Russian Consulate in Cape Town

🇷🇺 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov takes part in the 19th East Asia Summit (#EAS) 📍Vientiane, October 11, 2024

Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov about the first BRICS summit in new composition 📍The summit will take place in Kazan, on October 22-24. 🤝There are now ten BRICS member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia. Invitations to the summit have been sent to 38 countries. 32 countries have already confirmed their participation. Of these, 24 will be represented at a high level. The circle of participants may be updated. 🌎10 BRICS members account for over 30 percent of the Earth's landmass, 45 percent of the world's population, over 40 percent of all oil production, and about a quarter of the world's exports of goods. By 2028, the GDP of the BRICS member countries will be 37 percent of the global GDP. 🗓️The Russian Chairman plan includes about 250 meetings and forums. Details - https://tvbrics.com/en/news/russian-presidential-aide-yury-ushakov-leaders-from-24-countries-confirm-their-participation-in-bric/ #BRICS

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on the contribution of the new BRICS members to create single BRICS currency 🎙️ Russia within the BRICS framework focuses not only on the settlement payment infrastructure, but also on the creation of a depository system for the BRICS countries, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov in an interview with RT Arabic TV channel. 📃 The task of the participants is to create their own independent system based on modern technologies to meet the economic needs of Russia and other member countries banned from the international financial system. 🤝 New BRICS members are already contributing to the work of the association. "Egypt is focused on improving development banks work. Iran has great experience in using its own financial technologies in ensuring international trade. The UAE brought a proposal to develop artificial intelligence in finance. Each country is making its own contribution.” 🔗 For more details - https://tass.com/economy/1854341 #BRICS

150 years ago (09.10.1874) Russian artist, stage designer, philosopher, writer, traveler, archaeologist and public figure Nikolai Roerich was born. The list of roles of this outstanding personality is endless. 📃 In 1928, Nicholas Roerich drafted the Treaty for the Protection of Cultural Property - the Roerich Pact. The Pact was the first international act dedicated to the protection of cultural property, and the only agreement in this field that was adopted by the international community before the Second World War. For it Roerich was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 🎨 Nicholas Roerich's paintings are kept in the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Museum of Oriental Art and private collections around the world. #russianculture

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comment on Kiev regime using chemical weapons ❗️The Russian Federation will continue to inform the international community about Kiev’s CWC violations and the actual state of affairs in the SMO zone. ⚠️ Russian investigative bodies have documented numerous cases of poisoning attempts on civil administration officials, the use of drones equipped with toxic substances along the contact line, and the discovery of chemical caches intended for sabotage operations in various Russian regions. Read in full - tinyurl.com/3mkrv9kx

🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’sarticle for Russia in Global Affairs magazine «The UN must recover its central role in coordinating actions by nations»(October 4, 2024) READ IN FULL 💬 The 79th Session of the UN General Assembly has recently completed the general debate, where President Vladimir Putin tasked me to represent the Russian Federation. Does the Pact for the Future have a future? Held as usual in the last week of September, the UN’s High-Level Week included the so-called Summit of the Future. The idea to convene it came from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Russia has met this idea with understanding considering that the UN is sinking deeper and deeper into a crisis, and something has to be done about it. Russian diplomats joined efforts to prepare this meeting and acted in a sincere and honest way, even if we did not have any illusions in this regard. In fact, there were quite a few major UN events in the past which failed to go beyond bombastic declarations that were forgotten soon after their adoption. <...> In 2015, the UN Summit on Sustainable Development adopted grand plans to fight poverty and inequality. In the end, they turned out to be empty promises in the face of the unwillingness of the Western countries to give up their neo-colonial practices of siphoning off the riches of the world for their own benefit. <...> The current UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, just like Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon before him, has put forward an initiative under the slogan of giving a new start and resetting global cooperation. This is a wonderful idea. Who could disagree? But what global cooperation is there to talk about, when the West has trampled all those unshakeable values of globalisation we have been hearing about from everywhere for so many years. These perorations were designed to convince us that they would give everyone equal access to the goods of modern civilisation. Where is the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence, freedom of expression, access to information, fair market competition under fair and constant rules? How can we discuss global cooperation when the Western countries have unleashed a real war of sanctions against more than half, if not the majority, of the countries of the world, and the US dollar has been crudely turned into a weapon against undesirable countries? <...> Key talking points: • It is not too late to give the UN a new lease on life. • It has gotten to the point where the West wants to turn the UN into an instrument for attaining itself-seeking goals. • [The West is] hindering the badly needed change in the system of forming the UN Secretariat, where the key posts have been seized and are “inherited” by representatives of the Western minority. • There must be an honest discussion by all UN member states, and not like a process in which the Pact for the Future was prepared – without a single plenary session of talks attended by all countries. • Establishing a space of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia is crucial amid the all-encompassing processes unfolding in the macro-region. • Our initiative is based on the understanding of the need for states and multilateral organisations of the Eurasian region to assume responsibility for ensuring their own security under the ‘Eurasian solutions to Eurasian problems’ formula. *** ❗️ Today, the international community once again faces massive challenges, just like during World War II, which require united efforts rather than confrontation and desire of global dominance. Russia will always advocate collective efforts, truth and the rule of law, peace and cooperation in the interests of reviving the ideals set forth by the UN’s founding fathers. 🇺🇳 Working for the honest balance of the legitimate national interests of all countries, we can bring to life the purpose of the #UN as stated in its Charter: “To be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.”

