On February 14, a “government hour” with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov was held at the State Duma. The main topic was “On current issues of foreign policy of the Russian Federation”.
Members of the State Duma asked their questions, chairmen of relevant committees and representatives of all factions also commented on those issues.
“The main direction of all activities on the foreign policy path has included and still includes the creation of favorable, safe conditions for the stable development of the country, strengthening its sovereignty, and improving the quality of life of our people,” said Sergey Lavrov.
The main cause of the increased tension in the world was the desire of the collective West to maintain its hegemony, as said the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“By destabilizing regions, the Americans are trying, as they say, to manage chaos. But in fact, I think they do not know what they are doing,” said Sergey Lavrov.
Speaking about the Ukrainian conflict, the Minister noted Russia’s readiness for its political and diplomatic settlement but with taking into account the realities “on the ground”. “But as there are no serious proposals from those who declared war on us and their unwillingness to take into account either our interests or the realities on the ground, it is not possible to talk and negotiate. Such options cannot be seen on the horizon,” added the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia would continue to work in the Group of 20 (G20) and would counter the attempts to Ukrainise the group. “Together with the states of the Global South, we will continue to counter attempts of the Western minority to turn the G20 into a tool used for achieving their own narrow selfish goals, including the Ukrainization of the agenda of the group,” he said.
The plans of Western countries to isolate Russia have failed, but they will continue to increase pressure on our country, according to Sergey Lavrov.
“In the context of growing mutual understanding with the countries of the Global East and the Global South on the image of the future, it is logical that the plans of the Western minority to isolate Russia and create a kind of “cordon sanitaire” around us have failed. The initiators of anti-Russian measures themselves are forced to admit this, although it is clear that they are far from exhausting the potential of hostility and will continue to pressure us and our allies, using for this not only the Kiev regime, but also a wide range of hybrid warfare tools in the fields of economy, finance, information space, culture, sports. We see that every day,” emphasized the Foreign Minister.
Developing a partnership with China is Russia’s most important task, according to Sergey Lavrov. He noted the highest level of relationship with China in its history. “Bilateral trade turnover is growing at a record pace. This year, we will mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations that are at the best level in history” he said.
In addition, Russia is expanding its diplomatic presence in Africa. “We are working to expand our diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian presence in Africa, which is aimed to be one of the important poles of the emerging multipolar world,” the Minister said.
Speaking about the upcoming presidential elections in Russia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that they would be held against the background of a surge in Russophobia. The Foreign Ministry will do everything to ensure that voting abroad is held at the highest level. Representatives of friendly countries and international organizations will observe the elections, including in new regions of the Russian Federation.
Positions of relevant committees
The Chairman of the Committee
on Control Oleg Morozov
Oleg Victorovich
noted the constructive and regular interaction between
members of the State Duma and the Russian Foreign Ministry. “Such frequency is
the key to the effectiveness of parliamentary control. We clearly see the way the questions and advice of the members of the State Duma discussed at previous
meetings are reflected in the subsequent activities of the foreign policy ministry,”
he said.
“Today all factions of the State Duma do not compete, but consolidate around the President’s foreign policy strategy. And this gives the country a unique historical chance to have the broadest social support to ensure our international security and protect national and state interests,” emphasized Oleg Morozov.
According to the parliamentarian, “the State Duma is actively developing the parliamentary format of these relations and this has become a significant factor in breaking the strategy of isolating Russia and creating, figuratively speaking, new international spaces.”
The Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky
Leonid Eduardovich
stressed that “the State Duma
has no other foreign policy agenda but only the foreign policy agenda of the President of the Russian Federation.”
He also noted the importance of developing new formats of inter-parliamentary cooperation: such as joint forums with participation of representatives of African and Latin American countries held in 2023. “[This year] we will turn them into one format and hold the Global Forum “Development of Parliamentarism,” said the Chairman of the relevant committee.
“Russia has become a center of attraction for countries in different parts of the world that do not support American hegemony,” emphasized Leonid Slutsky.
The Chairman of the Committee
on Issues of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Contacts with Fellow
Countrymen Leonid Kalashnikov
Leonid Ivanovich
drew attention to developing relations with
strategic partners in the post-Soviet space.
“The State Duma pays great attention to strategic cooperation with the CIS countries,” the parliamentarian said and added that only during the current convocation members of the State Duma had ratified 65 agreements with those countries.
Leonid Kalashnikov also noted the regular and constructive dialogue between members of the State Duma and the Foreign Ministry on various issues.
Faction opinions
“Our friends in Asia,
Africa, Europe — and they are there too — they are waiting for Russia to be a strong,
equal, friendly, sovereign state. They are waiting for Russia, which
understands that the truce with the bourgeois West will be temporary. It will
last until NATO rebuild its military potential,” said the First Deputy Chairman
of the Committee on International Affairs Dmitry Novikov
Dmitry Georgievich
(CPRF).
According to him, the country does not have much time left to prepare for a bigger fight. He also spoke in support of the work of the Foreign Ministry and Sergey Lavrov.
The position of the LDPR faction was stated by its leader Leonid Slutsky, who noted in particular constructive cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the investigation of the activities of American biological laboratories in Ukraine, which was conducted by the relevant parliamentary commission.
“The world learns the truth only from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia at his meetings with foreign colleagues, at international platforms, at press conferences,” emphasized Leonid Slutsky. He drew attention to the real effectiveness of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is proved by the movement of countries supporting Russia “against a unipolar world order based on blood.”
Leonid Slutsky also called on all factions to unite around the Russian Foreign Ministry to promote the foreign policy agenda of the head of state.
The Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Babakov
Alexander Mikhailovich
(“A Just Russia — For Truth” faction) is convinced
that there is a need to present the vision, a manifesto of the image of the future for the world arena, which will be a basis as Russian President Vladimir
Putin spoke about. “Russia is able to present its position to humanity. After
all, this future has not yet received a specific interpretation,” added the member of the State Duma.
“Our proposal is that we can now start to develop this draft manifesto, take the initiative to create a permanent interstate format to develop together the main outlines of this document, and, of course, we need to develop not just an initiative, but specific proposals at all levels, including at the parliamentary level,” said Alexander Babakov.
The member of the Committee
on International Affairs Roza Chemeris
Roza Basirovna
(New People faction) drew attention to the development of Russia’s relations with friendly countries, in particular
with the BRICS countries. According to her, the New People faction believes
that it would be right if BRICS consisted of 20 or even 30 states. “First of all, these are countries in South America, Asia and Africa,” she said.
“We can say that all attempts to isolate our country at international level have completely failed,” emphasized Roza Chemeris.
She also called for more active development of cultural, scientific and educational ties.
According to the First
Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Vyacheslav Nikonov
Vyacheslav Alexeyevich
(United Russia), the Constitution of the Russian Federation says that the country’s foreign policy activities are performed by the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “They are the main instruments and coordinators of foreign policy,” he said. “We remember very well how weak the Foreign Ministry was,
we remember the 90s, we remember Minister Kozyrev, we remember how we made
concessions to the West on all issues. We remember how, as a result, they
simply wiped their feet on us. Now everything has changed,” stressed the member
of the State Duma.
Vyacheslav Nikonov also recalled the words of the President of Russia that “the limit on our goodwill gestures has been exhausted.” “We are now reshaping the world, and will do it fundamentally,” he said. “The main geopolitical events are taking place where our soldiers are fighting the Nazi infection. We challenged the long-standing, perhaps centuries-long, dominance of the West in the modern world. And this is the set of challenges and foreign policy problems that our diplomacy faces today,” stressed the member of the State Duma.
