Lavrov: Cancel Culture's Run Amok--Look at Trump

Now Lavrov didn’t specifically name Trump as a perpetrator of Cancel Culture, although his acts during his first term and those since becoming president again certainly prove the point Lavrov drives home in his remarks at today’s ambassadors' roundtable on the Ukrainian crisis which IMO mistakenly is called “The failure of cancel culture.” Ever since Franklin Roosevelt’s administration was canceled upon his death, the USA’s policy has been to remain unconstrained by any form of law—even its own as its daily breaking of the UN Charter and thus the US Constitution proves well beyond doubt since the UN Charter became viable on 24 October 1945. There are many other incidents that also prove 100% unilateralism is bedrock Outlaw US Empire policy, which is the main reason why it’s agreement incapable as it refuses to conform to any law. Lavrov’s remarks will show many other instances and prove my thesis, so let’s look at them:

Good afternoon

We appreciate our dialogue on the Ukrainian issue. We remember that during such meetings, issues related to other crises are also touched upon, which the West is trying to ignore and hush up against the backdrop of persistent and aggressive actions to Ukrainise the agenda of any international forum.

Let's start with Ukraine, as always. We are meeting for the eighth time (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). To be honest, I thought that this figure was more modest. Within the framework of such "round tables" we discussed the problems of militarization of Ukraine, rewriting history, information wars.

Today we proposed to touch on the topic of "cancel culture." By and large, it is all-encompassing. This does not even apply so much to Ukraine, because the "cancel culture" of everything that the West does not like began to be applied long before the Ukrainian crisis. When the guardians of democracy and the "rule of law" did not like something, they simply "canceled" it and, instead of this inconvenient format and law, they applied their "rules" on which, as they said, the world order should be based. This is how international law was abolished. In fact, it was "sacrificed" to the very "rules" that, as we have found out more than once, no one has seen, read or presented to the international community.

But the West still clings to this slogan. Let's see how the new Trump administration will act. Secretary of State Miguel Rubio said in a recent interview that multipolarity is a reality today. This is an interesting statement. No one has heard this from US officials before. But let's see how this will be refracted in practical politics.

The attempt to "abolish" the norms of international law is particularly evident in the attitude of the West, the United States and its allies to the UN Charter. When necessary, they apply the principle of self-determination of peoples, as they did with regard to Kosovo. When their goal is to support their "wards" and minions like the Ukrainian Nazi regime, then they cling to the principle of territorial integrity, ignoring everything that the peoples of Crimea, Novorossiya and Donbass did, who, in the face of a bloody anti-constitutional coup d'état, refused to recognise its results and live according to its government, which has set itself the goal of exterminating everything Russian. It is Russian history, traditions, Orthodoxy, language and culture that have made up the life of Crimeans, Donbass residents and Novorossians for many centuries. Now the West is ready to "abolish" all this.

In Ukraine, they only need territorial integrity. Unfortunately, the UN Secretariat, including the Secretary-General, is actively playing along with the West in Ukrainian affairs, despite the requirements of Article 100 of the UN Charter that the Secretariat should be impartial and not take anyone's position or receive instructions from any government. Perhaps there are no instructions printed on paper. But Antonio Guterres, his deputies representing the United States, Britain, Canada and other NATO member states in senior positions in the UN Secretariat say exactly what the West needs.

The "abolition" of the truth is another way to try to maintain one's hegemony. On January 27, speaking at the UN General Assembly on the occasion of Holocaust Day, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres repeated the example set to him by Western speakers, including at events in Europe, and did not mention who exactly liberated Auschwitz. I mean that not a word was said about the Red Army.

There are many other examples when not only the provisions of the Charter are "canceled", but also the decisions of the Security Council, which, in accordance with the Charter, are binding on all countries. Thus, for example, the Security Council resolution that unanimously approved the Minsk Agreements was canceled. A year after the coup d'état, in February 2015, they made it possible to stop the war that the Kiev regime waged in Donbass with its armed forces, its army against its own people. The Minsk Agreements, with our active participation, made it possible to stop this war. A Security Council resolution approved them. But it soon became clear that no one was going to implement them. Nothing happened on the ground, the Kiev regime violated all its obligations under these agreements, and Germany and France, which were mediators and guarantors of this document, did nothing either. In December 2022, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President François Hollande, who signed this important document, even proudly stated that they had no intention of implementing it. They needed to buy time to pump Kiev with modern weapons for the war against the Russian Federation.

The "cancellation" of Security Council decisions is also part of the policy of "abolishing" international law. This is manifested in other forms as well. There is international law of national minorities, a number of conventions, including those of the Council of Europe, within the framework of the UN. There is an international legal framework for the protection of the rights of minorities. This has been recalled many times. This is also required by the Constitution of Ukraine itself. But in an effort to cross out, exterminate and ban everything Russian, any methods are used and no arguments are taken into account.

