Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, August 31, 2022
Table of contents
- Sergey Lavrov’s upcoming talks with Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
- Sergey Lavrov to address students at MGIMO University and the Primakov School
- Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin’s upcoming visit to the Russian Federation
- Donbass and Ukraine update
- Romania's arms supplies to Ukraine
- Germany’s efforts to counter Russian “propaganda” and “disinformation”
- Anti-Russian statements by Montenegrin officials
- Microsoft report on neutralising the Seaborgium hacker group
- Foreign Ministry report on the glorification of Nazism and new manifestations of neo-Nazism and racism
- Conclusion of the 10th NPT Review Conference in New York
- Afghanistan update
- US provocation in the Taiwan Strait
- Persecution of the political opposition in
- Expansion of
- Opinion poll on the
- Russian expectations from the IAEA mission to Zaporozhye
- Prospects for the nuclear deal
- Objectivity and confidence in the IAEA
- Olaf Scholz's calls for EU enlargement and an end to unanimity
- Prospects for unblocking transport links in the
- Cooperation with
- Cooperation between the Russian and Iranian defence ministries
- State Programme for the Resettlement of Compatriots to
In just one hour, talks between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will begin.
The two ministers will exchange views on several major international matters, including the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear programme, as well as developments regarding Ukraine, the Caspian Sea, Syria, Afghanistan and the South Caucasus.
They are also expected to discuss the bilateral agenda, primarily, in trade and the economy, in the context of carrying out key joint projects in energy and transport, as well as the prospects for stepping up scientific, technical, cultural and humanitarian ties. The Foreign Ministry has released detailed materials for the upcoming talks on its website and social media accounts.
Sergey Lavrov to address students at MGIMO University and the Primakov School
There is a wonderful tradition on Knowledge Day, September 1, when the Minister visits educational institutions affiliated with the Foreign Ministry. He will meet with MGIMO first-year students and faculty members. In his remarks, Sergey Lavrov will cover topical matters on the international agenda and will have a question-and-answer session with the students. A live stream from this meeting will be available on all our online resources.
On the same day, the Foreign Minister will take part in Knowledge Day events at the Primakov School.
Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin’s upcoming visit to the Russian Federation
On September 5, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin will travel to the Russian Federation on an official visit. He is scheduled to have a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This meeting will take place ahead of Tajikistan’s Independence Day, the country’s main national holiday celebrated on September 9.
During the talks, the two ministers will review the schedule of meetings and events to be held at the highest and high levels in 2022, as well as major items on the bilateral agenda. They will pay special attention to trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, defence and security, migration policy, personnel training, joint biosecurity measures, including epidemiological challenges, and cyber security. They will discuss the progress in implementing agreements reached during the recent contacts between the presidents of Russia and Tajikistan.
The two ministers will also exchange views on topical regional and international issues, including the situation in Afghanistan.
The visit will also include the signing of a cooperation programme between the two countries’ foreign ministries for 2022-2023.
Six months into the special military operation in Ukraine and Donbass, we continue to find more evidence every day that Russia had no other choice but to immediately stand up for the long-suffering population of the DPR and LPR, to begin the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, and to eliminate the threats to Russia’s security emanating from its territory. As the leadership of our country has repeatedly said, all these goals will definitely be attained.
Kiev makes no effort to hide the fact that it has long been preparing for an armed confrontation with Russia. This is the answer to those who said that they did not know anything, and that it all happened unexpectedly, while the “peaceful Kiev regime” was trying and failing to fulfil the Minsk agreements.
On August 26, NSDC Secretary Alexey Danilov publicly admitted (in an interview, not an interrogation – not yet) that the day after the Normandy format summit in Paris in December 2019, the Ukrainian leaders came to the conclusion that “a major war with Russia was inevitable.” The cynicism of such statements is simply off the charts. It was President Zelensky who tried everything then to hinder any real steps to resolve the conflict in southeastern Ukraine, and then began to accuse Russia of allegedly violating the agreements reached. He went on to say that it was time for the Kiev regime to acquire nuclear weapons, and things would get better. As we always say, the truth will eventually come out. Ukrainian politicians have realised that justice was inevitable and are now giving confessions on television. They have confessed to who really torpedoed the Minsk agreements, who prepared for war, who did it in theory and in practice, by receiving supplies of Western offensive weapons, as well as predicting the onslaught of hostilities. This is a confession of the “gravediggers” for their own country.
There is more evidence confirming the neo-Nazi bent of the current Ukrainian regime – the Russophobic revelations uttered by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Pyotr Vrublevsky. Here is a direct quote from a man who calls himself not just a representative of Ukraine, but a Ukrainian ambassador. On August 22, this creature (I cannot call him a diplomat) publicly stated the following: “We are trying to kill as many Russians as possible. The more Russians we kill now, the fewer our children will have to. That's it.” Well, he's definitely right about one thing – that was it. They have confessed everything themselves.
Nazism, fascism, nationalism ‒ new manifestations of what was supposed to remain in historical memory (not only the swastika tattoos and Azov symbols rooted in the symbolism of SS battalions). First of all, it is the ideology that prohibits ethnicities on their indigenous land from developing their culture and identity. It is a misanthropic ideology, a hatred that extends to the desire to exterminate an ethnicity or a culture – simply because they are unwanted or considered rivals. This is what the people of Donbass are revolting against and what the Crimeans escaped at the time. It is not something we can accept now because it would make us collaborationists and appeasers of neo-Nazi ideology.
