@RusEmbMalta Press Release
🎙Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions following the G20 Ministerial Council meeting (Johannesburg, February 21, 2025)
💬 The main focus of the deliberations among the Foreign Ministers was the crucial goal of amplifying the voices of developing nations in global decision-making. The discussions were substantial, and we observed tangible progress in this regard.
Since last year, the African Union has attained full membership within the G20. The League of Arab States (#LAS) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (#CELAC) are interested in securing equivalent status. Such ambitions are commendable. We are confident that, in due course, the #EAEU may also rightfully aspire to similar standing <…>
We articulated our perspective on international challenges and their resolution during a period when multipolar realities are increasingly acknowledged. The advent of multipolarity is self-evident to us and to the #BRICS nations. Statistical evidence underscores this trend.
📈 The combined gross domestic product of BRICS states has surpassed that of the G7 countries. BRICS accounts for 37 percent of global GDP, compared to the G7’s 29 percent. This disparity heightens the urgency of reforming global economic institutions to reflect the genuine weight of the Global South and the World Majority within the world economy, alongside fostering non-discriminatory economic ties. These matters were actively deliberated. Russia stands ready to vigorously facilitate further progress in this domain, though numerous challenges persist <…>
We urged our Western counterparts to respect universally recognised rules of international law. Emphasis was placed on revitalising the United Nations’ role as a platform for coordinating state actions and forging a fair balance of interests.
The role played by BRICS certainly attracts everyone’s attention at the global level <…>
Speaking about entities that play a certain role in international economic relations, the G20 in general retains the role of a dialogue platform between the old and new centres of power. We spoke in favour of preserving the economic profile of this association <…>
South Africa, which has led the G20 this year, completes the succession of BRICS presidencies that began in 2022, when Indonesia was at the head of the G20. In 2023 it was India, and in 2024 it was Brazil. This successive version of BRICS being at the helm of the G20 has had the positive outcome of strengthening the position of the Global South in our forum.
❗️ All this contributes to the establishment of a fairer multipolar world order based on the sovereign equality of states, as required by the UN Charter, and on all other principles of the Charter in their totality and interrelation.
From answers to media questions:
🔹 The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, spoke at the G20 with the same array of accusations, proclaiming certain “plans” that would prevent Russia from taking its rightful place in the world. There is some tragicomic element to this.
🔹 The reaction of the “tragicomic figures” heading the Brussels bureaucracy and NATO to the meeting in Riyadh is highly illustrative. The mere fact that representatives of two great powers sat down, engaged in discussion, and articulated their respective positions is perceived by them as a betrayal of Western interests. These individuals are not in good health.
🔹 Multipolarity is gaining ascendancy. The growth trajectories of new, formidable centres of power – economic, political, and financial – demonstrate that this multipolarity is irreversible. In this context, the G20 retains its relevance as a forum where Western participants may come to recognise the inevitability of this process and begin adapting to it.
Read in full here.
🎙Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at an extended meeting with the participation of the Foreign Ministers from the Global South and the Global East(June 11, 2024, Nizhny Novgorod)
💬 Welcome to Russia and Nizhny Novgorod, a beautiful city, the beauty of which and the feelings of the residents of which you had the chance to enjoy yesterday.
Today’s meeting reflects the efforts of #BRICS members to develop ties with the stakeholder countries from the Global South and the Global East, the countries of the Global Majority,
in order to identify solutions to the most pressing global issues faced by all members of the international community without exception.
We are witnessing a profound transformation of international relations triggered by the formation of a fairer and polycentric system of international order, which would reflect the entire gamut of cultural and civilisational diversity of the modern-day world and ensure the right of every nation to determine its own future and its own path of development.
The stronger voice of the Global Majority, i.e. the countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, which are not part of the collective West, is a major trend now.
Only by uniting our ranks can we truly effectively promote a vision of a just future shared by all of us. In this context, it is important to strengthen the role of the country-to-country groups that advocate balanced and equitable approaches to international development.
We are talking about the formats which reflect the principles of equitable cooperation in practice rather than in words. These include, along with BRICS, #SCO, #AfricanUnion, #EAEU, #CIS, #ASEAN, #LAS, #CELAC, #GCC, #IORA and many other organisations. The chairs of many of these organisations are here with us.
We believe it is important to establish contacts between all such integration entities which operate at regional levels, on the one hand, and our global association BRICS, on the other hand. This will promote gradual and mutually respectful harmonisation of approaches to the issues facing all associations.
The strengthening the international legal framework and collective decision-making on global issues is now at the forefront. Only in this case will those decisions be effective and legitimate.
This principle is laid down in the UN Charter. Unfortunately, the collective West’s decisions, especially in the economy, finance, trade and more, increasingly fail to comply with the fundamental principles of the UN Charter.
