Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation took part in the “government hour” at the State Duma

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov took part in the government hour “On the priorities of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation”, held at the State Duma.

The chairmen of the committees on control, international affairs and the CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with compatriots also spoke on this topic at the plenary meeting. Each faction asked the Minister three questions.

In advance of the “government hour”, the relevant committees held consultations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Constructive interaction

The Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast) expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the constructive interaction with members of the State Duma. According to him, Sergey Lavrov, who maintains a constant dialogue with two relevant committees of the State Duma, has managed to establish such level of interaction.

“Today, here are representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, deputy ministers, and heads of institutes that study the issues related to foreign countries. Therefore, we should say thank you to all of them. And this dialogue, which we conduct with the Ministry’s structures, departments, institutes, is the basis for us, including for developing the right decisions here, at the State Duma,” said Vyacheslav Volodin.

Dialogue of equals

Creating favorable conditions for the progressive development of Russia is the main priority of its foreign policy ministry, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.

“The main task of our diplomatic service has always been and still remains, as enshrined in all versions of the Concept of the Foreign Policy, including in the latest one adopted in March 2023, to foster the creation of safe and favorable external conditions for sustained development of our country, its economic and technological sovereignty, and to improve the well-being and quality of life of Russian people,” emphasized the Foreign Minister.

For Russia, the key direction at the current stage of global development is the direction towards a multipolar world order. According to the Minister, this is a historic process in scale, and is dependent on the objective trends.

Our country has always been and remains open to equal, respectful cooperation with all that are ready to cooperate with us on the basis of an honest balance of interests in various areas, he adds. “We will always be ready to talk with any country in a mutually respectful manner,” said Sergey Lavrov.

“We maintain an intensive political dialogue with all members of the CSTO, the EAEU, the CIS, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates — it is impossible to mention all of them. We have many permanent counterparts on all continents, and we have already reached the level of strategic partnership with some of them,” emphasized Sergey Lavrov.

He also noted the ongoing development of relations with India. “As part of the resumption of the practice of exchanging annual visits at the highest level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Moscow last year. There were held negotiations with following adoption of a new package of decisions, and we are now working on their implementation,” the Minister added.

Russia expects the joint diplomacy with China to continue developing this year, including at the highest level: Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit China in late August — early September, as the anniversary of the victory over Japanese militarism and the end of World War II will be celebrated those days, the Minister specifies. Sergey Lavrov noted, in general, an unprecedentedly high level of the partnership between the Russian Federation and China, including according to the assessments of state leaders, and it “surpasses any classical alliances of previous years.”

The Minister also noted the importance of cooperation with the African continent in his speech. According to him, Russia and Africa are trying to reveal the broad potential for cooperation, which has significantly lowered since the collapse of the USSR.

“We had also other priorities, but now we return to appreciating the merits of our African friends just as that they appreciate our contribution to liberation from colonial oppression. Therefore, our prospects are very, very good, and we should use them actively and as soon as possible,” he added.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Russia plans to open seven embassies in African countries in the next two years.

Protection of the Russian World

Russia will continue to combat manifestations of neo-Nazism and discrimination, as says the Minister. According to him, the increasing number of such manifestations in Ukraine, as well as in the EU, including the Baltic states, and in Canada, where Ukrainian nationalists who evaded justice in the 1940s live, is especially worrying.

“We will pay constant attention <…> to uniting international efforts to counter any manifestations of neo-Nazism, Russophobia, and other forms of racial and religious intolerance,” emphasized Sergey Lavrov. “It is encouraging that the overwhelming majority of the world community shares our uncompromising position regarding the revival of Nazism,” he added.

According to the Minister, at the negotiations in Riyadh, the Russian side explained to the United States its position on the need to stop Kiev’s attempts to destroy everything related with the Russian World.

“I mean eliminating threats to Russia's security that have been created for many years by trying to draw Ukraine into NATO, and the need to stop in the harshest manner Kiev’s attempts to destroy everything related to Russia, Russian culture and the Russian World — language, media, destruction of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” he said.

Sergey Lavrov also stressed that, during negotiations with the American side, there was also paid special attention to the issue of the lack of alternatives to eradicating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis.

Opinions of the relevant committees

At the beginning of the “government hour”, the Chairman of the Committee on Control Oleg Morozov Morozov
Oleg Victorovich said: “The foreign policy course of our President is a key factor of the consolidation of our entire society and parliamentary factions.”

Oleg Morozov also noted the recent events on the world stage that showed the end of global liberalism, the growing intensity of economic and migration problems in which the Western states are drowning, as well as the degradation of Europe as an independent center of world development.

“Nowadays, the collective West, as we have called it for many years, after Trump became President of the United States for the second term, ceases to be collective. The world comes to the common sense of understanding that the new world architecture, the system of world politics and international relations should be just as President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has been describing it for all these years, since his Munich speech in 2007,” said the Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky Slutsky
Leonid Eduardovich .

He noted the Committee's consistent and constructive cooperation with the Ministry and the Minister personally, who has been serving as a Minister of Foreign Affairs for 21 years.

The Chairman of the Committee on Issues of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Contacts with Fellow Countrymen Leonid Kalashnikov Kalashnikov
Leonid Ivanovich noted the importance of the Russian Foreign Ministry's work aimed at providing support to compatriots living abroad.

According to him, interaction with the Ministry “is at a very good level.”