Russian Consulate in Cape Town

26 сентября в 15:00 в планетарии г. Кейптауна состоится торжественное открытие выставки проекта «Вселенная BRICS», которая объединяет в себе снимки креативных городов ЮНЕСКО, находящихся в странах БРИКС, сделанных с земли и из космоса. Мероприятие проводится в рамках российского председательства в БРИКС в 2024 году. Фотовыставка «Вселенная БРИКС» – это уникальные фотографии, снятые героями Российской Федерации, летчиками-космонавтами Сергеем Кудь-Сверчковым и Иваном Вагнером с борта Международной космической станции, так и фотографами на земле и представляющие креативные города ЮНЕСКО Бразилии, России, Индии, Китая и Южной Африки. Всего в проекте задействовано 48 российских и 41 зарубежных фотографов из стран БРИКС. Помимо возможности ознакомиться с самими фотоработами церемония открытия будет включать в себя встречу с героем Российской Федерации, летчиком-космонавтом, Сергеем Кудь-Сверчковым. Желающим присоединиться просьба отправить свои ФИО на электронный адрес: [email protected]

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview for the 'Soviet Breakthrough' documentary series (September 16, 2024) ❓Question: What were Russia’s goals and tasks when holding the 1980 Olympics? 💬Sergey Lavrov: There were many goals, the primary one being our commitment to the development of sports. <...> The desire to showcase how Soviet people lived, their achievements their hospitality and ability tohost large events also played a role. <...> The boycott announced by the United States and its allies, due to Soviet troops entering Afghanistan, impacted the Olympics. Out of 144 countries, 80 were officially represented, with athletes and delegations. There were also participants who competed in a personal, neutral capacity from countries that did not send official teams, and some of them even won medals. I believe the attempt ultimately failed. <...> The 22nd Summer Olympics were an outstanding success for the Soviet Union, both in terms of sporting achievements and showcasing our daily life, history, and traditions. Hundreds of thousands of visitors attended, and everyone was deeply impressed. <...> We hope sports can remain free from politics. Unfortunately, this does not align with the current agenda of our former Western partners. ❓Question: Looking back at the 1980s, how would you assess the impact of the Olympics on Russia’s global image and its perception by the international community? 💬Sergey Lavrov: The Olympics demonstrated that the Soviet Union was a highly developed and powerful sports nation – a reputation we continue to uphold with honour today. <...> Today there are efforts to politicise sports. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the West has launched an aggression against us in sports, along with many other forms of aggression, including on the diplomatic front. This Western sports aggression undermines the core principles of the Olympic movement and the Olympic Charter, which state that sports should remain outside of politics. ☝️ In this context, we must seek new ways to revive honest, truly competitive, and politically neutral sports. Perhaps you have seen the Games of the Future,BRICS Games, and how new competitions are being prepared. There are also sporting events within the SCO, like the annual Children of Asia Games. All these competitions adhere strictly to the original principles outlined in the Olympic Charter, which, unfortunately, have been betrayed by the current leadership of the International Olympic Committee. They have aligned with the political agenda set by the Anglo-Saxons and their closest allies. ❓Question: What is the role of sports competitions in strengthening diplomatic ties and a country’s image? 💬Sergey Lavrov: I think we are speaking about sports as they should be, not the current humiliation of sports, when entire countries are banned from participating in competitions and athletes are only allowed to take part in them in a neutral status and if they condemn their country and politicians. 🤷‍♂️ I also must mention the completely grotesque decision of the International Olympic Committee to allow transgender athletes to take part in certain categories and competitions. At the same time, IOC President Thomas Bach has said in his public statements that this is a requirement of the Olympic Charter with its underlying principle of equality for all. I believe that everyone can see through these far-fetched arguments. That same person also said that the Olympic Charter precludes the politicisation of sports, yet they cannot apply the charter to Russia because of our aggression, occupation and annexation. All of us have heard this. When a group of Middle Eastern countries proposed discussing Israel’s participation in the Paris Olympics, the IOC categorically rejected the very idea. Double standards is a gross understatement. It is my deep regret that the current IOC leadership is killing the Olympic Movement. Read in full