Our countries have largely overlapping approaches to reforming the system of multilateral institutions, including the UN and the UN Security Council, as well as addressing the post-pandemic recovery of the global economy and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals approved by the UN General Assembly.
🤝 We look forward to discussing all these issues today.
📰 Russia's Ambassador to ASEAN Evgeny Zagaynov’s article “ASEAN–Russia Highway to a Shared Future”
(The Antara News, 13 December 2025)
👉 Read in full:
(The Antara News)
(Telegraph)
Key points:
🔹 This month marks 20 years since the first ASEAN–Russia Summit in Kuala Lumpur (13 December 2005), a milestone that set the foundations of today’s partnership. The ASEAN-Russia Joint Declaration on Progressive and Comprehensive Partnership that was adopted on that day defined the main goals and areas of our joint work for the years ahead and shaped the strategic trajectory of cooperation.
🔹 Russia’s engagement with ASEAN-led mechanisms took root in Kuala Lumpur, where President Vladimir Putin participated in the very first East Asia Summit. This paved the way for Russia’s full integration into ASEAN-centred regional architecture.
🔹 Over two decades, ASEAN–Russia relations have proven genuinely multidimensional, driven by mutual respect, shared principles, and practical cooperation across political–security, economic, and socio-cultural pillars.
🔹 The partnership continues to expand, with new mechanisms such as the ASEAN–Russia Consultations of High Representatives for Security Issues and the Dialogue on ICT Security. Russia has also become an ASEAN Digital Partner, and the first Senior Officials Meeting on digital technologies convened in Bangkok.
🔹 ASEAN–Russia trade reached record levels in 2024, growing by 13% despite an unfavourable global environment.
🔹 Cooperation in energy, biosafety, smart cities, and cutting-edge technologies is accelerating. A new MoU between the ASEAN Centre for Energy and Rosatom strengthens collaboration on peaceful nuclear energy, while the ASEAN–Russia Project on Capacity Building on Energy Statistics is underway.
🔹 People-to-people ties and expertise development remain priorities. Russia continues to expand training programmes for ASEAN specialists, with particular focus on youth cooperation. The Russian MGIMO University Master's program "Politics and Economics of the Russia-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership" saw its first graduating class in 2024.
🔹The ASEAN Centre in MGIMO has become the leading hub for expert dialogue, marking its 15th anniversary with a major international conference bringing together diplomats, scholars, analysts, and young researchers to explore new areas of cooperation.
🔹 ASEAN and Russia increasingly coordinate within wider regional and global frameworks, including #SCO, #EAEU, and #BRICS. Shared values and complementary agendas make these platforms natural spaces for deepening synergy.
🔹 Russia consistently supports ASEAN’s strategic autonomy, especially amid growing geopolitical pressures and unilateral tendencies. ASEAN’s independent voice strengthens the broader Global South and contributes to more balanced global governance.
🔹 Looking ahead, Russia and ASEAN reaffirm their commitment to a shared, prosperous future, building on two decades of cooperation and paving the way for deeper partnership in an emerging multipolar world.
🌐 On December 26, the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council Meeting was held in the Leningrad Region.
💬President Putin: I am delighted to welcome you all at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council Meeting. <...>
This year marks the tenth anniversary of signing the Treaty on Establishing the Eurasian Economic Union. In May, Moscow hosted a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, dedicated to this anniversary date.
Our association has asserted itself as an independent and self-sufficient centre of an emerging multipolar world, and it continues to develop dynamically.
The Eurasian Economic Union’s activities help expand trade and investment exchanges, boost business contacts and deepen cooperation ties. Most importantly, integration collaboration brings real benefits to every member of our association. It helps facilitate stable and sustained economic growth in the five member states and in the entire Eurasian region. This improves living standards of our countries’ citizens and their well-being.
🇷🇺 Russia values mutually beneficial multi-faceted cooperation with #EAEU partners, and we are sincerely interested in invigorating joint work to comprehensively strengthen our integration association.
I am convinced that all colleagues, who are present here, share this commitment. I therefore hope that our meeting will be productive and truly business-like.
Read in full
🎙Statement by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the UN Security Council meeting on multilateral cooperation in the interest of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order (New York, July 16, 2024)
💬 The actions of the US and its allies are hindering international cooperation and the creation of a more just world. They have taken countries and regions hostage, prevent nations from realising their sovereign rights declared in the UN Charter
<...>
I am confident that this situation can be changed if there is good will, of course. To stop the implementation of a negative scenario, we would like to propose to discuss a number of steps towards restoring trust and stabilising the international situation.
1. The root causes of the ongoing crisis in Europe should be eliminated once and for all. The conditions for restoring stable peace in Ukraine have been put forth by President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
A political and diplomatic settlement should be complemented with practical steps, to be taken in the West and the Euro-Atlantic community, to remove threats to the Russian Federation. The coordination of mutual guarantees and agreements should be based on the recognition of the new geostrategic realities on the Eurasian continent, where a continental architecture of really equal and indivisible security is taking shape. Europe risks lagging behind this objective historical process. We are ready to discuss a balance of interests.
