Foreign Ministry Briefing on Interference in Russia's Internal Affairs

A new face: Alexander Klimov

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is bustling with activity today with a very large number of meetings occurring where reporting is limited to media notices as with this and the meeting of the Foreign Ministry Board. The initial announcement introduces us to Mr. Klimov whose full title is noted in the following read-out:

On April 23, the Foreign Ministry's press centre hosted a briefing by Chairman of the Federation Council Commission for the Protection of State Sovereignty and Preventing Interference in the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Klimov and member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Igor Borisov on countering actions inspired from abroad to undermine the integrity of electoral cycles in the light of the Federation Council's Appeal to the the United Nations, international parliamentary organizations and parliaments of foreign states in connection with attempts of external interference in the preparation and conduct of the presidential elections of the Russian Federation of April 3, 2024.

The event was attended by diplomats accredited in Moscow from foreign countries. No invitations were sent to the embassies of unfriendly countries whose leaders are pursuing an aggressive anti-Russia policy, which had previously refused to meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The attention of those present was drawn to numerous attempts coordinated by Washington to discredit the course and results of the elections, to cast doubt on their legality and legal purity, to compromise the electoral process, including through cyberattacks, and to provoke gross violations of the law using such illegal methods as undisguised pressure, blackmail and intimidation of voters. Thus, the United States and its allies grossly violated the universally recognized principles and norms of international law, the UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10, 1948, and the Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Interference in the Internal Affairs of States and the Protection of Their Independence and Sovereignty of December 21, 1965.

It was emphasized that the propaganda campaign unleashed by the "collective West" did not find the support of the world's majority states. They are called upon to condemn the actions of the United States and its allies aimed at destabilizing the internal situation in countries that reject hegemony and diktat and advocate equal relations with foreign partners. [My Emphasis]

Once again, evidence is presented proving the Outlaw US Empire is indeed an International Outlaw who almost constantly violates the Declarations cited along with many others. Of course, Russia isn’t the only nation attacked in the above manner. Since the Outlaw US Empire refuses to obey International Law, the best recourse IMO is for all nations to downgrade their level of relations with the Empire. particularly within their own nations buy adopting the same Foreign Agent laws the Empire has that it’s currently trying to prevent Georgia enacting.

The Foreign Ministry Board Meeting is usually accompanied by a Lavrov speech, but this iteration dealing with the South Caucasus is recapped via a media read-out. That Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev is in Moscow for a working visit with President Putin is the reason for the meeting as much is occurring in the region, and not just with Armenia.

On April 23, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired a meeting of the Ministry's board on promoting Russia's interests in the South Caucasus.

It was emphasized that in order to "inflict a strategic defeat on Russia," the "collective West" – following Ukraine – seeks to destabilize the situation in other parts of the post-Soviet space, including the South Caucasus, undermine the relations of alliance and partnership that bind Russia with the countries of the region, and destroy the existing mechanisms of collective security and economic partnership.

It was noted that unlike the Westerners, who are driven solely by the logic of "zero-sum games", the priority for Russia has always been and remains to ensure stability, security and prosperity in the South Caucasus. Russia will develop mutually respectful and mutually beneficial cooperation with all the states of the region, with which we are united by a common centuries-old history, geographical proximity and close people's contacts.

It was recognized that it is necessary to continue to achieve the full implementation of a set of trilateral agreements between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, including the coordination of a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan, the unblocking of transport communications in the region and the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions on Transcaucasia with the participation of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, Russia will continue to work towards achieving reliable agreements on the non-use of force.

The tasks of strengthening the connectivity and self-sufficiency of the region in the interests of solving the problems it faces, primarily by the forces of the regionals themselves without outside interference, are considered. In this context, the special importance of using the potential of the 3+3 Consultative Regional Platform (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia plus Iran, Russia, Turkey) was emphasized. Practical steps in this direction have been outlined. [My Emphasis]

I mentioned the meeting between Aliyev and Putin. Aside from the usual pleasantries, there was some notable dialog provided in the read-out of their meeting for the cameras:

Putin: “Absolutely Let's talk about the security situation in the region. There are a lot of issues here, they are very sensitive. We are with you in the material on each of them.”

Aliyev: “As you noted, the agenda is quite extensive. There is also the transport component; we will discuss this today. The International Draft the North-South transport corridor that unites our countries and our partners is of global importance for the safety of cargo transportation and for the and the promotion of trade relations between many countries.

“Questions of regional security are constantly on the agenda of our meetings. And we are also happy with the way they are being resolved. Russia is a fundamental country in terms of regional security in the Caucasus and wide geography. And from the actions and interactions between our nations also affect other countries. And we are focused on strengthening the measures trust, cooperation, mutual understanding and settlement of all issues in the spirit of interaction and mutual interests.”

Much speculation has occurred about which nation is the South Caucasus weak link—Armenia, Azerbaijan or Georgia. None are close to being a basket-case like Moldova. The way geoeconomic relations have been built over the past 200 years has taken the region out from Turkish influence and made Russian influence paramount. Now we have the entrance of Iran into the regional discussion which adds a new dimension. Turkish national interests on the surface seem uncertain thanks to Erdogan, but when looked at from a geoeconomic perspective they become rather clear that Turkey’s best interests lie in developing excellent relations with EAEU, SCO, BRICS+, and CIS, and not with NATO/EU as that bloc is now overwhelmingly colonized by the Outlaw US Empire, meaning it will continue to rot. There is a possibility better relations can be developed with some Balkan states as a few have shown some independence of thought over the past several months.

In the next item I present, you’ll see why there’s a strong link between Russia and Azerbaijan few will know about. What’s happening with the North-South Corridor is of great importance and will boost all the Caspian Sea states.

In closing, we saw the US House vote to authorize the theft of frozen Russian assets, while the EU ponders doing the same, with the vast majority of those funds in EU institutions. Today it’s reported that Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matvienko has announced Russia has a plan ready to be put into action:

In an interview with Russian journalist Dmitry Kiselyov, the chairwoman of the Federation Council said that the EU’s potential move to confiscate Russian assets would be “unprecedented,” adding that it “would destroy the global economy.” 

“Of course, it would be absolutely illegal, and everyone in Europe understands that they can’t do that,” the official stated. 

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the West has frozen around $300 billion in Russian central bank assets, most of which are being held in the EU. Moscow has repeatedly denounced the seizure as “theft.”

Officials in several Western nations, notably the US and the UK, have insisted on the outright confiscation of Russian assets despite widespread concerns that this would have no legal basis. In contrast, the EU has been reluctant to do so, reportedly fearing Russian retaliation.

Matvienko stressed that Russia has “a prepared response” to a potential confiscation. “We have a bill that we are ready to consider immediately in response. And the Europeans will lose more than we will. Of course, they are afraid of this, especially given that their economy is collapsing.”

The senator argued that Washington has crushed the EU, both politically and economically. “In the defense and security area, it used to be a vassal… but now it has been simply squashed by the Americans. They now want to strangle it even more… to make it even less competitive,” she stated.

With this in mind, Matvienko suggested that the European business community should vehemently protest against the potential seizures, as they would be the primary target of Moscow’s retaliatory measures. [Emphasis Original]

It’s very likely the US Senate will approve of the theft and Biden will seal the deal thus destroying the fundamental legal basis for business relations of all sorts. So far, all commentary on this possibility has been guarded and hypothetical, although it now appears the Outlaw US Empire will again pave the way for further law breaking and splitting the world into two Blocs—Global Majority and Dollar Blocs.

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