Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks during a meeting with newly recruited diplomats - university graduates, Moscow, October 31, 2023

Congratulations to all of you on joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These meetings are a longstanding tradition and take place annually. Usually, we wait for about two months after you join the ministry to give you a chance to evaluate whether you made the right choice or maybe you have other plans.

Only those who are 100-percent certain that they have made the right choice are in this audience today, and it is good to know that. We will support and encourage your full integration into the Foreign Ministry family.

As usual, most of you are graduates from MGIMO and the Diplomatic Academy, which are our affiliated institutions. We are always pleased to see representatives from other fraternal universities such as MSU and MSLU. In the past, we even had diplomats from the Siberian Federal District, specifically from Yekaterinburg. However, the geographical diversity has declined, and we should consider ways to reverse this trend.

You have successfully passed your final exams, completed a variety of interviews, undergone pre-diploma training, and even medical examinations. You have excelled in all tests. I am aware that many of you are honour students holding red diplomas, have been involved in social activities, volunteer movement, and inter-university exchanges. We encourage all of these pursuits.

Regarding our diplomatic organisation, we have a Council of Young Diplomats and a Council of Former Employees. Importantly, be sure to spend some time working as mature specialists before transitioning from the Council of Young Diplomats to the Council of Former Employees.

I will not get into an extended discussion of the current international situation. President Vladimir Putin has provided detailed clarifications on numerous occasions, including just yesterday during an evening meeting on international affairs and domestic challenges created by those who consider themselves rulers of destinies.

I am confident that you are familiar with our assessments which align with those of the majority of the world's nations, which we refer to as the Global Majority, which constitutes 85 percent of the global population. None of these countries have joined the sanctions. While they may occasionally vote differently at the UN, they candidly explain that they do so in order to “distance themselves” from their Western colleagues, who persistently and without consideration prevent others from making their own conclusions about right and wrong.

Russia has presented its rationale for not being able to achieve results over many years and for being compelled to start the special military operation to address an immediate threat to its security on its own borders, not some distant place. The West has criticised our actions and articulated its viewpoint. If you treat other countries as independent nations, you should approach them as adults and present your own perspective without resorting to threats or forcing them to do as you please against their will. But this is what the West is doing, though to no avail. Not a single country from the Global Majority has imposed sanctions on us or severed ties with us. On the contrary, trade and investment cooperation with China, India, the Gulf nations and many countries in Latin America and Africa are flourishing. This trend is remarkably strong. I see no reason for the rest of the world to act against its own interests and to comply with the West's wishes. Europe, in particular, is doing precisely that. It has been seriously hurt by the West’s actions against Russia, with our Ukrainian neighbours, specifically their leadership which came to power through an unconstitutional coup, serving as a tool of aggression.

We maintain extensive diplomatic engagement with the Global South, including BRICS and the SCO, which are our closest allies and neighbours, Belarus, with which we are building a Union State, and regional organisations such as the CSTO, the CIS, and the EAEU. Our ties with Africa are on the rise. The second summit was held in St Petersburg this summer. The Russia−Latin America International Parliamentary Conference was held this autumn. The BRICS summit in South Africa was a successful and productive event. We are committed to ensuring the comprehensive development of our relationships with the Global South. They are ready to engage in mutually beneficial and equitable cooperation with us, and we are currently coordinating a number of projects with them.

At the same time, we are not slamming the door shut to the West. If and when they come to their senses and sober up from revelling in their grandeur, and if they turn to us and say that we should capitalise on the fact that we are, indeed, neighbours, we will then consider it. The Eurasian continent is experiencing significant growth and offers substantial competitive advantages, and it would be a waste not to capitalise on them. If they approach us with such proposals and show their willingness to abandon their previous policies, we will carefully gauge their level of seriousness. Historically, their approach has often been focused on securing agreements that favour, usually heavily favour, their interests.

It's important to note what they did to the advantages and benefits they had obtained from cooperating with Russia. They have blown up the Nord Stream pipelines. No one will ever find the culprits and bring them to justice. At best, they will come up with some obscure vandals with a couple of oars and three bombs who blew it all up, and say that was all there was to it. The same is unfolding now with Ukrainian nationalists blowing up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Despite our calls for an investigation, no one is doing anything. The Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline was used to supply fertiliser primarily to Europe. It was blown up, but no one appears to be concerned about that. The EU is cutting itself off from inexpensive Russian energy and deploying enormous efforts as it spends money and builds special plants in order to switch to the use of liquefied natural gas which is much more expensive. It’s a fact.

It is a well-established fact that the United States has enacted unilateral self-serving legislation, resulting in the redirection of business interests from countries such as Germany and France, as well as other EU members, towards the United States. Europe is now facing a phenomenon referred to as deindustrialisation. It’s their choice. We made it very clear.

On October 26, I spoke at a conference in Minsk to address Eurasian security issues which was convened by the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. During this conference, alongside our colleagues from Belarus, China and other countries, we reiterated our shared interest in promoting comprehensive continental cooperation within Eurasia. This region represents one of the most promising and densely populated areas with abundant natural resources. Its logistical capabilities are far from being exhausted. If Europe, as they have indicated, wishes to disassociate itself from Russia, we will draft our strategic plans accordingly, being fully aware of the fact that we can no longer rely on them. When and if they decide to re-engage with us, we will evaluate the advantages and see if we can trust their ability to honour their commitments.

We welcome those among you who speak rare and Eastern languages that are now being widely taught. The choice of languages is expanding at MGIMO, with traditional studies of Arabic being expanded with classes in Dari, Azerbaijani, Hebrew, Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Tajik, Turkish, and Hindi. Some of these languages have always been taught at MGIMO while many are newly introduced, particularly languages spoken in the CIS countries.

We have Higher Courses of Foreign Languages which can help you enhance your language skills and add another foreign language or even multiple languages to your professional toolkit. We will do our best to support this pursuit.

You have a strong professional background. There is no doubt about it. You have ample opportunities to further improve your skills, including at the well-regarded Diplomatic Academy's Advanced Training Courses. These courses offer rich learning experiences. I wholeheartedly recommend taking advantage of these opportunities.

In today's world, it is essential for the diplomats to be versatile individuals and experts who are well-versed in languages and have an understanding of the world's cultural and civilisational diversity. It is crucial to have knowledge not only of the history of the countries where you will work but, first and foremost, the history of your own country, Russia. In our days, this encompasses digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and much more.

For all these seemingly technical and specialised matters, there are international entities that engage in talks to regulate these spheres of international life and human activity that have emerged only in recent years. It is unclear how to ensure that they do not harm people. Currently, AI is under discussion. Also, how do we ensure that no member of the international community feels disadvantaged in the agreed-upon formats for the development of various fields?

The UN Charter unequivocally states that the Organisation is based on the sovereign equality of states. We use this criterion to evaluate every development. Since the establishment of the UN after WW II, there has not been a single move taken by the United States and its closest allies that has respected this fundamental principle which is the sovereign equality of states.