2. The restoration of the regional and global balance of forces should be accompanied with active efforts to eliminate injustices in the global economy. There must be no monopoly in monetary and financial regulation, trade and technologies, by definition. <...>
3. Major fundamental changes are necessary in other institutes of global governance if we want them to work to the benefit of all. This primarily concerns the United Nations Organisation, which remains the embodiment of multilateralism against all the odds, with unique and universal legitimacy and universally recognised broad competencies.
An important step towards the restoration of the UN’s effectiveness would be the reconfirmation by all Member States of their commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, not selectively but in their entirety and as a whole. <...>
4. Regional associations have practical significance for the development of multipolarity, including the #CIS, the #CSTO, the #EAEU, #ASEAN, the Gulf Cooperation Council (#GCC), the Arab League, the African Union and #CELAC. <...>.
***
❗️It depends on member countries alone whether our world will be diverse and equitable. The Charter of our Organisation is our foothold.
👉Read in full
❗️From April 3 to April 5 the first round of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and 🇮🇩 Indonesia was held in Jakarta.
📈📌At year-end 2022, mutual trade between the #EAEU and 🇮🇩 increased by 58% compared to 2021.
🎙 Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a meeting with directors of Russian non-profit organisations (July 23, 2024)
Key talking points:
🔹The role of public diplomacy has grown compared to the earlier period, primarily when it comes to maintaining a healthy atmosphere of confidence in relations with our foreign partners and explaining problems created by the West.
🔹 This applies to the the countries which we regard as unfriendly. I believe that we should use this term for governments, whereas the mood in the countries is largely determined by people’s lives and aspirations. I do not see any nation on the planet that would be unfriendly to our people in the first place.
🔹 I am aware that pubic organisations in Western countries somehow manage to maintain ties with some of their partners in Russia. This interaction is extremely important for keeping up relations at the level of civil societies and trying to understand each other.
🔹 We are beginning to see the outlines of a new multipolar world order. Nations around the world want to see their right to rule their destinies respected, and are searching for new ways of addressing various issues as alternatives to Western solutions.
🔹 The West is not ready to engage in mutually beneficial and equal cooperation. It has been seeking to hold on to its erstwhile standing which follows the path of irreversible, albeit slow, degradation. The NATO Summit in Washington provided yet another example of this process by adopting a declaration which once again emphasised the West’s unilateral approaches.
🔹 Today, Europe has been reduced to acting as Washington’s subject. Germany, for example, is the cornerstone of European politics and economy, but it still had to stomach the terrorist attacks against the Nord Stream pipelines which undermined its economic and social wellbeing. It had to pretend that this is the way it had to be.
🔹 The process of eradicating the centralised dictatorial model that America’s globalisation has morphed into will go hand in hand with regionalisation of economic processes. Preferably, in view of their interdependence with the global economy, the developments in Eurasia, Africa and Latin America ought to be coordinated and harmonised to a certain extent. #BRICS is quite capable of doing that.
🔹 We certainly believe that the United Nations remains a unique platform for universal cooperation that has no alternative. The UN Charter principles are relevant as never before.
🔹 I said earlier that Eurasia is emerging as an independent part of the multipolar and polycentric world. We are moving forward towards creating a Greater Eurasian Partnership, something that President Vladimir Putin mentioned 10 years back. Since then, this process has led to stronger ties between #EAEU, #SCO, and #ASEAN.
🔹 We trust that non-governmental and non-profit organisations will actively participate in these processes and continue to contribute to the overall efforts seeking to strengthen Russia’s position on the continent and around the world, including the promotion of the Russian language and our multiethnic culture.
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Για την συνεργασία της Ευρασιατικής Οικονομικής Ένωσης (#EAEU) στον παραγωγικό τομέα:
🔹Ο Πρόεδρος της Ρωσίας Βλαντίμιρ Πούτιν επισήμανε την ανάγκη ανάπτυξης της βιομηχανικής συνεργασίας και αύξησης των κοινών παραγωγών με τη κοινή μάρκα "Made in EAEU". Το αποτέλεσμα της συνεργασίας έχουν ήδη γίνει πολλές υψηλά τεχνολογικές εφευρέσεις, που παρουσιάστηκαν στην έκθεση "Innoprom. Καζακστάν", η οποία πραγματοποιείται από τις 25 έως τις 27 Σεπτεμβρίου στην Αστάνα.
Επί του παρόντος στην EAEU υλοποιούνται πάνω από 150 τέτοια έργα στους 25 τομείς με συνολική αξία να ξεπερνάει 26 τρισ. ρούβλια.
