PRESS RELEASES AND NEWS
06.08.2019
Embassy comment on the statement by Mr Roger Gale, head of UK delegation at the Council of Europe Parliamentary AssemblyOnce again, UK side called upon the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly to reconsider the decision to restore Russia’s rights. We would like to remind official London that Russia’s participation at the Parliamentary Assembly is an irrevocable right of any national delegation that effectively represents the rights and interests of its nation. It is also the necessary requirement for establishing international cooperation and balance in interstate relations in order to support political dialogue in Europe and develop the parliamentary traditions.
It is astonishing that Britain, who claims to support democratic institutions and electoral freedoms worldwide, stubbornly insists on limiting the rights of the Russian delegation to the Assembly ever since these rights were restored earlier in June.
We consider the accusations from the UK side that Russia violates its obligations as the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly member state, unacceptable. We would like to emphasize that Russia remains strongly committed to its obligations under both the international law as well as international treaties. Russia’s consistent defence of its delegation’s rights at the Parliamentary Assembly is one of the best examples for it.
The Embassy reminds once again that the so-called opposition candidates were not allowed to take part in the elections on legal grounds. Some of the necessary signatures that their representatives had provided belonged to deceased persons, or even to some fictitious person that never existed. Calls to participate in illegal rallies on the 27 July and 3 August were illegitimate and led to serious disruption of the public order in Moscow; no amount of whitewashing of the opposition leaders in UK media are about to change that fact.
We urge official London to concentrate on constructive cooperation with the Russian delegation in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, which could be a much-needed positive element in our bilateral relations.
6 August 2019, 18:30
LATEST EVENTS
Recent accusations against Russia of creating a threat of a global food crisis by not letting cargo ships with grain out of Odessa and other Ukrainian ports have nothing to do with reality. The situation in the Black Sea is at the centre of attention of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), headquartered here in London.
Representatives of the collective West members are tripping over each other as they scramble to accuse Russia of undermining global food security. The G7 has issued a special statement in this regard. To be sure, we responded.
The situation at the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) has been deteriorating. The NATO and EU members of the CBSS have turned their backs on equitable dialogue and the principles upon which this regional Baltic organisation was built, and have consistently turned it into an anti-Russia political tool. Unlawful and discriminatory decisions are approved in violation of the consensus rule. Russia has been “excluded” from participating in CBSS work and projects. Belarus’ observer status with the CBSS has been “suspended.”
On Victory Day Ambassador Andrei Kelin laid a wreath to the Soviet War Memorial in London. The ceremony was also attended by other CIS countries’ Ambassadors, members of the Russian Speaking Community Council and the Russian diaspora in UK. Following the ceremony the Ambassador gave an interview to Russian media.
President of Russia – Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation Armed Forces Vladimir Putin attended a military parade marking the 77th anniversary of Victory in the 1941–1945 Great Patriotic War. Overall, 11,000 personnel and 131 units of military equipment were engaged in the parade.
An announcement made on April 25 to the effect that the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor’s Office will join the Joint Investigation Group (JIG) comprised of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine and created under the auspices of Eurojust has come to our attention.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We held substantive talks during which we discussed many issues that are facing the UN. We continue working on Syria and Libya. Neither must we slacken attention to the Middle East settlement. It is one of the oldest conflicts in the world, which is moving ever further away from its solution, contrary to the UN Security Council resolutions.
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has taken note of UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey’s statement that it would “not necessarily be a problem” if British-donated weapons are used to hit targets on Russian territory. We would like to stress that London’s direct instigation of the regime in Kiev to commit such actions, should these attempts materialize, will instantly entail our proportionate response.
Maria Zakharova: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recently went to Kiev, must be aware of the developments with Her Majesty’s subjects. He is sure to reply, isn’t he?
As a result of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine (SMO), Russia’s Armed Forces found documents that shed some light on the bio-military programme implemented by the US Defence Department in Ukraine. The researchers in the programme were studying the most dangerous pathogens – potential biological agents for biological weapons that have natural focuses in both Ukraine and Russia. They were also researching ways that epidemics spread based on these agents.
Maria Zakharova: As a result of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine (SMO), Russia’s Armed Forces found documents that shed some light on the bio-military programme implemented by the US Defence Department in Ukraine.
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