Russian Consulate in Cape Town

🎙Interview of Tatyana Dovgalenko, Director of the Department for Partnership with Africa of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to RIA Novosti news agency (February 20, 2025) Read in full ❓ Question: What are the major areas of work within the newly established Department for Partnership with Africa? 💬 Tatyana Dovgalenko: Our task is to develop comprehensive relations with Africa and strengthen their truly strategic nature. Today, it is a dynamically developing continent. The enormous human capital of the African nations is just as much a guarantee of their economic sovereignty as their vast natural resources. ❓ Question: What do you think triggered the development of Russia-Africa relations? 💬 Tatyana Dovgalenko: In recent years, Russian-African cooperation has advanced to a completely new level. The first and second Russia-Africa Summits and the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum held last November gave a powerful boost to this process. Together with our African friends, we are working to implement the agreements reached, based on the Action Plan adopted at the summit meeting in St Petersburg. <...> Efforts to build relations with its leading organisation, the African Union, as well as the continent’s regional and subregional associations, alliances of states, multilateral formats and mechanisms, are another key area of our Department’s work. ❓ Question: How do you assess Russia-Africa mutual trade? In which domains are investment projects being pursued? 💬 Tatyana Dovgalenko: The volume of trade and economic cooperation, which reached a record high of $24.5 billion in 2023, keeps growing. <...> Work is underway to implement major investment projects on the continent, including in energy, creation of transport and logistics chains, building a secure mutual payments system, and high technology, including space exploration and digital technologies. ❓ Question: How does Moscow assess the efforts by the Alliance of Sahel States to counter terrorism? 💬 Tatyana Dovgalenko: The establishment of the Alliance of Sahel States confederation is an essential step in consolidating the efforts by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to ensure national security and resolve socio-economic problems. <...> The alliance’s major goal is to counter the terrorist threat in the Sahara-Sahel zone. The situation in the region is indeed complicated, including due to the Westefforts which was directly involved in the destruction of Libyan statehood in 2011. <...> Russia is providing assistance both in boosting counter-terrorism capabilities and improving the combat effectiveness of national armed forces by sending military specialists and equipment as well as training military and law enforcement personnel, and in the socio-economic development of the countries in the region. ❓ Question: Are new food aid deliveries to Africa planned through WFP? Who is likely to receive them soon? When and in what amounts? 💬 Tatyana Dovgalenko: Our country provides humanitarian aid to the needy population of African countries both via bilateral channels and international organisations. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is the key multilateral channel for us to provide such assistance. <...> Last year was no exception, with the Russian Government providing the programme with the necessary funding to supply Russian food to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, and Sudan. However, due to the sanctions imposed by Washington on Russian financial institutions in November 2024 <...> it has not yet been possible to transfer the funds. ❓ Question: What is the current status of Russia’s educational cooperation with Africa? 💬 Tatyana Dovgalenko: More than 34,000 African students are studying in the Russian Federation, including some 7,000 whose studies are funded from the Russian federal budget. #RussiaAfrica

🇷🇺🇿🇦 On February 21, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovmet with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola on the sidelines of the #G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Johannesburg. During the meeting, held in a constructive atmosphere, the ministers discussed topical issues of the development of bilateral relations of strategic partnership, with an emphasis on expanding trade and economic ties. The Sides emphasised the importance of enhancing Moscow and Pretoria’s foreign policy coordination at international platforms, such as the #UN, #BRICS and the G20, as well as the #RussiaAfrica dialogue. The Мinisters discussed the current international situation, with a focus on the Palestinian issue and the overall situation in the Middle East and North Africa. 🤝 The Ministers noted the similar approach to settling conflicts in Africa, including the situation in the African Great Lakes region, and the role of the African Union in maintaining peace and security on the continent. Sergey Lavrov informed his South African counterpart about the results of Russian-US contacts on the Ukrainian issue held in Riyadh, including the need to achieve a settlement through eradicating the root causes of the crisis, which the NATO and EU leaders had plotted for a long time. #RussiaSouthAfrica

🇷🇺 On Defender of the Fatherland Day, Russia’s President Vladimir Putinlaid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall. 🕯️ The President honoured the memory of the fallen soldiers with a minute of silence. The ceremony was also attended by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and service personnel – participants in the special military operation. The event concluded with a ceremonial march by the guard of honour and a military band. #DefenderOfTheFatherlandDay

🎙Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions following the G20 Ministerial Council meeting(Johannesburg, February 21, 2025) Read in full 💬 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 outcomeof 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 tothe 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.

