⚡️ Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview for a documentary titled "The UN from the 20th to the 21st Century" (Moscow, September 25, 2024)
Key points:
• Less than a year after the victorious powers established the UN based on the noble principles formulated in its charter, it became clear that the West, acting contrary to these principles, intended to launch a war against the Soviet Union, and not merely a cold war but an all-out war. These plans hatched by the then "Anglo-Saxons" [nations of the Anglosphere led by the US & UK] have long become public knowledge.
• Once NATO was created, the Soviet Union circulated a large document which demonstrated the detrimental effect of that and the danger of building walls between the East and the West, especially in Europe, and called for respecting the #UNCharter and for working towards this. Our call was not heeded.
✊ However, we kept fighting for justice and the implementation of the principle of sovereign equality of nations. Decolonisation was a bright stage and a major embodiment of that principle. The Soviet Union was the main initiator of the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Following its adoption, the number of UN states increased by 80-90 members.
• They tell us that the main goal today is to ensure the territorial integrity of Ukraine. It is a misleading interpretation of the UN Charter, where the right of nations to self-determination is put before territorial integrity.
• Even before demanding respect for territorial integrity, the UN Charter demands respect for human rights without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion <…> Now that Zelensky’s Nazi regime, which the West nurtured, has banned both the language and religious rights of a large number of its own population, the West has put away the banners it was waving for decades.
❗️The top priority now is to ensure the achievement of the initial goals and principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and as a whole, rather than selectively or occasionally.
• The reform of the UN Security Council is not a one-off event. It’s a process which has been ongoing since the time the United Nations came into being <...> Nevertheless, it relies on principles that must be preserved at all costs. The main principle is that the Security Council reform should be based on a broad-based agreement among states. It does not say “consensus,” but it does state “broad-based agreement among states.”
🌍🇮🇳🇧🇷 We have invariably supported the legitimate aspirations of India and Brazil to secure permanent seats in the Security Council. However, African aspirations must be met as well. Africa has common collective positions, which we respect. And we would have like that.
• Our position implies providing additional seats for Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We are open to some of these seats being permanent, but we need to achieve general agreement before we can move forward. It is a complicated process. I don’t see any chance for bringing this process to a swift and expedited completion any time soon.
• Since the UN was created, there has never been a time, a region, or a situation that involved the United States in one way or another, where the country would actually respect that principle. Every time, everywhere they acted as a hegemon, or like a "bull in a china shop".
• When they wanted to punish Russia, the West abandoned all the principles which it was feeding to us and which it declared sacred. The same is happening to the principles of the UN Charter. The West is trampling and destroying them without a moment’s hesitation.
➡️ Read in full
#UNGA79#UNCharterIsOurRules
🗓On April 7, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received in Moscow Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, a candidate for the post of UN Secretary-General.
Sergey Lavrov conveyed Russia’s position thatcandidates for the top UN post must strictly adhere to the principles of the UN Charter, pursue an impartial line in the interests of all member states, and work to adapt the Organisation to multipolar realities.
Rebeca Grynspan presented her campaign platform, focusing on approaches to addressing current challenges, organising the UN’s day-to-day work, and carrying out reforms aimed at fully restoring its effectiveness and operational capacity.
#UNCharterIsOurRules: Both Sides reaffirmed their commitment to the UN’s central coordinating role in world affairs.
🗓 On January 27, 2026, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovheld a meeting in Moscow with Co-Facilitators for the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UN Security Council Reform, Permanent Representatives of Kuwait and the Netherlands to the UN Tareq Albanai and Lise Gregoire van Haaren.
The Parties focused on the current round of negotiations held as part of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Sergey Lavrov reiterated Russia’s position of principle in support of a coordinated Security Council reform, aimed at enhancing this body’s prestige and effectiveness and at making it more democratic through an expanded representation of Global South and East countries.
The Parties also stated that significant differences persisted among the IGN participants on all key aspects of the reform process.
