Embassy comment on the statement by Mr Roger Gale, head of UK delegation at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
Once 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.
The decision by the British Government to impose sanctions against a number of Russian officials invoking the death of Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 reflects the self-declared status of the UK as the global leader in sanctions policy. All questions regarding the circumstances of Mr Magnitsky’s death have been answered long ago. Today’s decision was quite obviously conceived merely as a public move.
Question: How would you comment on the recent reports in British media that Russia supposedly offered “bounty” to the Taliban to kill UK as well as US soldiers in Afghanistan?
Dear Editor, I feel compelled to express disagreement with the Financial Times coverage of Russia’s efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Judging by your reports, Russia’s response has been to manipulate with figures at home and to spread disinformation abroad, with the government acting inefficiently and doctors having inadequate protection. This distorted picture requires a refutation. Even by most pessimistic accounts, Russia’s performance in terms of healthcare system capacity and death rate is among the best of all major countries.
Sir, Roger Boyes is wondering why Russian industrialists (he calls them ‘oligarchs’) are helping to fight Covid-19. Are they suddenly ‘embracing philanthropy’, or ‘cleaning up their nasty image’, or else seeking to impose a ‘new compact’ on the ‘floundering’ government?
Attempts to distort the results of the defeat of Nazism and the decisive contribution our country made, which are continuing in Washington even during these days of universal celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory, cause utter indignation.
Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Great Britain Boris Johnson.
The President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Great Britain exchanged greetings on the 75th anniversary of Victory over Nazism, which became one of the greatest events of the 20th century and an example of unprecedented cooperation between the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Vladimir Putin noted in part that Russia remembers the exploits of the British sailors, participants in the Arctic convoys, owing to which the Soviet army and industry received arms and equipment needed during the war.
On May 6, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab at the latter's initiative.
The two officials exchanged greetings in connection with the upcoming 75th anniversary of the victory in WWII. They noted the contribution of the members of the anti-Hitler coalition in the fight against Nazism, and emphasised the importance of using the alliance's experience in mobilising the international community's efforts to counteract today's global challenges. Particular attention was paid to discussing the efforts being taken to tackle the spread of the novel coronavirus infection and to overcome its effects.
The virtual exhibition project Stalin – Churchill – Roosevelt: The Common Struggle Against Fascism, held on the 75th anniversary of victory in World War II, acquaints the public at large with the key documents and artifacts of the emergence of the anti-Hitler coalition during the war.
April 25, 2020, marks the 75th Anniversary of the historic meeting between Soviet and American soldiers, who shook hands on the damaged bridge over the Elbe River. This event heralded the decisive defeat of the Nazi regime.
The meeting on the Elbe represented a culmination of tremendous efforts by the many countries and peoples that joined forces under the framework of the United Nations Declaration of 1942. This common struggle required enormous sacrifice by millions of soldiers, sailors, and citizens in multiple theaters of war.
On April 8, 2010, the Russian Federation and the United States of America signed the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START Treaty). The Treaty was an important new step in developing Russia-US interaction to control nuclear weapons in the interests of strengthening international security and strategic stability.
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