🇷🇺🇪🇬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions at a joint news conference following talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty (Moscow, September 16, 2024) Read in full 💬Sergey Lavrov: We expressed satisfaction with the level of traditionally friendly Russian-Egyptian relations which are advancing in accordance with the Treaty on Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation. <...> The positive dynamics of trade and economic cooperation is encouraging. In 2023, bilateral trade exceeded the $7 billion mark, which is significantly more than the year before. We are committed to doing everything possible to maintain and reinforce this uptrend. <...> We reviewed the progress of implementation of major joint investment projects, primarily the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant and a Russian industrial zone near the Suez Canal. We had an extensive discussion about Russia’s grain supplies to the Egyptian market, and noted their stability. We both agreed that Egypt’s accession to BRICS in January had given a strong boost to our partnership. <...> We had an in-depth discussion of current international and regional issues. We share common commitment to continuing close coordination at the UN and other multilateral platforms. We focused on the crisis situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone in light of the unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip. We stand united with our Egyptian friends in calling for immediate ceasefire and providing urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of the enclave. <...> We discussed in detail the situation in and around Libya. Like our Egyptian friends, we are committed to the concept of a comprehensive crisis settlement based on the principles of Libya’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity. <...> We welcomed our Egyptian partners’ commitment to expanding political dialogue with Syria. Cairo’s constructive position was instrumental in deciding to restore Damascus’ full membership in the League of Arab States. <...> There are many other issues which directly affect Egypt’s interests in the regions that lie next to the Arab Republic of Egypt, such as Sudan, Somalia, and the Red Sea. We believe all these issues should be addressed through direct dialogue between the parties involved with the support of neighbouring countries. <...> 🤝 I expressed my gratitude to our Egyptian friends for their balanced and constructive stance on the situation in and around Ukraine. We exchanged views on how this issue is being discussed at various venues. I outlined our perspective on the emerging issues, including within the international community, and our vision of ways to overcome them based on the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation. #RussiaEgypt

✉️ Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s greetings to organisers, participants and guests of the 22nd 'Amur Autumn' International Film and Theatre Festival ✍️ I would like to extend warm greetings to the organisers, participants and guests of the 22nd Amur Autumn International Film and Theatre Festival. Over more than two decades of its existence, your festival has garnered well-deserved acclaim as one of the key cultural events in the Russian Far East. It has become a popular platform for promoting the Russian cinema and theatre industry. I am delighted to note that the programme of the Amur Autumn festival is becoming more diverse, involving an increasing number of participants and expanding its geographical reach. This year, the festival will host the first international contest of short and full-length feature films, featuring representatives of Asian and CIS countries. This year’s festival holds special significance in the context of the cross years of culture between Russia and China, as well as the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries. I am convinced that this event will make a meaningful contribution to the development of Russian-Chinese cultural and humanitarian cooperation and to strengthening the friendship and neighbourly relations between our nations. 🤝 I wish the organisers and participants continued success in reaching new creative heights, and the audience an unforgettable and inspiring experience.

🎙 Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov’s address at the opening of the BRICS Media Summit(September 14, 2024) Unofficial translation 💬 In a rapidly changing world order, BRICS increasingly acts as an innovatory interaction format uniting countries <...> with different political and economic systems, often with divergent views on certain aspects on the global agenda. Key takeaways: • During the years of joint work since about 2008, they have developed a special dialogue culture as well as open and confidential relations based on the principles of sovereign equality, respect for the choice of their own development path and unconditional account of each other’s interests. • This form of cooperation is intended to become a model of equal interstate communication. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible at all, to find answers to the challenges facing the world. There is no room for coercion or imposing alien priorities. • BRICS is gradually turning to a centre of attraction for the Global South and East, which increasingly expresses the genuine interests of the World Majority. • As new states join the BRICS, one of the unconditional priorities of collective work is to consolidate partnership within the association. • We pay special attention to the development of interaction with the developing countries of the Global South and East. We are trying to attract them to various formats and mechanisms. • Our efforts are undoubtedly focused on promoting favourable conditions for the progressive development of Russia and other BRICS nations. • We expect that the media will make a tangible contribution to the success and unbiased coverage of the BRICS Summit (Kazan, October 22-24) and other events held by the association. #BRICS2024