This being so, it was necessary to go on with a thorough discussion of this agenda in the current format of intergovernmental negotiations, while avoiding to set any deadlines in the interests of reaching as broad an agreement as possible among the member states.
#UNCharterIsOurRules
8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, on October 24, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations entered into force. This date marks the founding day of the UN.
The idea of creating a universal international organisation to maintain peace emerged during World War II. In 1943, at an international conference in Moscow, the foreign ministers of the USSR, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China signed a declaration that laid the foundation for the future United Nations.
In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the leaders of the three Allied powers – Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill – decided to convene a conference in San Francisco, where on June 26, 1945, 50 states signed the UN Charter.
The establishment of the United Nations marked the beginning of a new era in human history and became a natural outcome of World War II, expressing the global community’s determination to prevent such horrible massacre from ever happening again, and to resolve conflicts through consensus and compromise.
#UNCharterIsOurRules: Russia has consistently advocated the strengthening of the central coordinating role of the UN in global affairs. Strict compliance with the letter and spirit of the UN Charter is an indispensable condition for advancing towards a more peaceful, prosperous and truly just and equal world order.
💬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:
“We have always upheld the principles of the UN Charter, which we consider to be perfectly applicable norms of international law codified in the most important international legal document of the international community, which comprehensively sets out the organisational standards of international relations.”
📜 Today, 80 years later after its adoption, the words of the United Nations Charter Preamble once again affirm their relevance:
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind… HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS.
The Founding Fathers of the UN envisioned its purpose as serving as a centre for coordinating the nations’ activities.
👉 The outstanding Russian diplomat Vitaly Churkin, who served as Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2006 to 2017, aptly described the UN’s role in today’s world:
“The United Nations has proven its ability to change along with transformations of the international system. At the current stage of turbulence in global affairs, it is crucial to preserve its prestige based on the enduring and truly democratic principle of sovereign equality of all states, without dividing them into the leaders and the led.”
These words resonate with another famous statement by the second UN Secretary-General (1953–1961), Dag Hammarskjöld: “The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell".
🌐 April 24 marks the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace. Established by the UN General Assembly resolution 73/127 of December 12, 2018, it seeks to promote the values of the United Nations and reaffirm the faith of our peoples in the purposes and principles enshrined in its Charter.
🇺🇳#UNCharterIsOurRules
From Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the UN Security Council’s open debates “Effective multilateralism through the Defence of the Principles of the UN Charter” (New York, April 24, 2023):
💬 For a little less than 80 years of its existence, the UN has been carrying out the important mission entrusted to it by its founders. For several decades, a basic understanding by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council as regards the supremacy of the charter’s goals and principles guaranteed global security.
• Today, our UN-centric system is going through a deep crisis. The main reason is a striving by some UN members to replace international law and the UN Charter with a certain “rules-based” order.
• Our Western colleagues have been inconvenienced by holding talks based on universal formats, such as the UN, for a long time now. In order to provide an ideological substantiation for the course on undermining multilateralism, they initiated a concept of united “democracies” as opposed to “autocracies.”
• Summits for Democracy, the Alliance for Multilateralism <...> – all these and other non-inclusive projects were designed to thwart talks on the corresponding matters under the auspices of the UN.
❗️ Let's call it what it is: no one authorised the Western minority to speak on behalf of all humankind. Please act decently and respect all members of the international community.
👉 It is our common duty to preserve the United Nations as the hard-won epitome of multilateralism and coordination of international politics. The key to success lies in working together, renouncing claims to anyone's exceptionalism and showing respect for the sovereign equality of states.
🌐 April 24 marks the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace. Established by the UN General Assembly resolution 73/127 of December 12, 2018, it seeks to promote the values of the United Nations and reaffirm the faith of our peoples in the purposes and principles enshrined in its Charter.
🇺🇳#UNCharterIsOurRules
From Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the UN Security Council’s open debates “Effective multilateralism through the Defence of the Principles of the UN Charter” (New York, April 24, 2023):
💬 For a little less than 80 years of its existence, the UN has been carrying out the important mission entrusted to it by its founders. For several decades, a basic understanding by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council as regards the supremacy of the charter’s goals and principles guaranteed global security.