The Kiev regime spoke out of its own will. It is hard to say whether it came out of fear, stupidity or shock. People don’t just let their conscious mind out like that (or it comes out without asking for permission) and reveal carefully guarded secrets. It is for therapists, psychotherapists, political analysts and historians to interpret. They started condemning themselves. It never happened so widely before. We saw exposing symptoms. And now everybody is talking.
We commented on the statements made by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Kazakhstan. We saw the reaction of our Kazakh colleagues. They will not go unanswered.
One of the reasons why Kiev is doing all this is it expects to keep receiving new modern weapons and more financial aid from the West and the United States, in particular. Why am I linking the nationalist, neo-Nazi activity, logic and ideology of the Kiev regime to the United States? You could say it is a bit of a stretch. But no. Remember the statement made by former two-time US president and the son of a former US president George W. Bush? A couple of months back, he had said what the Ukrainian Ambassador reiterated in Kazakhstan. Those were the words of a member of the American political (financial, economic and energy) establishment. The deep state itself, a state within a state. Believing that he was talking to Vladimir Zelensky, George Bush said that Ukraine’s mission is “to destroy as many Russian troops” as possible. So, when I comment on the nationalist logic, I immediately refer to Washington and those who ideologically inspire the Kiev regime on the current track.
US media report that new financial aid packages and other assistance, as well as the situation on the ground will be discussed at the fifth meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in the so-called Ramstein format, to be held in person on September 8 and chaired by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. They have come full circle.
Today, allied forces are advancing slowly but surely, ridding and liberating Donbass of the neo-Nazis who had turned its cities and villages into fortified settlements over the last eight years. All this draws the ire of the military-political leadership of the
We are extremely concerned about the growing tensions around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the largest in
We hope the IAEA inspectors, scheduled to visit the NPP on August 31, will help stop the presumptuous Ukrainian authorities in their effort to instigate a nuclear disaster, and that they will help end this nuclear blackmail.
We have repeatedly noted
The stance taken by the Western countries and the UN Secretariat is just bewildering. When asked directly who is shelling the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, they say they do not know; they have no opinion on that. What do you mean, no opinion? They have opinions on “gang rapes” and the like. They know for sure that Russians are doing this. With any other crimes, they immediately point a finger at
At the same time, the region’s military-civilian administration reports that the Ukrainian authorities could also start bacteriological provocations and terror against the local population. With the incessant shelling of the peaceful cities in the DPR and LPR and other southeastern regions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it has long become clear that the
I can see that the EU is now busy with a more important decision – whether or not to issue visas to Russians. But radiation doesn't have a passport. It doesn't need a visa to cross borders. If something happens at Zaporozhye, it will not be about visas, passports or borders. For some incomprehensible reason, the European Union is showing little concern about this matter. The liberal European regimes have made a lot of self-destructive and suicidal decisions. Perhaps this is another coin in the piggybank.
We are confident that, once this special military operation is completed, all the people in today's Ukraine will be able to start a peaceful life in a free country, with no Nazis, no shells falling on cities, no discrimination (based on nationality or language), and where international humanitarian norms, and everyone’s rights and freedoms are respected.
Romania's arms supplies to Ukraine
A Romanian news agency reported on a recent phone conversation between the Romanian Minister of National Defence Vasile Dîncu and his Ukrainian counterpart Alexei Reznikov, who expressed gratitude for the recently approved fifth package of Romanian military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces, including small arms, ammunition and spare parts for military equipment.
This is the first time it has come out so explicitly and publicly, though videos showing the use of Romanian-made shells by the Ukrainian armed forces had previously appeared on social media. But there was no "direct" factual evidence.
Showering Ukrainian nationalists with weapons to fight their own people only prolongs the conflict (in case
We see that
On August 17 of this year, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution released a statement on the potential impact of the conflict in
Let’s figure this out. Are we telling Germans how they should wash themselves and at what time? Does the Russian Embassy in
They do this proactively, when responding to questions by their compatriots or when giving an interview. Mr Haldenwang, do you consider your colleagues in the German Government to be dis-informants and propagandists that are out to split German society? Or are they allowed to do this?
We never say a word about energy shortages. We did everything we could to prevent this in
The German Ministry of Internal Affairs website has published a detailed pamphlet for the public with instructions on how to counter Russian propaganda and disinformation. With the disinformation activities by the Russian state media, internet resources close to Moscow, and accounts from the Foreign Ministry and Russian diplomatic offices, the pamphlet appeals to the German people to display vigilance, to not take everything for granted and to not take part in spreading unverified reports. What are these reports? It would be helpful if the pamphlet mentioned some examples of “unverified reports” that German citizens could spread accidentally, without control. Who will check what they are allowed to write and what they are not allowed to write? The German Ministry of Internal Affairs? Will they have a website to check “allowed” and “rejected” reports? This is more than censorship, it’s total control over the people. A spade must be called a spade.
