Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions following talks with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, Moscow, October 28, 2024

Ladies and gentlemen,

Extensive talks with my colleague, the Foreign Minister of the State of Kuwait, Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, have just concluded. We welcomed the growing interest from the governments, agencies, and business circles from both countries in expanding bilateral cooperation across all areas.

We focused in particular on the material foundation of our relations managed by the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, and Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which has not convened for some time. We agreed to expedite preparations for its seventh session in Moscow. We aim to accomplish this before the year runs out.

We also discussed the importance of encouraging mutual interest among business circles to establish practical connections. A year ago, a business mission made possible by the Moscow Export Centre with the participation of several Moscow-based companies took place in Kuwait. In February, a similar event was held in Kuwait by Moscow’s Tourism Committee, which showcased the tourism potential of Russia’s capital. Russia has firmly established itself as a popular tourist destination for Kuwaitis, with tourist flow increasing nearly tenfold last year compared to 2022. We will do our best to support this trend, as well as the Russian citizens’ visits to Kuwait.

We talked about making these processes more straightforward and comfortable. An additional decision will be made to simplify visa regulations. Some time ago, Russia introduced electronic visas for many countries, including Kuwait. Our Kuwaiti friends informed us that they will soon make a similar decision, which will greatly streamline bureaucratic processes for visits to Kuwait and, accordingly, the Russian Federation.

Direct flights are another joint project that we expect to implement soon. Routes connecting Kuwait City to Moscow, Makhachkala, and Sochi are being discussed.

This will expand opportunities for tourism and people-to-people contacts, including businesspeople and cultural figures.

We also noted that the Agreement on Military-Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the State of Kuwait entered into force this year. This agreement provides for establishing another intergovernmental commission to deal with this matter, allowing for collaboration in this area, including maintenance and modernisation of the military-technical products supplied to Kuwait by Russia earlier.

I mentioned the humanitarian field earlier. Last month, a Kuwaiti Culture Week was successfully held in Moscow. It was a truly notable event in the city’s cultural life and stirred the art lovers’ considerable interest. Next year, we plan to bring Russian Seasons project to Kuwait, which typically includes dozens of events featuring Russian ballet dancers, musical ensembles, dance troupes, and more.

We discussed international issues substantially, with a particular focus on the Middle East settlement. The top priorities include halting the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and tensions that have been mounting along the Israel-Lebanon border. We reiterated the importance for urgent measures to cease hostilities, alleviate tensions, address humanitarian issues, and help refugees to return to their homes. Proper conditions must be put in place if we want to achieve these goals.

We must not lose sight of the long-term goal of achieving a lasting settlement as we work on these urgent matters. This goal can be achieved through a two-state solution with the establishment of a Palestinian state in line with UN resolutions. Our commitment to this goal was fully reaffirmed today.

We engaged in a discussion regarding the situation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, where the obstruction of safe international navigation is an issue. In collaboration with Kuwait, we advocate for addressing this matter through political and diplomatic means, eschewing any resort to military force or strikes on Yemeni territory. In any event, this problem can only be definitively resolved through interethnic dialogue, involving all Yemeni parties and facilitated by the United Nations.

In relation to the Syrian Arab Republic, we have actively endorsed the normalisation process between Syria and the League of Arab States. Syria has been reinstated as a full-fledged member of this organisation. We support the prevailing sentiments among Arab countries towards assisting the Syrian Government in tackling critical social and economic challenges, primarily stemming from the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.

Our counterparts provided insights into the developments within the Gulf Cooperation Council, including interactions between Arab countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran. We welcome these engagements. All these countries are littoral states of the Persian Gulf, necessitating partnership, trust-building, and the advancement of constructive cooperation projects. We endorse these trends and will extend political support. Additionally, we express readiness to partake in pertinent economic, investment, and logistics projects.

Kuwait is set to assume the chairmanship of the GCC next year. A mechanism for strategic dialogue at the level of foreign ministers has been established between Russia and the Council, with a regular meeting conducted last month in Riyadh. In the following year, Russia will host this ministerial meeting, with Kuwait chairing it. We shall collaborate in preparing for this event.

We extended our congratulations to our Kuwaiti friends on the election of Kuwait's representative as Secretary General of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue. This represents another platform for our cooperation, to which we shall devote special attention, supporting the new Secretary General.

We exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and expressed our gratitude to our Kuwaiti friends for their balanced and unbiased stance on this matter. We evaluated the current situation on the contact line within the special military operation and analysed the ideas under discussion in the context of seeking a resolution. There are numerous proposals, not all motivated by a sincere desire for peace. Representatives of the Kiev regime persistently seek to provoke the West into direct involvement, without hybrid modalities, in a war against the Russian Federation. President Vladimir Putin elaborated on this subject in detail at the conclusion of the BRICS summit in Kazan.

We discern that the resolution of this crisis can only be achieved based on the principles articulated by President Vladimir Putin on June 14 this year in his address at the Russian Foreign Ministry. These principles emphasise the necessity of respecting the rights of the people residing in Ukraine and in the territories that voluntarily supported reunification with Russia, as well as the imperative to prevent the resurgence of bloc thinking. Ukraine must be a neutral state. Efforts to incorporate it into NATO should cease. It is essential to eradicate the burgeoning neo-Nazism, which is thriving under the auspices of the current racist, Russophobic regime in Kiev.