🔸Το τέλος του περασμένου έτους οι επικεφαλής των "πέντε" αποφάσισαν να δημιουργηθεί ένας μηχανισμός χρηματοδότησης βιομηχανικών πρωτοβουλιών από το προϋπολογισμό της Ένωσης. Η βασική προϋπόθεση είναι τουλάχιστον τρεις χώρες πρέπει να συμμετέχουν στα κοινά έργα. Τα κριτήρια επιλογής προγραμματίζονται να εγκριθούν τον Οκτώβριο στη συνεδρίαση του Ευρασιατικού Διακυβερνητικού Συμβουλίου.
⚡️BRICS Joint Statement on the Escalation of the Security Situation in the Middle East Following the Military Strikes on the Territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran (June 24, 2025)
📃 We express grave concern over the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025, which constitute a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and the subsequent escalation of the security situation in the Middle East.
In the face of rising tensions with unpredictable consequences for international peace and security, as well as for the world economy, we underscore the urgent need to break the cycle of violence and restore peace.
We call on all parties to engage through existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy, with a view to de-escalating the situation and resolving their differences through peaceful means.
☝️ We express serious concern over any attacks against peaceful nuclear installations, which are carried out in violation of international law and relevant resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Nuclear safeguards, safety and security must always be upheld, including in armed conflicts, to protect people and environment from harm. In this context, we reiterate our support for diplomatic initiatives aimed at addressing regional challenges.
Civilian lives must be protected, and civilian infrastructure must be safeguarded, in full compliance with international humanitarian law. We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and express our solidarity with civilians affected.
Guided by the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, #BRICS remains committed to promoting international peace and security and to fostering diplomacy and peaceful dialogue as the only sustainable path toward long-term stability in the region. In this regard, we also reaffirm the necessity of establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, in line with relevant international resolutions.
❗️ We call upon the international community to support and facilitate dialogue processes, uphold international law, and contribute constructively to peaceful settlements of disputes for the benefit of all humanity.
BRICS countries will remain seized of the matter.
✉️ President of Russia Vladimir Putincongratulated current staff and veterans of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on their professional holiday, Diplomatic Worker's Day.
The message reads, in part:
✍️ The Russian Foreign Ministry can be justly proud of its rich and glorious history. Its employees have always served the Motherland with honour, displaying civic courage, exceptional professionalism and dedication to duty.
Continuing these traditions with dignity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the current challenging international environment, firmly and consistently defends Russia's legitimate national interests. It ensures effective cooperation with the global majority states in order to build a just multipolar world order based on mutual respect, the rule of international law, and the principles of equal and indivisible security. This is evidenced, in particular, by the productive work of the Russian chairmanship in #BRICS and the success of the Group’s Summit in Kazan.
There is no doubt that in the year of the 80th Anniversary of the Great Victory Russian diplomats will continue their active efforts in opposing any attempts to falsify history, manifestations of neo-Nazism, Russophobia and other forms of discrimination based on ethnic or religious grounds. Moreover, protecting the rights of our compatriots abroad remains a priority.
I am confident that the close-knit Foreign Ministry team will continue to work with utmost dedication, contributing to the strengthening of Russia's international standing.
I sincerely wish all employees of the Ministry's central office and diplomatic missions abroad continued success, and to the veterans of the diplomatic service good health, high spirits and longevity.
📰 Aide to the President of Russia for Foreign Policy Yuri Ushakov's interview with TASS(March 5, 2024)
Key talking points:
💬 Cooperation within #BRICS is undoubtedly one of the key features of Russia's long-term foreign policy.
• Russia, as the current president of the organization, has a special responsibility to ensure the fastest and smoothest integration of the new members into the operation of all BRICS mechanisms. This is undoubtedly a cornerstone and high priority task of our Presidency.
• In the relatively short period of its existence, the BRICS association has rapidly developed and transformed into an extensive multi-level mechanism of interaction on a wide range of issues on the global agenda.
🌐 Many perceive BRICS as a prototype of multipolarity, a structure uniting the Global South and East on the principles of equality, sovereignty and mutual respect.
• Support for the principles of multipolarity and a greater role of developing countries in global governance, as well as the fundamental values of the BRICS group, such as the spirit of equality, mutual respect, openness, inclusiveness and constructive cooperation, is an indispensable condition [for joining BRICS].
• We see increasing the role of BRICS counties in the international currency and financial system as a specific task for this year. <...> We believe that creating an independent BRICS payment system is an important goal for the future.
• There has never been a military aspect to cooperation within our group. <...> BRICS does not have plans to build such cooperation, including military drills.
☝️ Russia has never set BRICS in opposition to other international platforms, be it the Group of 20 or the Group of Seven. We believe that the association is unique.
• The recipe for BRICS’ attractiveness and success is based on the absence of a confrontational or “hidden” agenda. I will repeat that it brings together like-minded countries.
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