At the last round table, we talked about the need to look at the root causes of any conflict, as President of China Xi Jinping called for in his initiative on global security. It says that in order for any conflict to be resolved, it must be analysed from the point of view of its root causes. And then develop practical steps to eliminate them. The root cause lies in the West's deliberate long-term desire (not only aspiration, but practical actions) to create direct military threats to the Russian Federation on our borders, on the territory of Ukraine, to draw it into NATO. We have repeatedly talked about this, warned and demanded that the alliance nevertheless see the fulfillment of our obligations not to expand eastward, to the borders of the former Soviet Union, in this case, the Russian Federation. All in vain.

Suddenly, for the first time, President Donald Trump, in one of his first speeches, criticising the Biden administration's position on the Ukrainian crisis, said bluntly that one of the main mistakes was drawing Ukraine into NATO. They say that if Donald Trump had been president for the previous four years, this would not have happened, and there would have been no conflict. For the first time (I would like to draw your attention) a Western leader (not just a Western leader, but the leader of the United States, the leader of countries throughout the Western world) uttered these words, which we welcomed. For the first time, the NATO problem has been designated as something that the United States is ready to discuss seriously. And it is they who will decide what the position of the West and, accordingly, the position of Kiev will be.

Let me remind you that in our previous contacts with the Biden administration, with representatives of France, Germany and other countries, even before the special military operation, when we made official proposals on security guarantees for everyone, including Ukraine (and for Russia, of course), we were told that this was none of our business. I spoke personally with Antony Blinken in January 2022 and urged him to seriously consider the proposals that we circulated in order to prevent a military conflict in Europe. He told me directly that this is none of our business. No one can poke their noses into relations between NATO and the countries that they want to admit to the North Atlantic Alliance.

Reminders that political commitments were made within the framework of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to ensure the principle of indivisible security, according to which no one has the right to strengthen their security at the expense of the security of others, and no organisation in the Euro-Atlantic region has the right to claim dominance, were dismissed by the argument, as the West has done before, that these are political obligations. We told them how it is, and your presidents and prime ministers signed this agreement in 2010 at the Astana summit. This has already been reconfirmed there. They replied that no, these are political obligations, and legal security guarantees can only be provided by NATO. And they smiled. Duplicity and hypocrisy have never left our Western colleagues. This, apparently, gives them a certain cheerfulness.

The "cancel culture" was also manifested in the cancellation of the Security Council resolution that approved the Minsk Agreements. This is by no means a unique "Ukrainian method of action" by our Western colleagues. The "cancel culture", including the "abolition" of international law, is especially clearly manifested now with regard to the situation in the Middle East.

The decisions of the Security Council, which a month or a month and a half ago were recognised by everyone without exception as the necessary basis for actions to create a Palestinian state, were simply "canceled." President Donald Trump said that it was necessary to evacuate all residents from the Gaza Strip. They said that Jordan and Egypt had a lot of land, let them settle these 1.5 to 2 million people there, and the United States would turn the Gaza Strip into a "resort." All this follows other decisions that President Donald Trump made during his first term in office. For example, the recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli. The UN General Assembly and the Security Council made other decisions. These decisions were "canceled."

There are many such examples, including in Western Sahara. In our opinion, this trend will only grow. I am not deploring this, but I am stating the reality. Of course, diplomats should first of all take into account the facts that are taking shape on the ground and which should be the subject of negotiations.

In addition to the "abolition" of everything Russian, about which Vladimir Zelensky is passing laws, we see the desire of our Western colleagues to "cancel" everything Russian. This is manifested in the ban on cultural events and the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic movement, to the great shame of Thomas Bach and his team.

When an "outspoken" man enters the ring at the Olympics in Paris and beats women, it is considered necessary, because this is how Thomas Bach interprets the Olympic Charter. And the provisions of the Charter that require the rejection of any politicisation of sports, Thomas Bach interprets in such a way that it allows him not to allow Russian athletes to participate in competitions, to ban the anthem, coat of arms and other attributes of the national team.

Another element of the "cancel culture" is the "cancellation" of justice. This part of the process was especially evident in relation to Ukraine. There were no investigations into the causes of the coup d'état, which "crossed out" the settlement agreement. The agreement was guaranteed by the European Union, and in the morning the opposition seized government buildings. No one investigated the circumstances of this coup d'état, although there are plenty of facts indicating that the provocation with the murder of unarmed law enforcement officers on the Maidan was carefully prepared.

