Russian Consulate in Cape Town

🎙Briefing by Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova(Moscow, May 6, 2025) 🔹 The decisive role of the Soviet Union and the Red Army in defeating Nazi Germany and lessons drawn from history 🔹 Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Russia and around the world 🔹 Ukraine crisis 🔹 Kiev regime crimes 🔹 On Stephane Dujarric’s comments 🔹 On Argentina’s authorities declassification of documents regarding Nazi presence in the country 🔹 NATO-Georgia command and staff exercise 🔹 Russia's EMERCOM assistance to friendly Iran in fighting the Shahid Rajaee Port fire 📰Read 📺Watch *** #Victory80 We will foreverremember the price we paid for Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Unlike countries of the Western Europe overpowered by Nazis, the Soviet Union did not succumb to Nazis who planned to exterminate us all. We faced a war of annihilation. For decades after Nuremberg, this was never questioned. Now, we are forced to prove that it was genocide. The peoples of the Soviet Union not only defeated the Wehrmacht, but also brought life, liberation and salvation to the peoples of Eastern and Central Europe. The Red Army, the Soviet soldiers halted the Nazi extermination machine in its tracks and extinguished the Holocaust crematoria. Those who deny this are clearly supporting the resurgence of Nazism and the rise of neo-Nazism. In a futile attempt, the embassies of the Kiev regime and its Western patrons are trying to propagate deep-rooted falsehoods that defy history. In their hatred, Ukrainian diplomats go so far as to equate the Soviet Union (homeland of their forefathers) with the Third Reich. <...>What they are doing causes nothing but indignation and disgust. Fathers and grandfathers of many of them, including the ringleader of the Kiev junta Zelensky, were front-line soldiers who fought for the common Soviet Motherland against Nazi invaders and criminals. What would their ancestors say, looking them in the eye, seeing their descendants who, for the sake of personal gain or a pat on the shoulder from their Western master, smear their own past and betray their own history? #KievRegimeCrimes The Kiev regime has really pushed the limits in its so-called de-communisation policy. It now advises Great Patriotic War veterans living in Ukraine – as unbelievable as this may sound – to conceal the war-time decorations they earned for winning the war, for the battles they fought and the feats they accomplished during the Great Patriotic War. They are being told to wear their decorations on the inside of their jackets so that they do not cause any misgivings to those around them who might somehow be disturbed. They referred to them as "sensitive people" without going as far as calling them Russia-haters, but there is no doubt that this is what they had in mind. How can this be? And how do we frame this posture? This is a deliberate effort to sneer at these people, mock and disparage them. The Kiev regime now wants the real heroes not only to stay in the shadows, but to stage their self-annihilation of sorts so that they keep their heads underwater without even daring to show their decorations and medals. It is quite obvious that the Kiev regime views those who saved the world from Nazism with fear, hatred and resentfulness. #UN#DoubleStandards During his regular media briefing, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric made yet another outrageous comment regarding the situation in Ukraine. The UN Secretary-General, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and some other UN agencies are not averse to seizing on even the most absurd accusations against our country. #Georgia#NATO The Alliance is continuing with its policy of drawing South Caucasus republics into its orbit. It should be clear to everyone that NATO’s actions in the South Caucasus are not aimed at enhancing security but at creating a zone of instability and military-political tension in the region.

🇷🇺🇿🇦 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

🇿🇦 This year’s opening meeting of the #G20 Foreign Ministers as part of the debut presidency of South Africa – a friendly country whose stance is in accord with #Russia’s – will take place in Johannesburg on February 20-21, a landmark event not only for Pretoria, but also for the entire African continent, which will host G20 events for the first time. 🇷🇺 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to lead the Russian delegation. It is expected that most of the members of this major economic forum, as well as a wide range of invited states and international organisations, will be represented at a similar level. ☝️ The meeting will open with an address by President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, which will set the general tone for discussing global challenges and threats. The discussion will particularly focus on the international situation, which is alarmingly deteriorating under the impact of the confrontational policy by the neoliberal Western elites. The participants will consider the current integrity and effective functioning of the global economic system. The priorities stated by the South African presidency are designed to encourage economic growth, reduce inequality and imbalances, and ensure equitable access to financing for countries in the Global South. 🤝 The South African presidency theme highlighting “solidarity, equality and sustainability” will provide solid framework for the consultations, essentially continuing in the same vein as its predecessors in 2022-2024 – Indonesia, India and Brazil, all of them Global Majority countries. In particular, this refers to the G20’s significant contribution during this period to strengthening the foundations of the multipolar world and making global economic institutions more democratic in the interests of new non-Western centres of influence, primarily the expanded #BRICS group. ❗️The upcoming anniversaries, such as the 80th anniversary of Victory in World War II and the foundation of the #UN, as well as the 65th anniversary of the Russia-sponsored Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples adopted by the UN General Assembly to ensure Africa’s independence, should be seen as key benchmarks for the exchange of views. 👉 In his remarks, the Minister will provide a detailed analysis of the international situation underscoring the root causes of the current crisis, and outline specific steps to overcome the destructive phenomena. The Russian side will reaffirm its stance in favour of preserving the United Nations’ central role in global affairs. We will speak in support of strict compliance with the principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and interconnection. We will insist that there is no alternative to respectful interstate cooperation and ensuring equal and indivisible security for all. We will call for keeping the global economy open, rejecting trade wars, illegitimate sanctions and other unfair competition practices. We will cite examples of supranational associations that practice honest and productive cooperation without diktat or blackmail, such as the #EAEU, the #SCO and #BRICS. We will share the details of implementing the Russia-sponsored Greater Eurasian Partnership initiative. The Minister is expected to meet with several counterparts on the sidelines of the meeting. #G20SouthAfrica#BetterAfricaBetterWorld#solidarity#equality#sustainability