🗓 On this very day, 11 years ago, Kiev became ground zero for a Western-backed unconstitutional coup, that triggered all the events around Ukraine and its now former regions ever since. This led to an armed civil conflict, essentially a war waged by the Kiev regime against its own people, and a deepest crisis of international and European security since World War II. 11 years have passed since the tragic and horrible events of February 2014. The residing "authorities" in Kiev, aka the Kiev regime, and their Western sponsors are, as per their usual m.o., are attempting to distort the truth, conceal true facts, and turn the timeline of those events, their substance upside down. ❗️ The truth is stubborn; it tends to get revealed sooner or later, as recent events in the world have once again proven. LEARN MORE: On the origins of Ukrainian nationalism, the crimes of the OUN-UPA, and the support of the West The most horrific events unfolded on 20 February: the still unidentified snipers began shooting on the Institutskaya Street in the centre of Kiev at both law enforcement and protesters. Euromaidan supporters and Western politicians, seized "the opportunity", blamed the legitimate authorities of Ukraine. No evidence of Yanukovich's involvement was provided, and there is none to this day. Unlike, the Maidan activists & the opposition who benefited the most and was seen smuggling weapons into the area <...> On 21 February, in an attempt to avoid further bloodshed, Yanukovych signed an Agreement on the Settlement of the Political Crisis in Ukraine with the opposition (from the opposition's side — Vitali Klitschko (UDAR party), Arseniy Yatsenyuk ("Fatherland"), and Oleg Tyagnybok ("Freedom")), which was supported and guaranteed by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Poland. This document envisaged the creation of a government of national trust, constitutional reform, and the organization of early presidential elections. None of the Agreement's provisions were implemented. The next day, on February 22, the Supreme Council passed a resolution on Viktor Yanukovych's "self-removal" from performing the duties of the President of Ukraine, thereby usurping power (although he remained a legitimate president, remained in Ukraine and had made no statements regarding resignation). It was then announced that the "government of the victors (winner)" would be formed. The West turned a blind eye to all violations and hurried to declare a "change of power" in Ukraine, openly encouraging the putschists to pursue their anti-Russian policy. What ensued was basically a hunt for the remaining law enforcement officers and officials loyal to their oath and the country. The very next day, the very first decision of the new "government" through the Verkhovnaya Rada was to revoke the law on the status of the Russian language, which according to data was back then the mother tongue of the majority (!) of the Ukrainian citizens. <...> The "mediation" meddling of the West led to a sharp polarisation of Ukrainian society, which created the preconditions for an armed civil conflict. The first legislative steps of the "Maidan victors" — the abovementioned cancellation of the language law — were received with alarm in South-Eastern Ukraine, where spontaneous formation of popular militia forces began. Kiev immediately accused all the inhabitants of the region of "state treason" and "terrorism", threw the army and neo-Nazi punitive battalions to violently suppress the protests. <...> ❗️ "Euromaidan" created a deep rift in Ukrainian society, lead to persecution, fight against dissent, spread of nationalism and neo-Nazism, legal lawlessness and nihilism, fighting the Russian language and own history, complete degradation of the socio-economic situation in the country. The terror and horror brought by the Ukrainian neo-Nazis and nationalists in 2014 must be brought to an end. Denazification is imminent. 📖Read, remember or learn more about these tragic events of 2014.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the G20’s objectives in 2025, a discussion of planned results of South Africa’s Presidency and an assessment of the forum’s activities (Johannesburg, February 21, 2025) 💬 In conditions of global economic fragmentation, a dialogue on global issues in the #G20 remains in high demand as never before. We commend the Republic of South Africa’s substantial preparations for the forum and the topicality of chosen thematic priorities. We are particularly impressed with the emphasis on a search for a common denominator in the interests of combining efforts to facilitate sustained growth and development. We still have a long way to go for attaining the desired results, and the overall background for joint work in conditions of geopolitical confrontation, that is being incited, remains unfavourable. The statistics are well-known: We are lagging far behind a schedule for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals until 2030, and only 17% of them are on track. <...> Historical experience shows that it is impossible to independently cope with common challenges and threats. This is why the G20 was established in 2008 at the level of national leaders. At that time, it was necessary to put out the fire of a global financial crisis in emergency circumstances. It became possible to stabilise markets for a while. ❗️ However, we are now witnessing an entire cascade of intertwined crises. Behind them are armed conflicts that have been unleashed and inspired by the West, trade, technological and hybrid wars, the demolition of the international trade system, the weaponisation of the dollar that has turned into a tool for manipulations. <...> ☝️ Nevertheless, the modern world is being transformed drastically and becoming truly multipolar. The 500-year period of Western domination is irreversibly becoming a thing of the past. It is necessary to find the strength and to accept this objective reality. The international community does not want to be hostage to unilateral decisions of former sovereigns. This is particularly obvious today when we are celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the war against Nazism and the 65th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples as a starting point of acquiring independence by Africa, Asia and the entire Global South. In 2022, #BRICSconfidently outpaced the G7 in terms of GDP. Today, BRICS and the G7 account for 37 and 29 percent of the global GDP, respectively. <...> During Russia’s #BRICS Chairmanship at the Kazan Summit in 2024, the participants adopted multiple promising decisions to launch non-discriminatory, independent of anyone’s whim mechanisms stimulating investment and trade, with due consideration for Africa’s special needs. The neo-liberal circles in the West regard the objective process of burgeoning multipolarity as a challenge rather than an opportunity. They are putting an absurd stake on a confrontation, on inflicting a “strategic defeat” on rivals. In so doing, they use neocolonialist practices <...> Under these circumstances, G20 retains its status as a useful venue for aligning the interests of states with different strategies and development levels, this primarily due to the efforts of BRICS countries. <...> 🤝We share South Africa’s plans to survey the G20 activities over past years. We hope that the result will enable us to reaffirm our commitment to de-politicised interaction based on the unshakeable principle of consensus with an eye to implementing the task to ensure a sustainable and comprehensive economic growth, a task set back in 2009. This would be a worthy result of Africa’s first ever G20 Summit. Read in full

