Embassy of Russia in Singapore

🎙 Excerpts and key points from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answers to media questions during a news conference following the 7th Russia-GCC Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue (Riyadh, September 9, 2024) #Ukraine • We have never taken the “Zelensky formula” seriously and only marvelled that there are still people ready to buy it. Of course, this happens under the West’s pressure. • But territories are neither here nor there. We just wanted the people, who are an inalienable part of the Russian world and the Russian culture, language, history, and religion, to be treated as human beings as required under international law, numerous conventions on human rights and minority rights, and primarily the UN Charter. • No success will be achieved unless we get to the root of this problem. In this context, we appreciate the global security initiative announced by PRC President Xi Jinping, which says that it is necessary to start analysing any conflict from its prime causes. • You should understand that it is not about the meeting location and participants, but about issues to be discussed. Meeting to talk about calls for a ceasefire and then territorial exchanges simply doesn’t cut it. Once again, the problem is not about territories but people’s rights. As soon as we see the determination to protect human rights, a policy that the West always boasts about when addressing any issue (except this particular one), I am confident we will easily agree on the location and time of the meeting. But first we need to understand what exactly we are going to discuss. #GEP • At today’s meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council, we discussed this Eurasia-based organisation’s promising potential for promoting the continent-wide processes and contributing to what President Vladimir Putin referred to as the Greater Eurasian Partnership. • We want the nations of the Eurasian continent – the largest, fastest-growing, and most resource-rich part of the world – to decide their fate on their own. #MiddleEast • Washington wants to preserve its monopoly over any processes in the Middle East. We know many cases when this position has resulted in failure. Today’s discussion with our colleagues from the Persian Gulf’s Arab countries has fully confirmed us in this belief. • An immediate ceasefire is necessary. Meanwhile, it is important to remember that the problem stems from the fact that the Palestinian state issue has not been resolved for almost 80 years. #BRICS • BRICS has doubled its membership from five to ten. It has already received more than 30 applications requesting either membership or special relations. This process is the main driving force behind the formation of a multipolar world order. • BRICS is following an upward trajectory in its development, and this trend will only grow stronger. The Russian BRICS Chairmanship is greatly contributing to this. Read in full: https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1968672/

🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with RBC media holding on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (September 6, 2024) ❓ My first question has to do with the forum’s main theme, Combining Strengths to Create New Potential. What new global potential is referred to here? Which countries is Russia ready to join forces with to create it? 💬 Sergey Lavrov: The idea is to create potential that will help countries become independent of the unipolar world, which Washington and the allies it has subjected to its will are trying to impose on the world to preserve their hegemony. The West, which has been living at the expense of former colonies for centuries, is trying to sponge off others now in a seemingly more acceptable manner. We have the potential to overcome the obstacles created by the West with the use of the globalisation instruments it has created and is imposing on others. More and more countries, almost all normal and independent states, are coming to see that nobody can be safe from the actions the West is taking to preserve its domination over Russia (it is the most striking example) and such countries as Iran, Venezuela, the DPRK and increasingly China. [The West] wants to hinder its technological advancement and prevent it from gaining competitive advantages by imposing artificially inflated tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said that they are doing this because China’s exports to Europe are too cheap. Is this fair competition? The Americans have been essentially blocking the operation of the WTO, one of the main dispute settlement agencies, for years. They did it when Washington saw that China was beating them by playing by the rules created by the Word Trade Organisation. They prevent a quorum from being assembled to block additional appointments to vacancies in that agency. In their documents, #BRICS and other associations of the emerging economies such as the African Union, CELAC and ASEAN, are increasingly calling for a fair reform of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank group, so that the number of votes the developing countries have in them reflects their real weight in the global economy and finance. <...> Key talking points • We do not want Nazi values, theories and practices, a ban on the freedom of speech, national languages, cultures and traditions, a ban on canonical churches and the like. The essence of our values is set out in the UN Charter. • A major element of the UN Charter which BRICS fully accepts is a genuine concern for human rights. They must be respected regardless of race, sex, language or religion. • As for NATO membership and the EU candidate status, which Türkiye was awarded nearly 70 years ago, a Turkish official has recently said that there are no rules in BRICS to preclude members of some organisations from associating with the group. The main requirement for full members of the group and countries that are developing various forms of cooperation with it is to share common values. It is not the values the EU is defending in Ukraine. • We recognise the need to formalise relationships between BRICS members and the growing number of countries expressing interest in cooperating with the association, which now exceeds 30. This truly reflects the multipolar nature of the global landscape. • Zelensky is not ready for honest talks. The West will not let him near them. They have set the goal — to radically weaken Russia and to inflict a "strategic defeat" on us. Zelensky is no longer able to understand what meets the interests of Ukrainians. • The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has stopped lending funds for projects in Russia. The IMF and the World Bank have suspended all their projects in our country. They are not democratic structures. • Our position on Taiwan has long been known: China is a single and united state, and the government of China is the only government of the People’s Republic of China.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions during a news conference following the 7th Russia-GCC Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue 📍 Riyadh, September 9, 2024 💬 Sergey Lavrov: We had a candid, useful and result-oriented discussion. We reviewed the status of implementation of the 2023-2028 Joint Action Plan which was approved at the last meeting of the Strategic Dialogue in Moscow in July 2023. We discussed prospects for Russia’s cooperation with the countries of the region in the economy, investment, cultural ties and information exchanges. We focused specifically on the international situation, primarily, the situation in the Middle East, with a focus on the tragedy unfolding in the Palestinian territories, namely, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the Jordan River. We share a common stance on the importance of urgently putting an end to violence, settling humanitarian issues and starting serious practical work to implement UN resolutions on creating a Palestinian state that will coexist with Israel in peace and security. We covered other regional issues, including the Syria settlement, the situation in Yemen, the Red Sea, Libya, and a number of other issues. ☝️ We underscored our appreciation for the balanced position adopted by all GCC countries on the Ukraine crisis. Many of them, including Saudi Arabia, are providing assistance in resolving humanitarian issues not only in the context of what is happening in Ukraine, but in a broader context as well. I’m referring to our relations with the United States and Europe and the recent exchange of prisoners which took place with the direct involvement of the Saudi leaders. <...> 🌐 In addition to the bilateral agenda, we discussed current international issues and reaffirmed our commitment to the objective process of forming a new multipolar world order without hegemons or dictators, where the key principle of the UN Charter - the sovereign equality of all states - will be respected. https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1968672/