#Outcomes2024 🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions during a news conference on the outcomes of Russian diplomacy in 2024 (January 14, 2025) Read in full *** 💬 FM Sergey #Lavrov: We are living in a historical era or confrontation between those who uphold the fundamental principles of international law <...> which have been formulated, set out and put forth in the most important international document – the UN Charter – and those who are not satisfied with that document, who decided <...> that they could not live in accordance with the wishes of the “political West”, <...> those who oppose multipolarity. President of Russia Vladimir Putin has repeatedly explained the true root causes of the special military operation in Ukraine. We had to begin to repel an attack, a war waged against us by the collective West with the main goal of suppressing competition when Russia re-emerged as its strong rival on the international arena. Their main goal was to weaken our country geopolitically, creating direct military threats to us right on our borders, on Russia’s native territories, <...> in an attempt to slash our strategic potential and devalue it as much as possible. The second reason also has to do with the history of the region, only it was more about the people who have lived on that land for centuries. <...> These people were labelled ‘terrorists’ by the current Ukrainian regime, which came to power through a coup d'etat. And when they refused to accept it, that regime launched an all-out offensive against all things Russian. <...> There has been a revival in efforts to oppose the Western diktat, with emerging economies and new centres of financial power in China, India, ASEAN, the Arab world, and CELAC. This group also includes a resurgent Russia together with its allies from the EAEU, the CIS, and CSTO. This also includes the SCO and #BRICS. The United States does not want to have any competitors anywhere, starting with the energy sector. <...> The United States and its allies have placed sanctions policies at the core of what they do on the international stage, including regarding Russia. This demonstrates their refusal to engage in fair economic competition and their commitment to using unfair, aggressive practices for suppressing their opponents. *** #CollectiveWest The West is intoxicated by its perceived “greatness,” its impunity, and its self-endowed authority to dictate the destinies of peoples worldwide. This reflects arrogance and a disdainful attitude towards the rest of the world. It is yet another brazen assertion that when we speak of “democracy,” it signifies merely one thing – “we do as we please.” <...> It is sheer hypocrisy, dictatorial behaviour, disrespect for the populace. #UN UN Security Council reform is needed. Not all countries that bear special responsibility in the global economy, finance, politics, and military affairs are represented in the UN Security Council. It has been pointed out repeatedly that countries such as India and Brazil have long earned permanent Security Council membership on all counts, as has Africa. #RussiaChina Russia-China partnership is among the key factors stabilising modern international life and the ongoing processes that are used, among other things, to escalate confrontation and hostility in international affairs, which is what our neighbours from NATO engage in under US guidance. #USA#Ukraine As soon as Donald Trump assumes the presidency and articulates his final stance on Ukrainian matters, we will examine it. <...> The increasing reference to the realities “on the ground” is a development likely to be welcomed. #RussiaSerbia Our relations with Serbia are grounded solely in the interests of the Serbian and Russian peoples, as well as our respective states. Our interests align on the vast majority of issues. These relations are rich with specific agreements and projects, including those in the energy sector, approved by our heads of state, governments, and companies.