The German pamphlet recommends using only news reports by the mainstream German media and materials from German government websites as “reliable information sources.” Is this not censorship, either? A year ago, the German media revealed a big volume of disinformation materials they disseminated themselves. They made inquiries, fired employees and discussed problems in the local media. Does this matter at all? Or if it’s German, it’s okay? In this case, the approach should be different. They should announce the introduction of total censorship in
In this context, we would like to note that we have long since stopped being surprised at the groundless insinuations by the German authorities of “Russian propaganda” and “disinformation” that have been willingly distributed by the German media for years now. Using all the resources at its disposal,
In effect, by publishing these materials,
Tried-and-tested instruments of ridding the information field from any source of alternative views are being used against this background. Any deviation from “the general line” of German officialdom is stigmatised. This is the pluralism of views in
Anti-Russian statements by Montenegrin officials
We noted statements made by a number of Montenegrin officials that Russian special services are allegedly behind the recent cyberattacks on the cyberstructure of the country’ government.
We regard the accusations against
It is unfortunate that Podgorica prefers megaphone diplomacy to a substantive dialogue on cyber incidents.
It looks like Montenegrin officials could not resist the temptation to divert their people’s attention from the internal political confusion by forcing anti-Russian views through the media. The government of Dritan Abazovic, which has proven itself ineffective, has been dismissed (not by us), and early parliamentary elections are upcoming. It is symptomatic that another Russian conspiracy (the same card played every time) popped up in this situation, as they do around election time in Western countries, and the State Department and US intelligence agencies are trying hard to present information about it to the public via their media and internet resources. No specific facts are given.
We regard this situation as a continuation of Podgorica’s policy of destroying relations with
Microsoft report on neutralising the Seaborgium hacker group
In its report released on August 15, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Centre claims, in a typical Russophobic manner, that a certain Seaborgium hacker group was “highly likely” pursuing objectives that “align closely with Russian state interests.” The American corporation once again accused our country of malicious activity in the use of ICT. To substantiate the accusations, Microsoft describes a vague scheme of credential theft for the purpose of promoting Russian propaganda in the NATO countries.
In response, we can state that Microsoft and other companies align closely with US authorities (not Russia) to cover up direct cyberaggression or organise information campaigns against Russia. It is through this corporation’s software projects that “couch hackers,” including the so-called Ukrainian IT army, become engaged in attacks on our country.
Unlike the United States and its allies, Russia consistently defends the principles of a peaceful, safe and stable IT environment, in the international arena. Putting these principles into action is the duty of competent bodies using the mechanisms of cooperation between states, which are developed on a bilateral basis as well as through the competent UN body, namely the Open-ended Working Group on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security.
In a recent interview on an American podcast, Mark Zuckerberg shared his experience before the 2020 election in the United States. He revealed (and never refuted) that before the election, he had been visited by the FBI. They never said they were from Russia or China. They said they represented a certain American specialised agency. Mark Zuckerberg was told what kind of information Facebook as a corporation must block and promote. Zuckerberg took the FBI agents’ advice very seriously. It was not advice but an instruction though. Consequently, he managed Facebook’s information policy as dictated by US intelligence services. Later, he tried to justify himself, claiming that Twitter is even worse, as it simply blocks everything unwanted and Facebook only restricts. The difference is huge. Although we still remember how American social networks blocked the then US President Donald Trump’s accounts to prevent the American public from questioning the 2020 election.
The picture of what is happening on the internet and in the US cyber space, including behind-the-scenes events, is unfolding in a curious way. Microsoft has no business making up “Russian” threats, connection or hackers. You have plenty of agencies that deal with and supervise you directly over there. You have long stopped being just a private business. Now you operate as US authorities tell you.
Following up on the Foreign Ministry’s efforts to preserve the historical truth about the course and outcomes of World War II, we released our annual report on the glorification of Nazism, spreading neo-Nazism and other practices encouraging the escalation of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and the related manifestations of intolerance in other forms. The facts in it demonstrate that these negative manifestations are becoming entrenched.
In the report, we note that the situation has sharply deteriorated this year. Campaigns to distort history and falsify the USSR’s role in achieving Victory over Nazism and shaping today’s system of international relations have been gaining momentum in several countries. More and more attempts are being made to use misconceptions by cynically reassigning roles of aggressors and victims to fit today’s agenda, swapping the places of those who nurtured the ideology of racial purity and the states that opposed.
It is already obvious that a cohort of countries is emerging where Nazi collaborators are cast as members of national liberation movements who fought for the so-called independence of their countries. It does not matter what they were fighting for, but together with the Nazis and fascists, they exterminated people in the 1940s on the grounds of race and ethnic background. There can be a long debate over how they referred to themselves and their motivation but that has nothing to do with the fact that they engaged in criminal activity. There is a number of educational and awareness measures in the pipeline, as well as a broader effort to reformat public opinion. Educational programmes and cultural projects extol the would-be feats of members of voluntary national SS legions who fought for Hitler’s Germany and contributed to mass civilian killings many times. Governments are encouraging nationalists and radicals, as well as right-wing extremists who often form the main driving force of the cynical war on monuments to Soviet liberator soldiers. In exchange for fighting the Russian world and Soviet memorials, nationalists get the privilege of dictating what it means to be a patriot to the rest of the society. They are doing this for money they receive as grants and assistance, and do not shy away from outright blackmail and intimidation.
