Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s video greetings on Diplomatic Worker’s Day, Moscow, February 10, 2024

Colleagues,

In keeping with our long-standing good tradition, we celebrate our professional holiday in February, which unites all those who defend Russia’s foreign policy track. No matter where you work – in the central building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Smolenskaya Square, the territorial missions in the regions of the Russian Federation, or the Russian foreign missions – you uphold the true values of Russian diplomacy: loyalty to your Fatherland, patriotism, selflessness and a clear vision of Russia’s national interests.

I sincerely want to thank all of you for your honest and selfless work and daily efforts to fulfil the assigned tasks. These efforts may sometimes go unnoticed, but they are nonetheless important and necessary.

Throughout history, different eras and socioeconomic systems have come and gone, but Russian diplomats have always remained vigilant and done everything possible to promote their country’s interests internationally. The names of many of them have gone down into the glorious chronicle of Russian statehood: Ivan Viskovatov, Alexei Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Alexander Gorchakov, Georgy Chicherin, Vyacheslav Molotov, Andrey Gromyko, and many others.  We rightfully take pride in their remarkable achievements, and their wise and noble deeds. We strive to emulate them and live up to their standards.

On this day, we pay tribute to the employees of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, who defended our Fatherland’s independence with arms in hand during the trying years of the Great Patriotic War. Now that Russia is once again facing grave threats to its security, their feat of valour serves as the gold standard for the diplomatic community’s role in our nation’s destiny. The suffering of the Russian people in Donbass and Novorossiya, the suffering of the victims of Vladimir Zelensky’s inhuman, neo-Banderite regime is a dagger in our heart. Faced with the hybrid aggression launched by the collective West, Russia’s foreign policy service is making its contribution to the diplomatic support of the special military operation and the effort to achieve its goals. At times, it is difficult for us as our enemies resort to centuries-old methods of demonising Russia and even launch personal attacks against many of you.  But this has always been the case when Russia firmly rose to defend its interests and the interests of its allies. Psychological stability and confidence in the righteousness of their cause invariably distinguished the best representatives of our profession. When asked why he was so strongly criticised by the Western media, my great predecessor, Vyacheslav Molotov, aptly replied: “It would have been worse if they had praised me.” This is the guiding principle we should be guided by today.

We firmly believe in the foreign policy defined by President Vladimir Putin. It is largely thanks to our diplomatic efforts that we have been able not only to cut short attempts to isolate our country on the international stage, but also reach a whole new level in our relations with countries interested and constructive in working with Russia, primarily our friends and like-minded countries along our borders, within the EAEU, the CSTO, the CIS, the SCO and BRICS, as well as across the Global South and East, from a broader perspective.

Together, we tackle major tasks to ensure the stability of our national economy in the face of external sanctions pressure, while creating new security partnerships and shaping the political and legal framework as international relations enter the era of multipolarity.

Today, Russia stands at the vanguard of fast-moving change. By and large, we play a central role in defining this development vector and its content. This means that all of us without exception must keep up to speed at all times and adopt a forward-looking mindset in order to anticipate anything our ill-wishers may do, while being proactive and creative in adapting our enduring foreign policy principles to the changing environment. These principles include our commitment to independence, being results-driven, inclusiveness and a multi-faceted approach.

Russia is set to hold a presidential election soon. In fact, it is just a month away. This is a challenging moment in the history of our country when we must all fulfil our civic duty. I am certain that all our foreign missions will make the necessary arrangements to enable Russians to vote abroad. We are taking all the necessary steps to make this happen.

In conclusion, I would like to once again offer my greetings on Diplomatic Worker’s Day to all of you, your families and your loved ones who share your professional burden.

On a separate note, I would like to commend the veterans of our diplomatic service, those who train and educate the younger generation. I am glad that many of you are still by our side, continuing to contribute to our common cause.

I wish all of you good health, wellbeing, and new achievements for the good of our Fatherland.

I wish you every success and good luck.

Happy Diplomatic Worker’s Day.