PRESS RELEASES AND NEWS
25.03.2020
Foreign Ministry Statement urging to immediately stop hostilities, March 25, 2020In view of the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is urging all parties to regional armed conflicts to immediately stop hostilities, secure a ceasefire, and introduce a humanitarian pause.
We support the respective statement by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of March 23.
We proceed from the assumption that these developments could lead to a global humanitarian disaster, given that most people in the current hot spots lack access to medicines and skilled medical assistance.
Of special concern are the situations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Syria, as well in the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip. We note separately the risks associated with the possible deterioration of the epidemiological situation in African countries, where there is a persisting armed confrontation. The localities with camps for refugees and internally displaced persons are particularly vulnerable.
Our call is primarily addressed to the nations, which illegally use military force outside of their national borders. We especially note that the current conditions offer no justification for unilateral coercive measures, including economic restrictions, which are a severe impediment on the authorities’ efforts to protect the health of their populations.
We are highly concerned over the situation on territories controlled by terrorist groups, who could not care less about people’s wellbeing. These zones might potentially become most prone to the spread of the infection. We are confident that counter-terrorist measures must be carried on.
We call on the international community to provide the countries in need with the necessary humanitarian support without any political preconditions. Such support should be intended for saving people in distress. The use of humanitarian aid as a tool to force internal political change is unacceptable, as is speculation on the fate of any victims.
The Russian Federation will continue its work at the UN Security Council to facilitate the political and diplomatic settlement of regional conflicts based on the UN Charter and the universal norms of international law, and is ready for pro-active cooperation in this area with all parties concerned.
LATEST EVENTS
Following the events on January 5-6, the situation in the country is gradually improving. Economic activities in the republic are returning to normal. Passenger train services have been restored in full, and additional trains were rolled out to serve the most popular destinations. The operation of some of the national payment systems has stabilised. It has been announced that state support will be provided for small and medium-sized businesses that suffered from looting. Public transport has resumed operation in the Mangystau Region as well as at Aktau International Airport.
On January 6, 2022, the CSTO Collective Security Council, which comprises heads of state and government of CSTO member states, in response to the request by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, made a decision to send CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited period of time, with the aim of stabilising and normalising the situation in the country.
Friends, colleagues,
I am delighted to welcome all of you to the commission’s first meeting. Established under President Vladimir Putin’s instructions, the commission’s main purpose is to support the Russian Federation in carrying out its foreign policy, primarily on foreign policy matters set forth in United Russia’s People’s Programme.
Question: Mr Grushko, discussions of the action plan regarding NATO’s expansion, which Russia has proposed to Washington, are ongoing. You have mentioned a “military-technical alternative,” if NATO rejects Moscow’s proposals. What do you have in mind?
Alexander Grushko: If our concerns are disregarded and NATO countries are not ready to show military restraint, we will have to use the response instruments at our disposal. There is no other option. If the other side decides to project, let alone use force, that is, if it applies its defence capability as a means of economic or political pressure, this will be unacceptable to Russia, and we will find methods to neutralise these threats.
The security situation in Europe, the Euro-Atlantic region and Eurasia has indeed greatly deteriorated recently. This has happened because of a series of concerted actions by the United States and its NATO allies, which, generally speaking, can be described as an attempt to undermine Russia’s security and to create a hostile environment around us. We cannot accept this.
On December 17, a meeting of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA closed the seventh round of Vienna talks on restoring the full implementation of the Iranian nuclear deal. The participants noted that significant progress had been made, which paved the way for the next stage. The delegations will hold further consultations in their capitals.
As of December 18, 2021, the Russian Federation is no longer a party to the Treaty on Open Skies (Treaty) and has consequently ceased to be a member of the group of States Parties stipulated in its provisions.
We consider London’s latest unfounded anti-Russian attack to be practical confirmation of the British government’s intention to continue its destructive course in bilateral affairs. We are forced to state that the British authorities’ consistent efforts to ratchet up sanctions completely undermine Russia’s attempts at various levels to put interstate relations back on a constructive track.
During the December 15, 2021 meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry, the US party received a draft treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on security guarantees and an agreement on measures to ensure the security of the Russian Federation and member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
The Russian side strongly believes that the guilty verdict brought in by the German court against the citizen of the Russian Federation Vadim Sokolov on December 15 in the case of the murder of Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, former terrorist gang leader in the North Caucasus, in Berlin on August 23, 2019, is extremely biased and is clearly a case of an explicit political put-up job. We insist that the Russian citizen is innocent. He has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Germany against the unjust verdict.
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