Apart from Ukraine, we are witnessing the most dangerous situation in the Baltic states, Poland and the Czech Republic. Over the past year, May 9 celebrations caused unimaginable hysteria tainted with Russophobic undertones. All this started a long time ago, transcending all boundaries and suppressing all dissent. Over the past decades, this trend has been gaining momentum and reached an abysmal low. We are witnessing acts of vandalism perpetrated against memorials to Red Army soldiers, attacks against Russian diplomats taking part in May 9 commemorations, with the memorials closed to the public. People who voiced their disagreement were ostracised, persecuted and repressed. All three Baltic countries launched a campaign to dismantle all Soviet monuments as quickly as possible, which runs counter to the resolution the UN General Assembly adopts annually on fighting the glorification of Nazism. This culmination of the neo-Nazi ideology will come when countries start changing the way they vote on this resolution. This way, countries perpetrating these outrageous acts will not be able to say that all this is happening in our imagination. This will be a position expressed by the state and demonstrating that it has changed its position on the issue of neo-Nazism.
The proactive efforts by the governments in these countries to build monoethnic societies around titular nations and step up their campaign to glorify Nazi collaborators as part of the new national history they are about to write – all this exacerbates the human rights situation for ethnic minorities and groups, primarily the Russian speakers, who face discrimination of various kinds.
There is another group of countries where governments are ignoring these manifestations, while embellishing the unflattering aspects of their past, including the racist policies towards their own colonies and the fact that they exterminated indigenous people. These countries prefer to look the other way not only when it comes to the manifestations of racism and discrimination, but, following the principles articulated by a small minority, they are doing everything to conceal the Kiev regime’s Nazi nature from the international community, whitewashing and glorifying the Nazi aspects within the Ukrainian state in the form of racial nationalist units, primarily, the Azov battalion. They offer them funding and support.
This year, when the Russian Federation launched in February 2022 its special military operation to de-Nazify and demilitarise Ukraine and protect the Donbass civilians, this offered a new impetus and motivation for justifying these Russophobic undertakings. This paved the way to total discrimination and stigmatisation of Russians, including diplomats, with a shocking ferocity. The Foreign Ministry reviewed the discrimination against Russian compatriots and citizens abroad, who already were in a challenging situation, in a separate special report titled Violations of the Rights of Russian Citizens and Fellow Citizens in Foreign Countries. In this report, the Foreign Ministry also paid special attention to this topic.
These trends confirm Russia’s message that these manifestations of racial discrimination and glorification of Nazism constitute an outright threat to the fundamental values of genuine democracy and human rights, and are a serious challenge in terms of international and regional security and stability.
It is essential that the overwhelming majority within the international community shares Russia’s approaches to countering the glorification of Nazism, as confirmed by the UN General Assembly Resolution “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.” Every year, Russia together with a broad group of co-sponsors from all regions of the world submits this draft resolution to the UN General Assembly. We proceeded from the provisions set forth in this resolution when drafting the report.
We hope that the relevant countries will reflect on the negative trends regarding the glorification of Nazism as described in the report, finally prompting their governments to take action to counter these shameful and dangerous phenomena.
While we may nurture these hopes, this is not what we see in real life. We proceed from the premise that governments in these countries follow democratic principles and do not appoint themselves to their offices. We assume that they do not come to power using various corrupt practices, but adhere to democratic values. If so, they need to pay attention to the public opinion in their countries. When they do, they will understand that their war on history and efforts to impose fakes are shameful, antidemocratic and illegitimate.
Conclusion of the 10th NPT Review Conference in New York
The 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons took place in New York on August 1-26, 2022, with 151 states participating along with Russia.
The participants reviewed the results of the last NPT cycle in the course of substantive and sometimes difficult, emotionally and politically charged discussions on three key components of the Treaty: nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
They explicitly reaffirmed the importance of the NPT as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and noted the key role of the IAEA in verifying the fulfillment by the parties of their NPT obligations, as well as in coordinating international cooperation in peaceful nuclear research. We have seen a growing worldwide demand for wider cooperation in nuclear energy and non-energy application of radiation technologies, which are gradually gaining status in the context of sustainable development goals.
At the same time, the Review Conference has exposed many fundamental differences between the states parties to the NPT. As before, there are sharp disagreements between nuclear and non-nuclear countries regarding the fulfillment of their nuclear disarmament obligations under the treaty.
The forum was held against the backdrop of continued shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by the Ukrainian army, an action fraught with disastrous consequences for both Ukraine and the entire European continent. But where is that line? In case of a nuclear incident there, where do the consequences for one country end? There is no line. The consequences will affect everyone. Kiev's Western handlers stubbornly insisted on using politicised language in the conference document, which distorted the actual situation around nuclear facilities in Ukraine while overlooking the real threats to their security. Our delegation was made to repeatedly repel false and malicious allegations that the Russian military were attacking the power plant. We have commented on this earlier: Western media outlets have gone so far as to claim that Russian military members are shooting at themselves. (This is for “classical” literature, I assume.)
As a result, the Review Conference participants failed to agree on its final document. The responsibility for this situation lies entirely with those participating states that are indulging in the Russophobic hysteria of the Ukrainian authorities, and turning a blind eye to Kiev’s daily strikes on the nuclear power plant. The countries that are hostile to us are clearly doing this to disguise their own gross violations of the basic provisions of the NPT, and to distract the international community’s attention from them by persistently peddling the “Ukrainian issue.”
However, despite the failure to achieve a consensus on the final document, the review process has taken place. The NPT remains in force, and states parties will continue to pursue its consistent implementation under their national obligations. A solid foundation has been created for the future, as evidenced by the volume of working documents summarising their ideas and initiatives to improve and strengthen the NPT regime.
The next review cycle will begin in 2023; the next conference will be held in 2026. The current trends suggest that the international community is working towards the implementation of the NPT in an almost continuous mode.
