rhetoric and personal insults that go beyond the bounds of decency, including those performed by the American president, reflect internal confusion, uncertainty and irritation that they did not succeed (as they always did, as they intended this time) to play the Ukrainian "card": "shitting" and not cleaning up after yourself.
Yes, because of Washington, our diplomatic missions are literally "drained of blood" by mutual expulsions of diplomats. The situation is aggravated by the destructive decision of the United States to stop issuing entry visas to Russian citizens at the American Embassy in Russia. It is clear that if the diplomatic missions in Washington and Moscow are closed, no one will be better off. It will be impossible to solve problems. But the fact remains that it was the American authorities who did everything possible to ensure that contacts in various areas, from sports to strategic stability, were curtailed. The truth of the US approach to its obligations was demonstrated: you can administer justice, but based on the law; you can consider yourself probably the most intelligent, honest and truthful, but based on facts. In isolation from all this, it turns out to be a real international piracy, which is what the US political elites are doing.
The economic war declared by Russia threatens to completely collapse bilateral relations. This, of course, is not in our interests, because we believe that diplomatic relations and, in principle, relations between States should serve the national interests, the interests of the peoples living on the territory of these countries.
For many years, we have offered Washington a normal open dialogue based on the principles of reciprocity and respect for Russian national interests. Perhaps there is still a chance to reach an agreement. If they go this route, they will miss this chance once again.
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Question: You said that the Americans stopped issuing visas, etc. On the contrary, Russia does not plan to simplify this procedure for US citizens, so that as many people as possible come to us and see what is happening in our country?
Answer: All these years we have had the most simplified regime for issuing Russian visas to American citizens. It didn't require an interview or any special formalities. Most of the procedures involved remote processing of documents. This was contrary to the practice that was implemented here by the Americans: waiting for an interview for many months, and sometimes up to a year, when submitting documents, requests, refusals, and resuming conversations on each specific case. We've never had any problems with this. The Americans know this very well.
US citizens simply never knew what it was like for a Russian to get an American visa. When they were told, they could not believe that their government in the XXI century for nine to ten months can not issue a visa to people who have a stable job, earnings, real estate, are decent citizens who respect the law. In the end, the US authorities have reached the point where Russians need to travel outside of Russia just to apply for a visa. Americans don't know all this. Because it's wild.
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Question (translated from English): Foreign mercenaries and volunteers are being recruited in the West. Do you have any concerns that active military personnel from the United States and allied countries may be involved in the conflict? How will Russia treat such military personnel-volunteers and mercenaries?
Answer: We have repeatedly commented on this topic. Recruiting mercenaries from other countries and sending them to the ranks of nationalist battalions and the armed forces of Ukraine is unacceptable. We see that this work is actively carried out both openly (through the diplomatic missions of Ukraine abroad) and through the relevant special services, primarily the United States and other NATO countries. We don't accept that. We have already warned similar countries and their governments that we will not take any questions to us regarding the fate of these people. Also, clear public explanations were given by Russian ambassadors in countries where, according to our data, such recruitment was carried out. No need to contact us later, asking about the fate of these citizens. It is quite obvious what will become of them. We will not talk about this topic and deal with their fate.
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Question: Is there any progress in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine? What are the "obstacles" preventing progress in the negotiations?
Answer: I won't comment on progress. We do not have a very correct attitude to this word. We always believe that this is some kind of movement for the better. In fact, it's just a movement. If we assume that progress is development, then yes, negotiations are underway. I do not have any information that would allow me to judge that there is any significant improvement achieved during the negotiations.
The main obstacle is the lack of independence of the Kiev regime. He doesn't make the decision. And the decisions taken do not correspond to the interests of the people, the citizens of Ukraine. All this is done at the suggestion of Washington through the appropriate communication channels and is presented as a decision of the Ukrainian side. In fact, these decisions do not reflect reality and are not aimed at serving the interests of the Ukrainian state. The Kiev regime is backed by experts who carry out their "installations" through this regime. This is the most important obstacle.
When it comes to negotiators representing their countries, peoples, and interests, you can negotiate something with them. In this case, the Kiev regime is "backed" by forces and countries that implement their policies that do not involve a quick resolution of this crisis, but only its prolongation. We have already seen this for eight years. They did not need the implementation of the Minsk agreements. An absolute dead end was needed. They used all this time to pump Ukraine with weapons, to raise another generation of nationalists in eight years, integrated into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Then, having created a state that is sovereign in appearance and form, but at the same time completely subordinated in political, economic and military terms to NATO structures (primarily the United States), strike a corresponding blow that would be devastating both for the region and for Europe. Apparently, this is also true for Asia, given the materials on biolabs that we have published today and before.