🎙 President of Russia Vladimir Putin held a meeting with high-ranking representatives of #BRICS states responsible for security matters. 📍 Saint Petersburg, September 12, 2024 💬President Putin: I am delighted to welcome you all to Saint Petersburg. Thank you for being here in Russia’s northern capital. In this regard, I would like to remind you that the BRICS association was established right here, in this very building in St. Petersburg. At that time, the leaders of three states – India, Russia and China – agreed during a meeting to hold regular meetings at the top level, as well as other events. This is how the RIC (Russia, India and China) association was born and began to grow, and today, I have the privilege and pleasure to welcome the participants in the meeting of BRICS high-ranking officials for security matters. I know that yesterday, you had a lively and productive discussion on the most relevant aspects of the global situation, on global and regional stability concerns. This is the fourteenth meeting held by BRICS in this format. However, this time it saw the participation of delegations from the states that joined our association as full-fledged members on January 1. Moreover, a meeting was held with our colleagues from the countries that are not yet part of BRICS but have shown a sincere interest in working more closely with our association. This was done at Russia’s initiative, and we appreciate your support. I want to emphasise that the meeting of high-ranking representatives is a crucial step in preparing for the BRICS summit and BRICS Plus/Outreach, scheduled to take place in Kazan, Russia, on October 22–24. <...> As the current BRICS chair, this year Russia has taken a highly responsible approach to organising joint activities within the association. Our chairmanship has been assigned a crucial task: to facilitate the swift and seamless integration of new member countries into all BRICS mechanisms. Additionally, we have addressed the increasing interest in BRICS from numerous states. ☝️ Currently, over 34 countries have expressed their desire to participate in the activities of our association in some capacity. <...> I want to highlight that the programme of the Russian presidency is both extensive and varied. It encompasses over 200 events designed to enhance partnership across all key areas. <...> To date, more than 70 percent of the chairmanship plan has been completed. Read in full #BRICS2024

🗓 On September 11, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovmet with a prominent South African public and political figure, former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa Lindiwe Sisula, who is visiting Moscow to participate in the ceremony to award the Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize, as a jury member. 🤝 The discussion focused on current issues pertaining to further strengthening the traditionally friendly relations between Russia and South Africa, including the development of inter-party and inter-parliamentary ties and building up mutually beneficial trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation, as well as opportunities for deepening foreign policy coordination within #BRICS, the #G20 and the United Nations.

🚀💫 Another successful launch! The Soyuz MS-26 has made its way to the ISS A Soyuz MS-26 Spacecraft with two Russian and American cosmonauts on board docked to the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, according to a broadcast by the Russian state space corporation @roscosmos The Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the spacecraft launched from the Baikonur space center at 16.23 GMT on September 11 and a little less than nine minutes later, put it into Earth orbit. During the flight to the ISS, Soyuz MS-26 made two revolutions around the Earth. During their mission, Russian cosmonauts will perform more than 40 scientific experiments, three of which have not been previously conducted on the station. They are also scheduled to perform a spacewalk in December 2024. #SoyuzMS26#RussiaInSpace