🛬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Saudi Arabia, where he will take part in the ministerial meeting of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue on September 9. 📍Riyadh, September 8, 2024 🇷🇺🇸🇦#RussiaSaudiArabia

🎙 President of Russia Vladimir Putin took part in the 9th Eastern Economic Forum plenary session (September 5, 2024) Full text of the statement and answers to media questions 💬President Putin: We have designated the development of the Far East as a national priority for the XXI century. The significance and correctness of that decision have been confirmed by life itself, the challenges we have recently encountered and, most importantly, the objective trends that are gaining momentum in the global economy, when the main business ties, trade routes and the overall development are increasingly shifting towards the East and the Global South. Our Far Eastern regions offer direct access to these growing emerging markets, helping us overcome the barriers which some Western elites are trying to create worldwide. The most important thing, as I have already mentioned, is that the Far East is a huge area for implementing business initiatives, launching complex projects and creating whole new industries. ❗️ The Far East has become a crucial factor for strengthening Russia’s standing in the world and our flagship in the new global economic reality. The further development of the Far East will largely determine the future of our country as a whole. <...> Overall, representatives of more than 75 countries and territories are taking part in the forum’s events. It is extremely important that such discussions are complemented with substantive business dialogues and result in the adoption of investment decisions and trade agreements. I would like to say that over a thousand agreements worth in total more than 10.5 trillion rubles were signed during the previous three forums. ☝️The Eastern Economic Forum has rightfully become a respected venue for establishing reliable business contacts and discussing the strategic development of the Russian Far East and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. Other key talking points • Russia's economy ranks fourth in the world in terms of GDP by purchasing power parity; • We and our BRICS partners use national currencies in 65% of trade settlements with each other; • We did not refuse to settle in dollars, we were denied settlements, and we were simply forced to look for other options; • More than 30 countries are willing to cooperate with BRICS, and some of them are ready to join the group; • The new members who joined BRICS this year are self-sufficient, have rapidly growing economies and will make their contribution to the development of the grouping; • [Kiev regime's Kursk incursion] goal of trying to make us nervous, to relocate our forces, to halt our military adavance in Donbass was not achieved. Our Armed Forces stabilised the situation and stepped up their offensive. #EEF2024

🇷🇺🇨🇳 President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with Vice President of the People's Republic of China Han Zheng at the Far Eastern Federal University. 💬 President Putin: In October 2024, we will mark 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. That event had a profound impact on our bilateral relations and on development of modern China and our interstate ties. As per our agreement, we hope to see President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping at the upcoming BRICS summit. I propose holding a bilateral meeting during that event. Thanks to our joint efforts, relations between China and Russia have reached an unprecedented level. We attach great importance to interregional cooperation. I hope that during our meeting today and our work at the Eastern Economic Forum tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to explore and identify new areas for cooperation. We are grateful to the President of the People’s Republic of China for sending such a substantial delegation to this forum. I would like to thank you for leading this delegation and for taking part in our joint work. *** We are establishing subsidiaries of Russia’s leading world-class museums, theatres and musical venues here. I know that some performers who are popular with Chinese audiences have visited China many times, and have recently been on another tour. I hope that Vladivostok will also become a prominent hub for cultural exchanges and attract tourists from Russia, from all over the world and especially from China, which is our friend. 📄 Read in full #RussiaChina

🇷🇺🇲🇾 President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahimmet on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum. 💬 President Putin: Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to begin by thanking you for accepting our invitation to come here and attend the Eastern Economic Forum. Tomorrow, we will take part in its plenary session, and I am certain that this will be a useful event for discussing our objectives in bringing the regional economies closer together. In fact, we have many guests here from dozens of countries, which means that you will be able to engage in useful contacts not only with your Russian colleagues, but also with colleagues from other countries. Of course, I do hope that we will have an opportunity to explore ways to expand our cooperation as part of these efforts. Today, trade between our countries amounts to about $3.5 billion, which can hardly be considered a satisfactory result for us considering the potential we have. In fact, there are many opportunities on both sides. As you know, Russia pays considerable attention to developing its relations with Southeast Asia and ASEAN. Malaysia plays a prominent role in this association, and will be assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN next year. We sincerely hope that during your chairmanship, we will be able to explore new opportunities for cooperation with this rapidly growing and promising region. 🎊 To conclude my opening remarks, I would like to congratulate you and the Malaysian leadership, as well as the entire nation on Independence Day, the national holiday you have celebrated recently. As far as I know, it is observed on August 31. I would like to use this opportunity to wish the people of Malaysia all the best, prosperity and wellbeing. #RussiaMalaysia