• Today, our UN-centric system is going through a deep crisis. The main reason is a striving by some UN members to replace international law and the UN Charter with a certain “rules-based” order.
• Our Western colleagues have been inconvenienced by holding talks based on universal formats, such as the UN, for a long time now. In order to provide an ideological substantiation for the course on undermining multilateralism, they initiated a concept of united “democracies” as opposed to “autocracies.”
• Summits for Democracy, the Alliance for Multilateralism <...> – all these and other non-inclusive projects were designed to thwart talks on the corresponding matters under the auspices of the UN.
❗️ Let's call it what it is: no one authorised the Western minority to speak on behalf of all humankind. Please act decently and respect all members of the international community.
👉 It is our common duty to preserve the United Nations as the hard-won epitome of multilateralism and coordination of international politics. The key to success lies in working together, renouncing claims to anyone's exceptionalism and showing respect for the sovereign equality of states.
8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, on October 24, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations entered into force. This date marks the founding day of the UN.
The idea of creating a universal international organisation to maintain peace emerged during World War II. In 1943, at an international conference in Moscow, the foreign ministers of the USSR, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China signed a declaration that laid the foundation for the future United Nations.
In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the leaders of the three Allied powers – Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill – decided to convene a conference in San Francisco, where on June 26, 1945, 50 states signed the UN Charter.
The establishment of the United Nations marked the beginning of a new era in human history and became a natural outcome of World War II, expressing the global community’s determination to prevent such horrible massacre from ever happening again, and to resolve conflicts through consensus and compromise.
#UNCharterIsOurRules: Russia has consistently advocated the strengthening of the central coordinating role of the UN in global affairs. Strict compliance with the letter and spirit of the UN Charter is an indispensable condition for advancing towards a more peaceful, prosperous and truly just and equal world order.
💬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:
“We have always upheld the principles of the UN Charter, which we consider to be perfectly applicable norms of international law codified in the most important international legal document of the international community, which comprehensively sets out the organisational standards of international relations.”
📜 Today, 80 years later after its adoption, the words of the United Nations Charter Preamble once again affirm their relevance:
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind… HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS.
The Founding Fathers of the UN envisioned its purpose as serving as a centre for coordinating the nations’ activities.
👉 The outstanding Russian diplomat Vitaly Churkin, who served as Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2006 to 2017, aptly described the UN’s role in today’s world:
“The United Nations has proven its ability to change along with transformations of the international system. At the current stage of turbulence in global affairs, it is crucial to preserve its prestige based on the enduring and truly democratic principle of sovereign equality of all states, without dividing them into the leaders and the led.”
These words resonate with another famous statement by the second UN Secretary-General (1953–1961), Dag Hammarskjöld: “The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell".
7️⃣9️⃣ years ago, on June 26, 1945, The United Nations Charter was signed, which became the main result of the San Francisco Conference.
This fundamental document was signed by 50 participating countries, including the USSR as well as its constituent entities: the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. On behalf of the USSR, the UN Charter was signed by Andrey Gromyko.
The establishing of the UN – a universal international organization, the main goals of which are defined as the maintenance and strengthening of peace and security – was a natural consequence of the Second World War, an expression of the desire of the world community to resolve conflicts without global military action.
📃The UN Charter is a fundamental international document mandating the main principles and norms of states’ international behaviour and regulating relations between states as well as the activities of UN agencies and organisations within its system.
🇺🇳 Today, the UN comprises 1️⃣9️⃣3️⃣ Member States, with its activities embracing every sphere of the planet’s international, political, economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian life through its specialised agencies, committees and sub-committees.
🇷🇺 Russia invariably remains committed to multilateralism and the UN’s coordinating role in world affairs, and is actively involved in the effort to reform and adapt the UN to new international realities.