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Question: After US President Joe Biden's public criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is there still an opportunity to establish a dialogue between the leaders of the two countries?
Answer: I have already commented on this story. What does an opportunity for dialogue mean? The main opportunity for dialogue is desire. There is no other option. If there is a desire – there will be a dialogue. We did not spoil this relationship. Knowing about the essence of American politics, they still looked for forms of interaction, including being subjected to "internal" criticism in the country.
We were told: if we know what kind of "partners" they are, why do we have a dialogue with them? Because you are friends with your friends, and you negotiate with those with whom you have no common views to find common ground. That's what we did. But when an ultimatum is not even offered to make a choice, but simply leaves only one form – submission to the will of the "collective West" (which is no longer collective, but Washington-centric), then, excuse me, why such a dialogue? If there are glimpses of pragmatism (not to mention morality), we are always ready for a normal, mutually respectful dialogue. If not, then no. It's their choice.
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Question: The United States offered Ankara to transfer S-400s to Ukraine in exchange for the lifting of anti-Turkish sanctions. How does Russia assess Turkey's refusal to transfer Russian missile systems to Ukraine?
Answer: I saw that the head of the Defense Industry Department of Turkey, I. Demir, made a refuting comment. I don't think it's necessary to add anything.
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Question: About half of Russia's foreign trade turnover is accounted for by countries that do not fall into the category of "unfriendly"countries. Among them, with the exception of Singapore, are the ASEAN states with a population of more than 660 million people. How does the Russian Foreign Ministry assess our relations with this region? What are the prospects for developing trade and economic ties?
Answer: Regardless of the political situation, we consider the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be our reliable partner. This is also confirmed by the current line of the " ten " for the implementation of all decisions and programs that were adopted in 2021 at the highest level. Among the most urgent medium – term tasks is the implementation of the Comprehensive Action Plan for 2021-2025. In addition to the areas of politics and security, it includes a large trade and economic segment, covers science and technology, digitalization, the fight against infectious diseases, education, tourism and much more.
There are no changes in the work plans of the joint mechanisms, both at the high and expert levels. Traditionally, meetings of foreign and economic ministers, meetings of senior officials on energy and agriculture, countering terrorism and transnational crime, consultations on emergency response, meetings of working groups on education, science, technology and innovation are held. By the way, consultations on tourism have already been organized this year. Moreover, they have reached the ministerial level. Recently, the launch ceremony of the ASEAN-Russia Year of Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held, which provides for a broad program of events.
In 2021, the total trade turnover with the top ten grew by more than a quarter, reaching almost $ 20 billion. The beginning of this year showed the continuation of positive trends in mutual trade – in January, its volume increased by 36.6%.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, joint counteraction to the spread of coronavirus infection has become an important area of cooperation. South-East Asian states are showing interest in such forms of cooperation as joint clinical trials and production of vaccines, as well as establishing links between specialized research organizations. This week in Vladivostok, under the auspices of Rospotrebnadzor, advanced training courses for Asean epidemiologists were launched.
Despite all the obstacles created by the West, the Association does not question the need to further expand practical cooperation with Russia, which is pragmatic, mutually beneficial and non-politicized. We hope that this mutual attitude will allow us to keep our dialogue on the path of sustainable development.
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Question: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that there can be no return to the past in relations with Western countries. How can this be regarded? Will the remnants of economic ties, trade, and investment be affected? For example, the Arctic LNG project, which has a French participant?
Answer: We are not interested in such a past. We are interested in the future. We are focused on it. Moving away from our usual vocabulary, they simply annoyed us with their rudeness, disrespect, disregard for the interests of others, lack of understanding of the situation, banal lack of knowledge of facts, ignorance of history, inability to negotiate, the habit of using only force methods of influence, the destruction of existing contractual mechanisms that have always been part and basis of international relations, no matter what areas they are neither affected-economy, finance, business, culture, humanities communications, military-industrial complex, strategy and security, countering new challenges and threats. S. A. Ryabkov has repeatedly said this. And this time, too.
If they are interested in preserving what they have not yet destroyed, then we will probably take care of it. As for the remnants of a pre-existing relationship. Indeed, a trade and investment "structure"has been built for decades. We must now understand that a full-scale financial and economic war has been waged against us for many years. Its goal is to destroy the economy. They have already said twice that we were destroyed, "torn to shreds". For the first time in my life, I hear how you can "tear to shreds" twice. They "succeeded", apparently. That's how they see us. But at the same time the plan remains. If they have started twice, it means that they will not abandon their "venture". This is now clear from the methods they use. One of them is undermining the well-being of our citizens. Our citizens should understand where all this is coming from. If earlier they masked all this, now the Americans do not hide it. They're proud of it. It's part of their policy. Wild, scary, unbridled by any legal norms. Apparently, this is a subject of special "pride". This is how the US sees its "exclusivity". I want to agree with them on this point. There are no such countries anymore. With such an ideology. So put yourself above all existing norms of morality and law! To be so hypocritical. So use the democratic institutions they create for propaganda, planting false messages, trampling on everything that was considered right and good.