We are ready to participate, in the most active manner, in pursuing the long-term goals set out in the NPT. We urge other states parties that share our commitment to progressively strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime to do likewise.
Considering the complicated current socioeconomic environment in Afghanistan, we believe it is important to continue the international community’s joint work to provide humanitarian support for the Afghan people under the auspices of the UN. We see the call by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths to extend a helping hand to Afghanistan in precisely this context.
We maintain that the United States and its allies must assume most of the financial burden for rebuilding this country. They are responsible for the current situation following their escape from Kabul exactly one year ago, on August 31, 2021. It is worth noting that they spare nothing for the Kiev regime. The media has reported a new aid package worth $3 billion. This money does not necessarily leave American financial institutions, state agencies and private companies that help American citizens get rid of extra money. For 20 years, they tortured the country with their presence and destroying everything. We have seen many things there. They fled in a horrible and shameful manner. Not even fled, but crawled in different directions. Where is the money for rebuilding Afghanistan? I am talking about the NATO-centric community. You made a mess there for 20 years, and now it is time to clean up after yourself. This is precisely their logic.
In October 2021, at a meeting in Moscow we suggested holding a donor conference on Afghanistan. In March 2022, eventually they acted on this call at an event in Geneva. This is obviously not enough for resolving all problems, as regards this country’s post-conflict recovery.
The Government of Afghanistan is still grappling with the dire consequences of the 20-year US-NATO occupation. At the same time, Western countries continue to freeze Afghan national assets totalling billions of dollars. This aggravates the situation still further and deprives local authorities of resources for normalising the situation and fighting international terrorism. Can one say anything about the legitimacy of freezing Afghan assets by the United States? We want to understand the legal framework of this process. If there is no such framework, then we should make those praying for liberal dictatorships aware of this.
Maria Zakharova: You said it yourself. This was really a provocation. This is what we think about two US warships sailing through the Taiwan Strait on August 28, 2022 – it is a link in a chain of provocations aimed at the comprehensive deterrence of Beijing. They wanted to put more pressure on them and destabilise the situation in the region in general.
The US armed forces took this action in the context of trips to the island by US politicians. They are all links in the same chain and obviously do not increase security in the Asia-Pacific Region. On the contrary, they are making the situation there even more complicated and unpredictable.
We consider a settlement in the situation with the Taiwan Strait China’s domestic affair. Beijing has the right to take the necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Taiwan issue.
Russia’s position of principle on the Taiwan issue remains unchanged. We believe there is only one China, The PRC government is the only lawful government representing all of China, and Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.
Maria Zakharova: We are closely following the domestic developments in Moldova, including the procedural actions against the opposition leaders you mentioned. There is no doubt that this is the internal affair of the republic. However, the law-enforcement bodies of that country are focusing only on the politicians that advocate constructive relations with the Russian Federation. This fact points to the political character of this harassment.
The attempts of the current Moldovan leaders to get rid of their opponents by any means can hardly enhance their prestige. Judging by what we see, the people of Moldova are developing a strong allergy to such unseemly methods of political struggle. This is clear from the numerous protests and rallies in support of the above leaders, which regularly take place in the country.
Unfortunately, instead of listening to their citizens, conducting a broad public dialogue, and jointly searching for solutions, the current Moldovan authorities ostracise those who are against the ongoing processes in the country.
We would like to see a critical assessment of Chisinau’s actions by the related international agencies (including the OSCE and the Council of Europe). Chisinau received EU member candidate status in June of this year, and we would like to know to what extent its methods of clearing the political and media landscapes match the high standards of democracy, media freedom and human rights. I haven’t seen any assessments like this yet, but I’m sure they will appear.
Maria Zakharova: There are quite a few reasons for this and they have nothing to do with the situation around Ukraine. Quite the opposite, the situation with Ukraine is an extension of Washington’s logic, that is, cause and effect have been reversed. The situation in Ukraine cannot serve to explain the buildup of US military presence in Europe. Based on its earlier developed strategy to increase its military presence, Washington is causing the Ukrainian crisis to spread, intensify and worsen in order to feel free to supply weapons to the Kiev regime and build up its presence in Europe. Washington carefully devised and implemented these tactics long ago. Clearly, Americans needed the situation with Ukraine to set this process in motion. We have commented on this issue on more than one occasion and at various levels. In the case of Ukraine, any weapon supplies tend to increase the risk of a deterioration of the international situation and make conditions even harder for civilians. Civilians are being exposed to attacks by Ukraine – I mean the part controlled by the Kiev regime.
As for the deployment of US troops and the expansion of US military infrastructure in Europe, this is largely the result of NATO expansion, which has only moved in one direction, closer to the Russian border. This situation did not evolve yesterday and it is the result of activities that have been planned in advance. Russia has repeatedly voiced its concerns and, again, this did not start yesterday or a year ago, or five years ago, while Russia proposed all types of cooperation to address shared problems. The United States and NATO were guided by the same – allegedly shared – security considerations as they expanded their military bases, moving them toward the Russian border. We have received negative answers to all our proposals, including practical ones, for jointly addressing security issues. This did not just happen once – in late 2021 or early 2022. Our proposals were repeatedly turned down over many years. Our concerns were ignored.
All those years the West was strengthening its security at the expense of others, ignoring the legitimate concerns of Russia and other countries. The situation is only worsening. They are not getting added security. All that’s happening is the deterioration of security situation in several areas.