21 февраля с.г. Генеральный консул России в Кейптауне А.В.Маленко посетил провинцию Восточный Кейп. По приглашению спикера Законодательного собрания г-жи Хелен Мерседес Соулс-Аугуст в качестве почетного гостя присутствовал на ежегодном послании премьера провинции г-на Оскара Мабуяне, обсудил с восточно-капскими партнёрами вопросы регионального сотрудничества с Ленинградской и Мурманской областями. В ходе встречи с Генеральным директором по международным связям г-ном Малуси Махлуло обменялись мнениями по возможному взаимодействию в сфере экономики, образования, туризма и культуры, в том числе на межмуниципальном уровне. On February 21, Mr Aleksei Malenko, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Cape Town, visited the Eastern Cape Province. Invited by the Legislature Speaker Ms Helen Mercedes Sauls-August he attended the annual address of the Hon Oscar Mabuyane, the Premier of the Eastern Cape province, as a guest of honor, discussed matters of regional cooperation with the Leningrad and Murmansk regions. During the meeting with the Director General for International Relations, Mr. Malusi Mahlulo, the sides exchanged views on possible interaction in the fields of economy, education, tourism and culture, including at the inter-municipal level.

🇷🇺🇿🇦 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa Ronald Lamola hold a meeting on the sidelines of the #G20 Ministerial 📍 Johannesburg, February 21 #RussiaSouthAfrica

🔴#LIVE: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks and answers to media questions following the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Johannesburg 🔴X (ex-Twitter) 🔴Russia's MFA website 🔴Ruptly #G20

🇷🇺🇿🇦 On February 20, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovwas received by the President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. During the meeting, the officials reviewed the main aspects of the diverse Russia – South Africa partnership and prioritised efforts to expand political, trade, economic, investment, scientific and technological cooperation in accordance with agreements reached by the Presidents of Russia and the Republic of South Africa. They prioritised promising long-term projects in the field of peaceful space exploration. They emphasised the commitment of both countries to continued constructive cooperation on the main issues of the international and regional agenda, including coordinated efforts at the UN, the G20 and #BRICS. The officials also discussed the situation around Ukraine. Sergey Lavrov informed Cyril Ramaphosa about the February 18 #RussiaUStalks in Riyadh. #RussiaSouthAfrica

🇷🇺🇨🇳 On February 20, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the #G20 Ministerial in Johannesburg. The Parties praised the development of political dialogue and practical cooperation between Russia and China as a stabilising factor in the context of continuing turbulence of the global system. Special focus was placed on the work to ensure the implementation of the agreements reached between the two countries’ heads and preparations for the upcoming Russian-Chinese contacts at the high and highest levels in 2025. An in-depth discussion was held on global and regional problems, such as Eurasian security, developments in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific Region, relations with the US, and Ukrainian crisis. 🇺🇳 The Foreign Ministers discussed the two countries’ cooperation within the UN and other international organisations and in various multilateral formats. ☝️ Wang Yi stressed that, while promoting initiatives for a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, Beijing believes it necessary to eradicate its root causes in accordance with the corresponding principles of the UN Charter, above all unconditional respect for human rights. Special focus was placed on the #G20’s activities to build an equal dialogue between representatives of the Global Majority and the West in the financial and economic sphere based on everyone complying with the G20 mandate. The Ministers also compared their approaches on issues related to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and#BRICS. The conversation was held in the traditionally confidential and constructive spirit that characterises Russian-Chinese strategic partnership. #RussiaChina

🇷🇺🇮🇳 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Minister of External Affairs of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hold talks on the sidelines of the #G20 Ministerial. 📍 Johannesburg, February 20 #RussiaIndia#DruzhbaDosti