The imposed restrictions-the announced rejection of normal trade relations, the cessation of exports and imports of entire groups of goods, the massive inclusion of our citizens and companies in the "black lists", the cessation of supplies of high-tech products, restrictions on investment in competitive sectors of the economy, attempts at a transport blockade, etc. - mean only one thing: the former global rules of international business are sent to the The most hostile move is the actual theft of our foreign exchange reserves. We've seen this happen many times. Now they've done it on this scale. The United States thereby defaulted on its obligations that it is not going to fulfill. American citizens should clearly understand this. If the state and the government go to direct theft, then they are not able to service their obligations. This means their default.
As for Russian-American economic cooperation, we have always assumed that it is mutually beneficial. If it represents a benefit to one party – this is not cooperation, and not interaction. There may be different options. But this has nothing to do with cooperation. Even in conditions where the restrictions exceeded reasonable limits, we were still ready to interact. But they stressed that it should bring results to both sides. Even in the context of the illegal institutions they use. But even that is no longer the case. Even some efficiency from the leftovers.
Is it really possible to discuss the prospects of trade and economic relations today, if the United States has banned the import of Russian energy carriers and new investments in the domestic energy sector, which was a key element of bilateral economic ties? Don't see it? This is a rejection of the perception of reality. We definitely won't go this way. If Washington already wants to fix the refusal to apply WTO rules in relation to our country at the legislative level, how can this be treated? Or when the White House forces businesses to leave Russia, and then at their briefings they say that they don't have the right to do so. nothing to do with it. It's just an American business that invented it for itself. They "think so". They decided that for themselves. At the same time, we know that closed briefings are held, relevant letters are sent out, and work is being done using threats and blackmail from American government officials against representatives of large and medium-sized businesses. On the one hand, they conduct these closed briefings, and on the other hand, they send out letters. And then they say they have nothing to do with it. Of course, they do. No business would ever go away (read to.Marx) from where they have a profit. Especially the one that they had on the territory of our country. They can leave (this is capitalism) only when they are put under conditions that limit their inability to do business, and their very existence. The US government has placed its own businessmen in exactly these conditions. All questions about who destroyed what there – this is not for us. They should be addressed to the leaders of Western countries. First of all, the United States, which threatens new sanctions and incites everyone else, imposes this sanctions policy on them.
For our part, we would like to note that we have never "squeezed" foreign businesses out of our economy, only welcomed them. They endured all the sanctions. At the same time, they held investment forums, invited investors, and created favorable treatment regimes for foreign companies. There are no decisions that foreign businesses (I mean Western ones, there is no point in talking about other areas, because they retain a sound attitude to reality) will be placed in conditions of some kind of segregation forever and ever. No, of course not. We will also proceed from the realities.
We are interested in equal and long-term cooperation with all business partners (including the West) who are forced to adapt to the pressure and anti-Russian attitudes of their political leadership. This is savagery, the destruction of the entire free market economy. But this is the truth of life as we see it. We respond accordingly.
As for the energy markets, I don't think I need to tell you what is happening there. The current situation, provoked by the United States, primarily negatively affects the global energy markets. No matter how much they say that the increase in gasoline prices in the United States is "personally due to Putin," everyone knows perfectly well that this is the market's reaction to the sanctions imposed by Washington against our country and the energy cluster itself. This is a reaction to the policy that the United States has pursued for many years in the energy sector. Who are they telling all this to? It would be possible in theory, this is not understood. American citizens did not understand for many years when we talked about Nord Stream 2, its necessity, and the fact that politics should not become part of energy. It's an American message that they've forgotten about. It had never touched an ordinary American before. Now he drove up to the gas station in February-March of this year, and immediately the theory became practice. The fairy tale became a reality. It is the fault of the United States that the current situation has a negative impact on energy markets. Experts are well aware that the rejection of Russian energy carriers will unbalance the global energy system and cause damage to the initiators of restrictions and consumers.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it was not Russia that initiated the confrontation in the energy sector. All this time we have been trying to adapt, to pass between the Scylla and Charybdis of the free economy and political restrictions of the United States, to integrate into this energy world. Recent developments on the part of Washington are devastating for the entire world and the energy sector.