Maria Zakharova: For our part, we fully share the opinion on the complete failure to achieve the objectives that Washington, its satellites, and NATO pursued since they first occupied Afghanistan in 2001. The US and allied presence was accompanied by mass killings of innocent civilians, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and corruption scandals, and eventually ended in a shameful stampede in August 2021. After having committed many unseemly acts, the US administration continues to block the country’s national assets instead of taking resolute steps to support the indigent population of Afghanistan, who are suffering because of the United States.
The West’s propaganda machine is in full swing and trying to ignore the results of their military presence on Afghan soil. We think it’s very important to show to the international audience the consequences of this intervention, which has left behind nothing but scorched earth and a huge number of unsolved and newly created problems.
Thanks to the global poll held by our Chinese friends, we can conclude that this point of view is shared not only by the Afghans themselves, who have suffered at the West’s hands, but also the majority of foreign members of the internet community.
Maria Zakharova: I have repeatedly commented on this today, but I will do so again. The IAEA team is on its way. Russia is doing all that is necessary and even more. We have dealt with this issue for the last three months and coordinated the visit itself, the inspection, the mission’s composition, the timeframe, the route, and so on and so forth. We are doing our best to enable the IAEA Mission led by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, whose visit was planned several months ago, to reach, at long last, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and accomplish its visit in safety, carrying out the tasks that have been assigned to it.
This was preceded by a lot of painstaking work. Our respective specialists have been coordinating this visit in every detail. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held meetings with the IAEA’s Rafael Grossi. After the Grossi visit failed to materialise in June, because of a gross interference from the UN Secretariat and obstacles put up by the Kiev regime, many things had to be reorganised.
As far as Russia is concerned, there can be no complaints. Let me reiterate that we coordinated everything as far back as June 3, three months ago. The UN is giving the IAEA mission nothing but verbal support. Regrettably, they are in no hurry to admit their prior mistakes. Of course, questions about this should be addressed to them, but I can’t help saying it.
We proceed from the premise that the IAEA representatives, who should reach the station shortly, will be able to get a first-hand knowledge of the situation on the ground in every detail, assess the consequences of the inhuman Ukrainian strikes at the facilities and units in the area. They should be able to verify that the information provided by Russia almost daily, on the increasingly dangerous situation at the station and the source of these threats, which is certainly the Kiev regime and its military units, is completely true.
The mission should be objective and, most importantly, professional. The main goal and objective is to see everything that is happening at the station at the moment, that is, the results of the destructive actions taken against this nuclear facility over the past few months. Ukraine’s attempts to complicate the IAEA Mission’s performance and the ever more intense attacks at the station with increasingly powerful weapons are bringing to nothing the Zelensky regime’s assurances to the effect that Kiev is interested in the Grossi team’s success. Their strikes are increasingly well-aimed and fall ever closer to the station’s vitally important areas, including nuclear fuel storage units, both unused and spent. Energodar residents, many of whom are employed at the station, and their families, have lived under this shelling for several months now. There is no justification for this, nor for Ukraine’s attacks that put the station’s safety and also the fate of the nations on the European continent into jeopardy. Again, I want to emphasise that there are no borders for radiation. It will not notice whether it has breached a border or not, or whether it is still on the European continent or not. We are all well aware of the implications. Both the UN and the IAEA know this as well. We hope that the Ukrainian strategists’ plans to interfere with the IAEA Mission will once again fail and that the visit will take place after all. Any different course of events will be seen as Kiev’s acknowledgement that it is to blame for what is happening.
The IAEA Mission, like the IAEA mandate as a whole, is of technical nature. Nevertheless we believe that Mr Grossi’s presence at the station will help make the situation there healthier and force Ukraine’s armed units to come to their senses and stop shelling the station and the adjacent territory – for good.
We call on all countries, primarily those with direct influence on the Kiev regime, to continue exerting pressure on the Ukrainian authorities, and force them to see reason, to discontinue this nuclear outrage and blackmail, desist from terrorising the whole world, and stop short of a disaster fraught with irreversible and dire consequences.
Maria Zakharova: The admission of new members to the SCO (I am talking not about Iran, but the general principle) is regulated by relevant regulatory documents, including the Regulation on Admission of New Members to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation of 2010 and the regulation on granting an applying state full member status that was adopted in 2014.
According to the rules, the decisions made by the leaders to launch the admission procedure is the basis for the memorandum which will outline the candidate’s political and other responsibilities and the organisational and financial aspects of membership.
First of all, it is necessary to join the SCO’s fundamental international agreements: the SCO Charter, the Treaty on Long-Term Good Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation, the Shanghai Convention on Combatting Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, and others. Given the active development of cooperation within the organisation, this list is being constantly updated, and many of these documents require ratification. For instance, in 2016, India and Pakistan were supposed to agree to 32 documents, and now there are as many as 46.
After the candidate state fulfils all of its obligations as per the memorandum, the SCO Heads of State Council begins to discuss the granting of membership.
The algorithm developed by the SCO is a well-thought and logical mechanism and facilitated the accelerated acclimatisation of new participants in the SCO on the basis of common rights and obligations for all member states. The standards have been developed; they are transparent and the same for everyone.
Maria Zakharova: Talks between Sergey Lavrov and Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will start soon, including a news conference. I am more than confident that this issue will be raised and then covered by the media. Let us not get ahead of ourselves, especially given that the heads of the two relevant ministries will comment on this issue.