We brought the fact that the Kazan Summit Declaration contains a section on Ukraine to the attention of our Kuwaiti friends. This section says that all the parties involved agreed on the importance of resolving this conflict on the basis of the principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and interconnectedness. This is a critical observation. Our Western colleagues continue to play along with the Kiev regime and contend that the conflict should be resolved on the basis of the UN Charter with Ukraine preserving its territorial integrity as of the 1991 borders. However, the UN Charter is by far broader than the concept of territorial integrity. In 1970, the UN General Assembly resolved that the territorial integrity of all countries must be respected provided their governments represent the entire population residing within the borders in question. 

Can we claim in earnest that this regime represents the people living in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, Crimea, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions at a time when, following the coup, they adopted Russophobic and racist laws outlawing the Russian language in all spheres of life in Ukraine? When they branded the people of Donbass, Novorossiya, and Crimea who rejected the coup as terrorists and unleashed a war against them using air and artillery strikes? Clearly, the answer is no.

The contention that the UN Charter principles must be fully respected and applied is crucial also because the very first article of the Charter requires respect for human rights, regardless of gender, race, language, or religion. We are looking at a gross violation of the language and religious rights of the Ukrainian people. The West, which uses every opportunity, whether it’s valid or not, to act as a champion of human rights, remains disgracefully silent now that the issue is about its Kiev underlings.

Moreover, senior officials from the European Commission and the European Union are talking about the importance of supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes, because it is fighting for “European values.” If these values come down to endorsing Nazism and eliminating language and religious rights, it’s nothing short of a confession about what Europe really is like today.

I’d like to close by thanking our Kuwaiti friends, and my colleague and friend, for the valuable exchange of views.

Question: We can hear people in France and other European countries call for sending troops to Ukraine in response to the rumoured deployment of North Korean forces to support the Russian army. Should that happen, what will Moscow do?

Sergey Lavrov: It has already happened. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly provided specific data about the presence of the Western military personnel fighting for the Ukrainian armed forces. There are mercenaries and “volunteers,” and there are military instructors, who are indispensable if Ukraine wants to operate even its own long-range systems, let alone Western long-range weapons. Ukrainian troops are unable to use missile systems without the help of Western specialists, or space reconnaissance data, which Ukraine clearly cannot obtain on its own, or without programmers who set the trajectory of the flight path. Western military personnel have been active in Ukraine for a long time now and are part of NATO and the EU’s hybrid war against our country, which fact we are well aware of.

With regard to our relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, we have made it clear many times that there are no secrets about what the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between the Russian Federation and the DPRK is all about. It is an open treaty, and its text is publicly available. It does not violate provisions of international law and, among other things, it provides for mutual assistance if one of the parties comes under a military attack. Our stance in this regard is completely transparent and straightforward.

The West’s disingenuous claims about sending their troops to Ukraine under a far-fetched pretext are merely an attempt to come up with a retroactive justification for what has been actually taking place for quite some time now.

Question: Parliamentary elections have been held in Georgia, resulting in a victory for the Georgian Dream party. If representatives of the Georgian authorities deem it appropriate to visit Moscow, is Russia prepared to engage in discussions with them here?

Sergey Lavrov: Currently, we do not maintain diplomatic relations with Georgia. These were previously severed by the former Georgian leadership. Nevertheless, both nations continue to have representations on each other's territory, functioning as Interests Sections within the Swiss Embassy. Our diplomats are operating in Tbilisi under this arrangement. Naturally, they report on developments and facilitate the enhancement of ties, including trade and economic relations, which are experiencing significant growth. Tourism is also on the rise.

Our diplomats consistently engage in dialogue with representatives of the Georgian authorities regarding any arising issues. Should there be any additional proposals for contact from our Georgian neighbours, we shall certainly consider them. We have never refrained from engaging in dialogue.

Question: How does Moscow assess the situation in the Middle East following the Israeli attacks and strikes on Iran? Has the region managed to avoid the worst-case scenario, or conversely, are these strikes likely to lead to a new phase of conflict escalation?

Sergey Lavrov: At this stage, the worst-case scenario has been, and continues to be, averted, although it remains a possibility. Similar to the situation in Ukraine, there are those who seek to exacerbate tensions to a level that would prompt United States intervention. It is my hope that recent diplomatic interactions will prevent such an outcome. At the very least, we are undertaking all possible efforts to halt the escalation and alleviate the situation.

Obviously, Israel's strikes on Iran, which are being portrayed as retaliatory actions – purporting that such actions have been taken, the parties seem to be even and nothing more needs to be done – have not simplified the situation. Nonetheless, we are hopeful that the UN Security Council might contribute to de-escalating the situation. At the request of Algeria, China, and Russia, the Security Council is to deliberate on Iran's statement this evening in New York. I believe that this discussion will bring greater clarity. However, this does not imply that we should become complacent and merely hope for the best. On the contrary, we must actively pursue a ceasefire in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, work towards long-term stability, and address the worsening humanitarian issues. New waves of refugees have emerged, and they must be repatriated. The objective of establishing a Palestinian State in full accordance with UN resolutions is becoming increasingly imperative.