Russia has consistently opposed the politicization of mutually beneficial energy cooperation. Despite all the difficulties, we continue to fulfill our contractual obligations for gas supplies, including its transit to Europe through the Ukrainian GTS. I will not hide how the words of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin about switching payments for Russian gas supplies to rubles were perceived as a national holiday yesterday. This is truly a great achievement for the Russian economy and for our entire people. Because we have a national currency. No words, but only deeds can raise it to this rank. Yesterday, a historic decision was made, which was voiced and supported by our people.
We are ready to continue cooperation in the traditional and green energy sectors. All launched projects will be implemented, including the Arctic LNG project. If our European partners are not interested in further cooperation, then this is their right. We must be honest and not engage in a strange, "subversive" business. You just need to tell your citizens who is destroying their well-being and how. We will cooperate with those who are interested in ensuring their own energy security.
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Q: The United States and Europe are seeking to strengthen their defense and security relations with India and are increasingly investing in the Indo-Pacific region. US President J. R. R. TolkienBiden said India's position on Ukraine – the only country in the quadrilateral security dialogue that also includes the United States, Japan and Australia – is "somewhat shaky." All QUAD countries, except India, have imposed sanctions on Russian companies. To what extent will Washington's efforts be aimed at trying to draw New Delhi into the anti-Russian bloc?
Answer: I'm not going to comment on the involvement of the United States in our bilateral relations with other countries. India is a major power, an important player on the world stage, a country with an ancient civilization, culture, history, with its own achievements and achievements. Our time-tested friend and strategic partner. We appreciate its traditionally balanced position on topical issues on the regional and international agenda, as well as its independent foreign policy, which is not subject to any external pressure.
I would like to say that this position of India and the Indian leadership has a concrete historical basis. In the history of their country, they have thoroughly studied all the "grimaces" of Western ideology and the Western world. They know what it is. They know the price of this market situation.
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Question: Is it possible for the Russian Federation to apply sanctions against those who commit acts of Russophobia in educational, medical and other institutions and specific discriminatory and other actions against our citizens and compatriots abroad?
Answer: Yes. They should know about it.
Question: Is it possible to refuse visas to Russia to those who support Russophobia or commit acts directed against our citizens and the state?
Answer: Why are you just limited to visas? I think your previous question was much broader. And I answered it in the affirmative.
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Question:In your opinion, is it possible that many of our compatriots from the EU will be forced to leave for Russia, or will they need to be quickly evacuated or protected?
Answer: They can apply to our embassies. They will be provided with the necessary support. They can write directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating the facts of their discrimination and infringement with a request for support and protection.
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Question: Is it possible in urgent, urgent, exceptional cases that our foreign institutions can quickly issue passports of the Russian Federation to children of compatriots who have not yet managed to apply for Russian citizenship?
Answer: Issuing a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation to a foreign citizen or a stateless person who has not acquired Russian citizenship in accordance with the established procedure is a criminal offense under Article 292.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Thus, in order to obtain a Russian passport for children of compatriots, it is necessary, first of all, to resolve the issue of acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation. In this regard, the following options are possible::
- registration of citizenship of the Russian Federation by birth to a child whose parents were citizens of the Russian Federation on the day of his birth.
The necessary formalities for registering the presence of Russian citizenship and passport for such a child are usually carried out in a short time, depending on the workload of the Russian foreign institution. In this case, we will do everything possible to respond promptly to such requests.
- acquisition of Russian citizenship by a child born abroad in a mixed marriage from a citizen of the Russian Federation and a foreigner, upon the personal application of a Russian parent and subject to the submission of written consent by the second parent. Admission to citizenship is made by making a decision by the head of a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation.
If the child was less than 14 years old on the day of the application, then consideration of the specified application, making a decision on it and issuing a passport can be carried out as soon as possible.
When applying for citizenship to a child between the ages of 14 and 18, decisions on applications are considered in consultation with the competent Russian authorities for up to 6 months.
I would like to draw your attention to the announcement that I made today. We are talking about an event that is scheduled for March 28: a meeting of the Commission of the General Council of the United Russia Party on International cooperation and Support for Compatriots abroad, created on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin. There, many of the issues – Russophobia, nationalism, and segregation-should and will be discussed. If you have any questions before this event, I don't mean as a media outlet, but as a representative of our compatriots, you can send an appropriate request.
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Question: Is it possible now in the acute situation around our compatriots abroad to issue urgent visas (just in case) for minor children from the families of compatriots who have not yet applied for citizenship?
Answer: If we are talking about minor children of Russian compatriots, they can be issued in accordance with parts 4 and 4.2 of Article 25 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ of August 15, 1996 "On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and Entering the Russian Federation" on the basis of a decision of the head of a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation adopted at the request of the parent.
If necessary, such visas can be issued as soon as possible. Detailed information on the procedure for submitting the above-mentioned applications and the set of documents required for obtaining private visas is available on the official websites of Russian diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad.
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