On October 3, the frigate of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy "Neustrashimy" entered the waters of Simon’s Town in order to participate in South Africa's Navy Festival. Within the framework of the festival, parade of the South African naval forces was held, in which the crew of the Neustrashimy took an active part. Everyone was given the opportunity to get on the frigate and a lot of South Africans and Russian citizens residing in South Africa stepped aboard. South Africa's navy chief, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese paid a visit to the frigate.

📰 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s article for Rossiyskaya Gazeta on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China (October 3, 2024) 🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russia and China: Partnership and friendship forged by time 💬 This year, alongside our Chinese partners, we mark a significant milestone which is the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The history of Russian-Chinese relations spans centuries, but October 2, 1949 holds a special place in it. On the second day after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Soviet Union recognised the New China and established diplomatic ties with it. In the early days of China as a fledgling state, the Soviet Union provided substantial support to it. Over the decades, the bilateral relationship has faced numerous strength tests, but, most importantly, we have shown strategic wisdom and perseverance. We succeeded in building an exemplary model of relations between neighbouring great powers rooted in neighbourliness, friendship, and cooperation. Russia has invariably placed high importance on strengthening cooperation with its great neighbour. Key points: • Today, Russian-Chinese cooperation has evolved to become a comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction on the cusp of a new era. According to our leaders, bilateral relations have soared to an unprecedentedly high level and never stop to be enriched with new content. ☝️We firmly believe that Russia needs a prosperous and stable China, just as China needs a strong and successful Russia. • In this day and age, as the world is undergoing truly tectonic shifts caused by the emerging multipolar international order, the Russia-China strategic partnership serves as a balancing force in international politics and contributes directly to the economic growth and the well-being of the people in both countries. • It is gratifying to note that, despite various restrictive measures imposed by the United States and its allies, the economies of Russia and China continue to grow dynamically. Our countries’ economic structures are highly complementary. For many years now, China has been our primary trading partner. • Our countries’ close interaction in the international arena is highly commendable. The Russia-China foreign policy partnership strengthens the legal foundations of the multipolar world order, takes into greater account the interests of the Global South and the Global East, helps overcome the legacy of colonialism, and counters modern neocolonial practices. 👉 Since the security system in Europe and the Euro-Atlantic region has been fully discredited by United States and other NATO countries, we suggest deploying serious collaborative efforts to build new Eurasian security architecture based on the regional- solutions-to-regional-problems principle, anchored in equality and indivisibility, and grounded in the existing multilateral associations within Eurasia. Read in full #RussiaChina

On September 26, 2024, the Iziko South African Planetarium hosted the grand opening of the BRICS Universe exhibition project, which combines images of UNESCO Creative Cities located in the BRICS countries taken from earth and from space. The Event was organised by the Nizhny Novgorod Grechko Planetarium, State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", the Creative Industries Foundation for the Ulyanovsk Region and the Russia-BRICS Project Office for International Youth Cooperation with the support of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Cape Town. The opening ceremony included a meeting with the hero of the Russian Federation, cosmonaut pilot, project participant Sergei Kud-Sverchkov. Every guest of the event had an opportunity to talk to the cosmonaut and get an autograph. Representatives of all BRICS member-states, as well as other guests of honour attended the exhibition.