🎙Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with '60 Minutes' television programme (December 25, 2024) 💬Sergey Lavrov: We have not had any illusions about the prospects [of 2025]. Resolving the Ukraine crisis doesn’t have any prospects, either. It has long been clear to everyone holding unbiased positions that it can be settled only in the context of agreements on lasting security and stability in Europe, which would take into account the interests of the Russian Federation and the legitimate interests of all other countries. <...> President Putin has repeatedly stressed that we never walk away from talks. We need to see serious, concrete proposals. When we have them, we will decide on how to respond to them based on our national interests, the goals of the special military operation, and President Vladimir Putin’s June 14 speech at the Foreign Ministry. Other key points • The prevailing discourse we are hearing both in the West and in Ukraine today is about a truce and only truce. It is about buying time to allow the Kiev regime to regain strength, with the help of the West, and resume its attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, acting on their Western bosses’ instructions. President Vladimir Putin has mentioned this repeatedly – during the Direct Line, at the Valdai Discussion Club meeting, and at the Russia Calling! investment forum. We will not be satisfied with a truce. We need reliable and legally binding agreements aimed at eliminating the root causes of the conflict, addressing problems such as common security in Europe, NATO expansion, the European Union’s recent decision to become an appendage of the North Atlantic bloc, in fact, erasing all differences between these organisations, and above all, upholding the rights of the people living in these territories who have supported reunification with the Russian Federation. • We have never initiated a discussion regarding what should be done with nuclear weapons and whether they can be used. On the contrary, it was at Russia's initiative that in 2021, first at the level of Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, and subsequently among the leaders of the entire G5 nuclear-armed states – the permanent members of the Security Council – the 1987 Gorbachev-Reagan principle was reaffirmed: there can be no victors in a nuclear war, thus it should never be instigated. This was a Russian initiative. We are not interested in escalating the issue of nuclear weapons usage risks. We firmly adhere to the principle I mentioned earlier: there can be no victors in a nuclear war. • Regarding the incessant terrorist acts perpetrated by the Kiev regime, which deliberately targets purely civilian structures such as residential buildings, hospitals, clinics, shops, and places where people congregate and relax – this is outrageous. It is a blatant violation of all anti-terrorism conventions and relevant UN Security Council resolutions. We express our condemnation, although regrettably, almost no one in the West and none of the leaders of international organisations, including the #UN, the #OSCE, #UNESCO, and others, join us in this denunciation. Naturally, we do not stop there. We regularly disseminate information and present relevant videos illustrating our efforts to dismantle facilities directly associated with the preparation and execution of activities by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. ❗️We caution that any continuation of this path will be met with increasingly decisive responses on our part. Read in full

🎙 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's interview to the newspaper "Arguments and Facts" (October 21, 2024) Key Points: #BRICS • BRICS epitomises the shifts that have long been underway in the global economy. New centres of economic growth are emerging, and alongside them comes financial influence, which in turn brings political influence. • BRICS is a consortium where no single nation leads or is led, devoid of the bureaucratic machinery akin to that observed in Brussels, where EU officials impose decisions that contravene the will and interests of several member states, failing to align with the aspirations of voters across many countries. • BRICS does not stand in opposition to any entity, nor does it orchestrate operations or initiate projects. BRICS is committed to enhancing the combined potential of its nations and devising collaborative strategies for harnessing these potentials for mutual benefit. • What makes BRICS and other World Majority or Global East associations that do not include Western countries stand out, is that they are not created for the purpose of struggling or fighting with anyone. They are established to collectively benefit from their competitive advantages such as geographical location, shared history, cultural and humanitarian proximity <...>. #USA • The US is unwilling to relinquish the reins of power that they have held since World War II through the Bretton Woods institutions and through the role assigned to the US dollar in the international monetary system, even after free exchange of US dollars for gold had been cancelled. • The key goal of the US ruling class is to make sure no one can undermine their dominance. This goal is illusory. The historical process is objectively heading in a different direction, and this has to be reckoned with. • We are ready to interact with any administration voted in by the American people, but only if such a dialogue is mutually respectful, and both parties listen and hear what the other party has to say. #Ukraine • On multiple occasions, European leaders from Brussels have repeatedly made it clear that they must support Ukraine for as long as it takes, because Ukraine is fighting for the European values. • It turns out that European leaders are still willing to uphold Nazi values, which is why denazification is not just a motto, but an objective of utmost importance. #UN • The United Nations is not a valiant knight expected to “charge in and extinguish the fire” upon witnessing injustice. The UN is an assembly of its member states, each with established rules, including the Security Council's veto rights. The United States has effectively exercised this right five times over the past year, blocking a resolution proposed by several countries, including Russia, demanding an immediate ceasefire. <...> Presently, the United States is taking every measure to avoid antagonising Israel. • Nations such as India, Brazil, and African representatives should have long held permanent seats on the Security Council. This is essential to ensure representation of the World Majority. #Finland#Sweden#NATO • The zeal that the Finns and Swedes are showing in NATO, advocating for defeating Russia, is not only rooted in their historical instincts. They are also eager to show their Big Brothers in the North Atlantic Alliance that they have brought added value <...>. • I am confident that reasonable people in Europe, who have learned the lessons taught by history, see this too, including in Finland and Sweden. #Europe • To reiterate, the so-called right-wing conservatives are loyal to their countries and their people. We will engage with anyone who approaches us with a proposal to talk, to seek common ground, and to think about how we can jointly make the lives of our citizens better. #EurasianSecurity • We suggest discussing the Eurasian continent-wide security architecture, emphasising the fact that its doors will be open to everyone, including countries from the West of the Eurasian continent. Read in full(Telegraph)

🎙 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.”