🎙 FromRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks during the UN Security Council open debate on "Effective Multilateralism through the Protection of the Principles of the UN Charter" (New York, April 24, 2023):
💬 It is our shared responsibility to preserve the UN as the enduring model of multilateralism and coordination of world politics. The key to success is working together, refusing to claim exclusivity and - I repeat once again - respecting the sovereign equality of states. This is what we all signed up to when we ratified the UN Charter.
#UNCharterIsOurRules
🇺🇳24 October - United Nations Day
🗓️ It is exactly 79 years ago that the UN Charter came into force. Since its creation, the global organisation has remained a unique and inclusive platform aimed at promoting multilateralism and coordination of world politics. It is the responsibility of every UN Member State to ensure that the purposes and principles originally set out in the Charter are fulfilled in their entirety and interconnection.
TheRussian Federation has always advocated for the preservation of the central coordinating role of the United Nations in global affairs as well as the consolidation of a multipolar system of international relations.
❌ Among the factors that have a negative impact on daily activities of the United Nations are attempts by the European Union and the West in general to replace or supplement the principles enshrined in the UN Charter with certain “rules” that the world order should supposedly be based on.
It is a world order where someone's own selfish interests are hypocritically presented as universal, illegitimate coercive measures are introduced, all dissent and alternative points of view are suppressed, pressure and blackmail are used, interference in internal affairs and manifestations of neocolonial practices take place.
The goal is thus to shape international relations through aggressive and explosive promotion of global hegemony, not through forging a sustainable consensus based on the balance of interests of sovereign States.
❗️The work of the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter is intended to counter Western aspirations to subordinate international relations to a so-called “rules-based world order”. The regular exchange of views between representatives of the Group’s Member States accredited in Brussels aims to contribute to the achievement of its goals and objectives within UN platforms.
Russia will continue to reinforce its fruitful cooperation with those who advocate for a healthier situation in the world and for establishing inter-State communication on the principles of genuine multilateralism, international law, truth and justice.
#UNCharterIsOurRules
🗓 On October 24, 1945, exactly 7️⃣9️⃣ years ago, the UN Charter entered into force, almost four months after its singing at the concluding session of the UN Conference on International Organisation in San Francisco (June 26, 1945).
With the ratification of this founding document the United Nations officially came into being.
💬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:After the UN Charter came into force, the constituent conference was held in San Francisco, and the UN was established, the Soviet Union acted energetically to ensure respect for implementation of the principles set out in the UN Charter (excerpt from the interview for a documentary titled "The UN from the 20th to the 21st Century", Moscow, September 25, 2024).
🇷🇺🇺🇳 Strict adherence to the letter and spirit of the UN Charter is a prerequisite for building a more peaceful, prosperous, genuinely just and equitable world order.
💬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:Today, the international community faces massive challenges, <...> 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. <...> [The] objectives and principles [of the UN Charter] remain fully relevant. The main thing is that everyone, without exception, respects these principles, not selectively, but considering their holistic and interconnected nature (excerpt from the article for Russia in Global Affairs magazine "The UN must recover its central role in coordinating actions by nations", October 4, 2024)
👉Article by FM Sergey Lavrov "Adherence to the UN Charter principles in their entirety and interconnection underwrite international peace and stability" (October 10, 2023)
#UNCharterIsOurRules
📰Article by FM Sergey Lavrov(October 10, 2023)
Adherence to the UN Charter principles in their entirety and interconnection underwrite international peace and stability
Read in full
💬 The recently held general political discussion during the 78th session of the UNGA affirmed that the world is going through profound and tectonic changes.
We are witnessing the emergence of a new and fairer multipolar order that reflects the world’s cultural and civilisational diversity. The future world is taking shape in the midst of a battle. The global majority, representing 85 percent of the world's population, advocates a more equitable distribution of global resources and respect of cultural diversity, as well as consistent democratisation of international affairs. On the other hand, a select group of Western nations led by the US is endeavouring to hinder progress through neo-colonial methods and to maintain its waning dominance. <....>
Key talking points:
🔸 One can’t help but get the strong impression that the US and its subservient “Western team” have decided to impart a global dimension to the Monroe Doctrine.