🎙Ambassador of Russia to South Africa Ilya Rogachev’s interview with Sophie Mokoena of SABC (22 Sept 2024) WATCH IN FULL READ IN FULL ➡ Key talking points: Russia’s BRICS Chairmanship ✅ Russia is prepared for the XVI BRICS Summit that will take place in Kazan on 22-24 Oct 2024. The talks will encompass all fields of BRICS cooperation – in particular in 3 pillar areas (policy and security, economy and finance, culture and humanitarian exchanges). A number of issues related to the BRICS expansion are viewed as essential. A significant administrative effort is needed to ensure smooth integration of the new members into BRICS. Apart from that, 30+ states made known their will to cooperate with BRICS in one way or the other. One of the crucial points for the upcoming BRICS talks is the finances. We need to switch more to national currencies in economic exchanges. The West has weaponised dollar and euro, so the non-Western world is compelled to move away from these currencies in their trade. Russia and Ukraine It was the collective West which disrupted peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite the treaty was prepared for signing and even initialed by the Ukrainian side. Later, President Zelensky signed an executive order banning talks with the Russian side. ☝🏻The issues that are supposed to be discussed and that haven’t been on the table so far - the situation with rights of Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine, whether Russia’s strategic security interests will be taken into consideration by the West, beginning from NATO expansion. Russia’s presence in Africa 🌍 If Russia cannot be trusted on the continent, then who can? In many areas, African leaders and peoples appreciate Russia’s participation in continental affairs, where we often play a stabilizing and balancing role in terms of security, military support, counter-terrorism, and food security. Russia and the West ⚔The current situation between Russia and the West can be understood as a result of the West's desire for global dominance. Many people worldwide now recognize that the conflict in Ukraine is not merely between Russians and Ukrainians; it is framed from a geopolitical perspective. It represents a struggle for a multipolar world on our side, while the other side strives to preserve the current unipolar world. This is what is at stake in Ukraine.

#RussiaHelps By President Vladimir Putin's order Russia's EMERCOM delivers 35 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Vietnam to help alleviate the damage done by the typhoon. The assistance package comprises emergency food supplies, first aid kits, mobile generators and power stations. 🇷🇺🤝🇻🇳#RussiaVietnam

⚡️On the UN General Assembly’s resolution on Palestine On September 18, the 10th emergency special session of the UN General Assembly voted overwhelminglyin favour of a resolution in support of the second advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the Jordan River, including East Jerusalem). ✅ A total of 124 states (including Russia) voted in favour of the resolution. ❌ 14 voted against (Israel, the United States, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malawi, Paraguay and several island states). 🤷‍♂️ 43 nations (mostly EU members) abstained. The document provides detailed conclusions and recommendations of the International Court of Justice on policies and practices in the OPT, and a number of concrete measures to ensure the implementation of that decision. It cites, in particular, the illegal nature of Israeli presence and demands that it cease immediately all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from the OPT, and make reparation for the damage caused to all the natural and legal persons concerned. The resolution calls on all UN member states and international organisations not to recognise as legal the situation arising from Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT. The resolution includes the court’s vital opinion that Israel’s policy and practices amount to the annexation of large parts of the OPT and constitute a direct violation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. We would like to note that the vote on that UN General Assembly resolution took place amid an unprecedented escalation of violence and bloodshed in the zone of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is the fourth UN General Assembly decision aimed at protecting the Palestinian people and its fundamental right to self-determination, including its right to a sovereign and independent state within the 1967 borders, with a capital in East Jerusalem. ☝️ In this connection, we would like to state again, with deep regret, that the US-dominated UN Security Council has not adopted similar vital statements. As you may know, Washington has recently exercised its veto power on five occasions, often unilaterally, to block UN Security Council draft resolutions on a ceasefire and on Palestine’s admission to the UN. ❗️ We view the adoption of this UNGA resolution as a crucial step towards international recognition of the illegality of Israel’s practices. It will also help enhance broad efforts to coordinate practical measures aimed at ensuring compliance with international law, ending the longest occupation in modern history, and implementing the two-state solution.