EMBASSY INFORMS
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The BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting has just ended. Its results are presented in the joint statement which was adopted and is being spread. I will emphasise several points which I think are important.
First, all the BRICS members expressly confirmed their commitment to the principles of international law, the goals and principles of the UN Charter, its central role in matters of peace, security and development. This statement has been worded very clearly, and bears special significance now when all principles of international law are under pressure from those who would like to replace them with some sort of rules. We had an informal and very straightforward conversation about that. We have a shared understanding that universally approved norms and principles of international law must not be allowed to fade away, especially those, as I have said, that are enshrined in the UN Charter.
At the outset, let me express gratitude to Jamila Afghani for her frank statement. Dear Jamila, we know too well, that when we help women, we help the entire Afghanistan. We are also thankful to our brave UN women, who stand at the helm of this global organization – First Under-Secretary-General A.Mohammed and Under-Secretary General R.DiCarlo – for their reports. It is very important that you visited Afghanistan and obtained first-hand experience. Your visit to Afghanistan, as well as the Security Council country visit to this State in January 2018 reiterated that the situation in the country remained not just complicated, but critical.
Heinous acts of terror (that take place i.a. in Kabul) concuss the country; casualties among civilians, (i.a. women and children) become more frequent. The toll among the Afghani military and police forces, whose selflessness in fight against terror we recognize and highly appreciate, is also growing. There is a need for coordinated measures to counter this malicious trend.
Q: After the incidents in Salisbury and Amesbury a group of countries, including Russia, are making proposals to update the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) control lists. How would you comment on the issue?
A: Unfortunately, the situation remains complicated. After Russia had been groundlessly accused in using “Novichok” nerve agent in Salisbury and Amesbury, we presented a set of proposals on updating the CWC control lists to the OPCW Technical Secretariat in order to make it more relevant and effective. The Russian initiative shows a much more complex and comprehensive approach than the Western one (proposed by the US, Canada and the Netherlands) as it suggests that all the “families” of chemicals related to the so-called “Novichoks” should be included into the control lists.
The 5th Russian-British Business Forum is due to take place on 27 November 2019 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London.
Question: How would you comment on the publications in British media regarding allegedly Russian and Syrian airstrikes on Maarat al-Numaan in the Syrian province of Idlib? Answer: We took note of further farfetched allegations in British media and would like to advise that these publications do not hold up to close scrutiny, as they are based on the information from anonymous representatives of the notorious White Helmets organization, which is financed by the US and UK.
Question: Mr Lavrov, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. Cuba has long been considered a closed-off country, but, for Russia, it opened before and is opening now unlike for any other country. However, the Spanish-language RT channel is part of an open network in many Latin American countries, but not in the friendly nation of Cuba. How important is media presence on the island for Russia? What can be done in this regard?
Sergey Lavrov: I wouldn’t say that Cuba was a closed-off country. Europeans and Canadians have long enjoyed vacationing in Cuba and continue to do so. Americans have visited Cuba and, similar to many Russians, enjoyed vacationing there until completely unreasonable bans were introduced.
Ensuring security in a strategically important Gulf area is one of the major regional challenges of our time. Military and political shocks, outbursts of terrorist activities of the recent years in this region of the world abounding with hydrocarbon resources, are fraught with disastrous consequences for the system of international relations, global economic and, first and foremost, energy security.
Vladimir Putin answered questions from American film director, screenwriter and producer Oliver Stone. The interview was recorded on June 19, 2019 in the Kremlin.
Oliver Stone: So, I interviewed Mr Medvedchuk. It was in Monte Carlo. He gave us a very interesting interview. He gave us his view of the Ukraine. I gather that you’re close with him.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: I would not say that we are very close but we know each other well. He was President Kuchma’s Chief of Staff, and it was in this capacity at the time that he asked me to take part in the christening of his daughter. According to Russian Orthodox tradition, you can't refuse such a request.
In recent years, every now and again, we come across reports on the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. And as time goes by, a peculiar pattern has emerged. All these reports resurface against the backdrop of victories held by government forces, as they drive terrorist groups and their accomplices out of occupied land. It is then, as if by a magic spell, that the media are swarmed with reports on chemical attacks in Syria. News channels of international media, without any let-up, show footage with people in white helmets providing first aid to the people allegedly exposed to toxic chemicals.
On July 18, Tim Richardson, a minister-counselor of the US embassy in Russia, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry of Russia to receive a strong protest in connection with US media and officials’ statements alleging that Russia denied visas to teachers at the Anglo-American School in Moscow. It was stressed that the statements are absolutely untrue and that, in reality, the situation is the opposite.
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