Maria Zakharova: We always proceed from the belief that the IAEA is a specialised and depoliticised organisation. The specialists working there should be guided only by professional standards. They should be objective and unbiased. This concerns all matters within the organisation’s remit.
Maria Zakharova: My question is why the EU doesn’t want to expand by incorporating the United Kingdom? To my mind, all pre-requisites are in place, including experience, geographic proximity, ties, contacts, political like-mindedness and NATO membership. All these aspects largely serve as a unifying factor. Isn’t this a wonderful opportunity to expand the EU? Why should the EU expand in all other directions? The EU-UK unification should be on the agenda.
A more serious analysis shows that the EU seems to be thinking in the context of spheres of influence and seizing the territories of neighbouring states and those further off. One gets the impression that they are reinstating colonialism and an imperialist mentality that was a typical feature until the mid-20th century. It seems that factors contributing to the further progression of this “disease” have disappeared, but we are now back to square one. As we can see, this ideology continues to develop.
The expansionist policy of the EU has evolved from preparing candidates for EU membership into a geopolitical tool. They are using candidates (aspiring EU members) as sales markets and as sources of cheap labour. They are reviving an imperialist and colonialist ideology. They are forcing these countries to join in with EU decisions that they never helped adopt and that run counter to their national interests. This is all politically interlinked. Anyone wishing to join the EU or to obtain economic bonuses has to swear political allegiance to the organisation. Just sign here. Or you will be denied membership.
At this stage of its existence, the EU is rapidly undergoing a transformation from a peaceful economic association into a militarised project. It is becoming a tool in the hands of the United States and NATO and turning into an economic department of NATO (we have talked about this). The EU continues to deliver weapons to Ukraine. Indicatively, those weapons are being smuggled back to where they came from. Instead of their depots, the weapons are delivered to the black market in the countries that shipped them to Ukraine in the first place. They are hardly doing this to maintain security on the European continent. On the contrary, all this is leading to destructive processes.
Regarding the reform of the EU’s decision-making procedure, this issue has been raised many times. This question should be addressed to Brussels. I can only say that discussions about moving away from the consensus principle highlight attempts by certain EU countries to impose their viewpoint on those who disagree with them and to suppress any dissent and attempts to implement it. It is necessary to search for a compromise and to use some tools or ideology to find points of contact. However, this is what the EU is like today.
Maria Zakharova: Does anything hold them back when they impose sanctions today? Are there any real debates on the present-day and future consequences of these sanctions, for example? Does anyone take into consideration what people in these countries think? No, nothing of this sort. There are no mechanisms to this effect. We have seen, heard and read about this, including in the Western media, and I am not referring to the media outlets that can be accused to having pro-Moscow sympathies.
In the Western media, any dissenting opinions are suppressed through blackmail and outright threats. If you do not vote for renewing sanctions or imposing new ones, we will do this and that to you, listing all they have in stock. This goes beyond anti-Russian positions or sanctions and extends to EU’s internal affairs.
Do you remember how Poland, Hungary or other countries tried to promote their national interests? What was the result for them? Arbitration, political threats and being exposed to pressure mechanisms. This is just like in Ivan Krylov’s fable: “And you, my friends, no matter your positions, will never be musicians!” This is a matter of ideology, and they have a wrong one. It came to dominate and supplant everything, not just pragmatic considerations, but law and legal affairs, principles and values which were presented as perennial. Political ideology came to dominate democracy and its liberal manifestations, and I am referring to the positive sides of liberalism. This ideology-driven approach became dominant and found its bearings. What kind of ideology are we talking about? This is an interesting question. Turns out, this ideology consists of the strong dictating their will to the weak and having those who have a bigger say in the decision-making process impose their will on others. People, actors, players may come and go, and with them ideological tenets also change. Nobody cares that people are the ones who suffer for acting as they were told by the preceding decision-makers. So what? This is how it goes. Unfortunately, this illustrates what is currently going on within the EU.
Maria Zakharova: We have not received any information about these contacts between senior officials of Türkiye’s Trade Ministry and its Russian colleagues.
All I can say is that Russia continues its meaningful engagement with Baku and Yerevan to unblock the transport links in South Caucasus by working within the corresponding Trilateral Working Group co-chaired by deputy prime ministers. The Working Group intends to agree on a package that would include specific routes, based on the principle of respecting Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, while also contributing to security and economic wellbeing in the South Caucasus.
Maria Zakharova: We proceed from the premise that Uzbekistan is our partner and a sovereign state. It has every right to step up its relations with any country.
To answer your question, I would focus on developing bilateral relations between Russia and Uzbekistan, based on friendship, mutual respect between our peoples. We are allies and strategic partners. President Vladimir Putin and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev have made an invaluable contribution to injecting momentum in efforts to promote these relations.
In recent years, we have stepped up our political contacts, including at the government and agency levels, as well as between our respective parliaments and regions. I must highlight the establishment of the Joint Commission at the level of heads of our governments with the view to coordinating our joint efforts for deepening our bilateral cooperation across the board.
We are proactive in promoting trade and investment ties within the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation. Russia is a leader in terms of the number of joint ventures operating in Uzbekistan – we have over 2,300 such ventures. In Russia, there are over 600 companies with Uzbekistan’s capital. Russia’s investment in Uzbekistan exceeds $10 billion. Bilateral trade has been quite impressive too. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, trade increased by 17.3 percent to $6.9 billion in 2021. In the first half of 2022, there was a 39.9 percent increase year-on-year to $3.8 billion. In Russia, there are more than 2 million labour migrants from Uzbekistan, whose remittances make a substantial contribution to Uzbekistan’s economy and the wellbeing of its people ($8 billion or 11 percent of GDP in 2021).