📄 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s greetings to the organisers and participants in the International Anti-Fascist Forum 2024 (September 11, 2024) ✍️ I warmly welcome the organisers and participants in the 10th International Anti-Fascist Forum, which is timed to coincide with the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Fascism. This year, we look back on a landmark period in our country’s glorious military history – 80 years ago, Soviet forces began to liberate Europe from Nazism, thereby bringing the Great Victory closer. Today, Russia again has to rise in arms against the revival of that misanthropic ideology – to carry out the special military operation to protect its people from Ukrainian neo-Nazis. Our purpose is to work together to counter the propaganda of Russophobia, the rise of radical nationalist forces, the desecration and destruction of monuments to Red Army soldiers, and attempts to distort the role played by the Soviet liberator soldiers. I am confident that this forum, themed Remembering the Past – Thinking about the Future, will make a significant contribution to preserving the historical truth, fighting xenophobia and ethnic and religious intolerance. 🤝 I wish you rewarding work and all the very best.

#Announcement ⚡️ Registration of representatives of the media and blogosphere for the BRICS Summit is open(Kazan, October 22-24). In order to be accredited you need to complete a registration application on the official website of the Summit. 🪪 Media and blogosphere representatives are given accreditation badges provided their registration applications are approved by the Summit Organising Committee. Accreditation badges are issued at accreditation stations. Information about the location and work schedule of the accreditation stations is available on the event’s official website. Applications without a covering letter will not be considered. 👉Find out more about the media accreditation for the BRICS Summit

🇷🇺🌍 On September 10, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat at the Russian Foreign Minsitry, who is in Moscow for the ceremony of awarding the #AfricanUnion the Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize. The officials discussed a wide range of issues related to multi-pronged cooperation between Russia and the African Union, including the strengthening of coordination of efforts for peace, security, stability and sustainable development. They also expressed a shared interest in expanding economic ties, including between the African Union and the #EAEU. The Russian side reaffirmed its invariable readiness to consolidate efforts with the African Union at international venues during discussions of the African continent’s current problems, based on the African Solution to African Problems principle. They also focused on tasks concerning the implementation of the decisions made at the Second Russia-Africa Summit held in St Petersburg in July 2023 and preparations for the ministerial conference of the #RussiaAfrica Partnership Forum to be held in Sochi in November of this year.

🇷🇺🇺🇳Russia's Position at the Seventy-Ninth Session of the UN General Assembly Read in full ☝️ Russia will continue the special military operation carried out in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter until all its objectives are achieved. ⚠️ Financial, technical and military assistance provided to Kiev by Western countries, including expanded arms supplies, is only protracting the Ukraine crisis and leading to its escalation. This policy makes the 'collective West' an accomplice to the crimes of the neo‑Nazi regime. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, failing to reverse the dire situation on the battlefield, are retaliating by hitting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Russian border areas. All war crimes as well as terrorist attacks committed by the Kiev regime are carefully registered, and the perpetrators will be brought to judgement. ❗️Moscow is open to dialogue on the political and diplomatic settlement of the crisis. On 14 June 2024, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin outlined the conditions for the start the negotiations process: • withdrawal of Ukrainian armed formations from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye Region and Kherson Region; • neutral nuclear-free status for Ukraine, its demilitarization and denazification; • ensuring the rights, freedoms and interests of the Russian-speaking population; • legal recognition of new territorial realities (status of Crimea, Sevastopol, DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions as entities of the Russian Federation); • Kiev's renunciation of its claims to NATO membership and the removal of all sanctions against Russia. However, at present, the Ukrainian authorities and their Western mentors seem unwilling to negotiate. Instead, they are trying to enforce Zelensky's "peace formula," which makes a comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement even more difficult to achieve. The Westerners are trying to lure the countries of the world majority into supporting this initiative, inviting them to participate in all sorts of so‑called peace conventions. ❗️ We urge all sensible members of the international community not to fall for these provocations. We take note of the engagement of the UN Secretariat's leadership in these counterproductive endeavours in violation of Article 100 of the UN Charter, which requires UN officials to maintain an equidistant position. By doing so, the Secretariat denies itself the opportunity to act as an honest mediator.