🔸 Western ruling elites, in violation of the UN Charter, are telling other countries who they should maintain relations with and how.
🔸 The aggressive and self-serving approach adopted by the Western minority has sparked a major crisis in international relations, and the risks of a global conflict are running high. <...> It is critical to endeavor to turn the spirit of multipolarity enshrined in the UN Charter into reality.
🇺🇳 The mission of the United Nations lies precisely in seeking consensus, rather than dividing the world into “democracies” and “autocracies.” Russia, along with its like-minded partners, is fully prepared to contribute to this mission.
❗️ If global community members muster the determination to get back to basics and put their UN Charter commitments into practice, humanity will have a chance to overcome the destructive legacy of the unipolar era.
#UNCharterIsOurRules
📰Article by FM Sergey Lavrov(October 10, 2023)
Adherence to the UN Charter principles in their entirety and interconnection underwrite international peace and stability
Read in full
💬 The recently held general political discussion during the 78th session of the UNGA affirmed that the world is going through profound and tectonic changes.
We are witnessing the emergence of a new and fairer multipolar order that reflects the world’s cultural and civilisational diversity. The future world is taking shape in the midst of a battle. The global majority, representing 85 percent of the world's population, advocates a more equitable distribution of global resources and respect of cultural diversity, as well as consistent democratisation of international affairs. On the other hand, a select group of Western nations led by the US is endeavouring to hinder progress through neo-colonial methods and to maintain its waning dominance. <....>
Key talking points:
🔸 One can’t help but get the strong impression that the US and its subservient “Western team” have decided to impart a global dimension to the Monroe Doctrine.
🔸 Western ruling elites, in violation of the UN Charter, are telling other countries who they should maintain relations with and how.
🔸 The aggressive and self-serving approach adopted by the Western minority has sparked a major crisis in international relations, and the risks of a global conflict are running high. <...> It is critical to endeavor to turn the spirit of multipolarity enshrined in the UN Charter into reality.
🇺🇳 The mission of the United Nations lies precisely in seeking consensus, rather than dividing the world into “democracies” and “autocracies.” Russia, along with its like-minded partners, is fully prepared to contribute to this mission.
❗️ If global community members muster the determination to get back to basics and put their UN Charter commitments into practice, humanity will have a chance to overcome the destructive legacy of the unipolar era.
#UNCharterIsOurRules
📰Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s article for Russia in Global Affairs magazine(May 5, 2023)
Read in full
Key talking points:
• The UN-centric system is undergoing a deep crisis, the root cause of which was brought on by the decision of certain UN members to replace international law and the UN Charter with some “rules-based international order”. <...> Its masterminds haughtily reject the key principle underlying the UN Charter, which is the sovereign equality of states.
• Since World War II, Washington has pulled off dozens of reckless criminal military operations without even trying to secure multilateral legitimacy. Why bother when your “rules” are unbeknownst to everyone.
• Everyone is aware of it, even though not everyone is talking about it openly: the real issue is not about Ukraine, but rather about the future of international relations. Will they be forged on a sustainable consensus, one based on the balance of interests? Or will they be reduced to an aggressive and explosive advancement of hegemony? The Ukraine issue cannot be considered outside its geopolitical context.
• There should be no double standards. Multilateralism and democracy should enjoy respect both within the member countries and in their relations with one another.
• At this juncture, genuine multilateralism requires that the UN adapt to objective developments in the process of forming a multipolar architecture of international relations. It is imperative to expedite Security Council reform by expanding the representation of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
• It is our common duty to preserve the United Nations as the hard-won epitome of multilateralism and coordination of international politics. The key to success lies in working together, renouncing claims on exceptionalism and – I reiterate – showing respect for the sovereign equality of states. This is what we all signed up for when we ratified the UN Charter.
#UNCharterIsOurRules