We are stepping up our cooperation in healthcare, education and culture, and expanding bilateral humanitarian contacts. There are 14 branches of Russian universities operating in Uzbekistan.
Much has been done lately to promote effective interstate relations in line with the fundamental interests of the two nations and their people to promote security and stability in Central Asia.
Russia and Uzbekistan work closely together in various international platforms and share close or converging views on a broad range of regional and international matters.
It is satisfying that the strategic partnership between Russia and Uzbekistan has established itself as a major factor for promoting integration in Eurasia and plays an important role in ensuring stability in Central Asia.
Maria Zakharova: We believe this issue was artificially thrown to the US media, including The Washington Post. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has already commented exhaustively on this. Earlier, Aide to the President Yury Ushakov said that Vladimir Putin did not discuss the purchase of drones with the Iranian leadership on July 19 of this year.
This issue is not on the agenda of today’s talks between the Russian and Iranian foreign ministers.
In the meantime, the cooperation between the defence ministries of the two countries is developing dynamically. I would like to recall that First Deputy Chairman of the Iranian Armed Forces’ General Staff Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi visited Moscow literally two weeks ago to attend the Moscow International Security Conference. The Iranian team was adequately presented at the International Army Games (ArMI-2022) and won prizes. Moreover, part of the competition took place in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Maria Zakharova: Together with Baku and Yerevan, Moscow is focused on implementing all provisions of the top-level tripartite agreements of November 9, 2020 and January 11 and November 26, 2021. They are conducting practical work in the approved trilateral formats and are making steady headway. Thus, yesterday (August 30 of this year), the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia held a meeting on the delimitation of borders with the consultative assistance of the Russian Federation. The Foreign Ministry has published a press release on the results of this meeting on its website.
As for the intention to create the EU-mediated working group you mentioned, we haven’t received any information about this from our Azerbaijan and Armenian partners.
We are seeing that the EU activities in the South Caucasus are determined by geopolitical ambitions rather than a real desire to help normalise Azerbaijan-Armenia relations. The pseudo initiatives of the Europeans look more like an attempt to shamelessly seize the laurels of mediation without any grounds at all. We are working as the mediators. Our work is producing specific results and is duly appreciated by the parties. Apparently, those that are merely posing as mediators have nothing to offer but want to demonstrate a certain “involvement.” It seems that the EU’s Brussels has largely lost the skills of diplomacy. Indeed, if they are continuously appealing for victories on the battlefield, they have nothing to do on the professional track. It’s up to EU citizens to decide how effective this is.
Maria Zakharova: The development of Azerbaijan's dialogue with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in any format would certainly have a tangible effect on the entire region. For our part, we welcome Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov’s participation in the latest meeting of the Intergovernmental Council. We believe there is high potential for cooperation between Baku and the EAEU. We see great prospects for such cooperation and believe it will also benefit the Azerbaijani-Armenian normalisation process.
Speaking at the meeting you mentioned, Ali Asadov, indeed, declared his country’s readiness to provide its transport and logistics potential to the EAEU countries. We are sure that deeper transport cooperation will definitely increase trade between our states and become a guarantee for the implementation of joint infrastructure projects.
Maria Zakharova: The Foreign Ministry is providing information support to the State Assistance Programme for the Voluntary Resettlement in the Russian Federation of Russian Nationals Living Abroad.
Currently, the State Assistance Programme is an effective repatriation mechanism. Eighty Russian regions have adopted regional relocation programmes to assist those returning to Russia and their families. Our compatriots abroad are eligible for benefits and social welfare under the State Assistance Programme. Applications can be filed with representative offices of the Russian Interior Ministry, ad hoc groups consisting of the Interior Ministry and Foreign Ministry staff in the countries with biggest migration potential, including in Kazakhstan (Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Uralsk and Ust-Kamenogorsk), Azerbaijan (Baku), Belarus (Minsk), Moldova (Chisinau), and consular offices.
During the first six months of 2022, the highest number of applications was filed from our compatriots in the following countries: Kazakhstan (over 5,000), Uzbekistan (over 2,400), Tajikistan (over 2,000), Kyrgyz Republic (around 1,900) and Armenia (1,400). The Russian foreign missions abroad in the countries that are involved in unfriendly actions towards Russia, have noted increasing interest in repatriation to Russia from our compatriots there. In particular, around 100 applications were filed in Germany. Similar tendencies can be seen in Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and some other European countries.
To improve the application process in these countries, reception hours were extended for visitors seeking advice or wishing to apply for the State Assistance Programme.
Under Presidential Executive Order No. 547 On Amendments to the State Assistance Programme for the Voluntary Resettlement in the Russian Federation of Russian Nationals Living Abroad adopted by Executive Order No. 637 of June 22, the compatriots residing in the countries involved in unfriendly activity towards Russia, or towards Russian nationals or legal entities, can apply for the State Assistance Programme not only in the country of their permanent residence but in any country they choose to visit.
Russian ministries and agencies are exploring possibilities to further improve the effectiveness of the programme. In 2022, Russian regions are ready to take in around 60,000 repatriates.
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