There are also plenty of facts about how the same representatives of the junta, who illegally seized power, burned alive about fifty people in Odessa on May 2, 2014. There are videos on the Internet of how it happened, who did it, who set it on fire, who shot and who finished it off. No one is conducting any trial or investigation. The Council of Europe timidly tried to offer its services, even adopted a resolution, but the Ukrainian putschists ignored this organization (which at that time still retained a chance of being treated with respect).

One of those who burned people in 2014 in Odessa, now a member of the Verkhovna Rada, travels around Europe demanding that Russia be "punished." Distorted reality is also part of this "cancel culture," when facts are canceled and they do not want to deal with them.

An outrageous example from the same series is the village of Bucha. Two days after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kiev, dozens of corpses were suddenly "found" on the main street (we talked about this), "neatly arranged" on both sides of the roadway. A group of journalists from the BBC "accidentally" ended up there, but they quite successfully prepared a report that later caused hysteria in the West. Russia was again accused of all mortal sins. Bucha became the reason for another portion of sanctions with which the West wants to "strangle" Russia. Then we began to ask, having our own facts proving that Russian troops were not there at that time. No one wants to listen.

For the second year in a row, we have been trying to get the names of the people whose bodies were shown by BBC journalists. Just names. Isn't this a natural step in any investigation of any crime? A stone wall. I personally appealed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He said that he was "not very comfortable" dealing with this issue. I replied that there was no need to "deal with it," but to ask his authority to publish the relevant list. We officially appealed to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In September 2024, our Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General's Office officially appealed to this Office and to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. They presented their arguments, which unequivocally indicate that it was a staged act. To this day, we have not been able to get a list of names, let alone an answer.

According to our information, which we receive from those who understand the correctness of our position, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights does not want to share the data on the basis of which the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, which is under its control, publicly concluded that this was a crime committed by the Russian military. And they do not give names. This is also the "abolition" of justice and the truth.

The same applies to the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. No one wants to tell anything. When we asked the countries that officially announced the investigation (Sweden and Denmark), they said that they had not found anything, so they had completed the investigation and would not tell us anything about it. Germany, they say, continues. But in response to all our reminders, including at the UN Security Council, it does not want to announce anything. Sometimes an article suddenly appears in the newspapers to the effect that sources said that "one Ukrainian woman and two Ukrainians were riding a yacht, drinking wine and deciding to blow up the gas pipeline." And this is written by reputable newspapers.

Speaking about Western journalists regarding the list of names of the victims of Bucha, I twice at a news conference in New York (1,2) appealed to the professional pride of the media workers of Western countries. I wondered why they, representatives of the media in the United States, Britain, Europe and Canada, who demand any explanations from the authorities for any reason and without reason, in this case cannot request a list of victims. Soon it will be three years since this tragedy.

I have no doubt that the "cancellation" of journalism and information is also a "worthy" component of the "piggy bank" of modern methods of work of our Western colleagues. Not to mention the fact that the Russian media are being cancelled with might and main just because they express an alternative point of view. The West has been fighting dissent for a long time. This struggle reached its climax during the Biden administration, when "forums of democracy against autocracy" were convened, when it was declared, like former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, that those who would be "against democracy" and refused to sit down with the Americans at the "democratic table" would find themselves on the "menu" that would be served at this "table." I did not invent this. Not to mention former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, who said that Europe is a "blooming garden" and that there is a "wild jungle" all around. This includes us. Therefore, the "abolition" of decency and elementary ethics is also part of the "arsenal" of actions of our Western colleagues.

Both the United States, the British and the Europeans have tightly turned a blind eye to the above-mentioned series of laws on the "abolition" of everything Russian in Ukraine: education, the media and culture, and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The OSCE decision on the indivisibility of security has been "canceled" by practical steps to expand NATO. The agreements that preceded the coup d'état in 2014 have been canceled. The same is true of the Minsk Agreements and Security Council resolutions, including those on the Middle East settlement. This is a trend. It is not that the West is honing such methods "exclusively" for Ukraine.

We are witnessing a clear desire to "cancel" our country as a whole, as was the case in 1945, when World War II had not yet ended, when the summits were held in Yalta and Potsdam, when the Allies celebrated Victory. Documents have now been published that show that the West was preparing plans to attack the USSR and dismember it before the end of the war in the Pacific. Now these plans have come to life.

There was another historical era. In 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the West thought that the then new Russian authorities would be in its pocket. It did not work out. Now some marginal people (obviously at the instigation of the West), non-governmental organisations, former Russian citizens who fled to Europe and the United States have begun to create structures for the "decolonisation of Russia". They mention seven or eight parts into which our country should be "divided". There is a mentality of "canceling" everything that they do not like and that competes with them.

Fair competition has long been "abolished" by our Western colleagues, including through the imposition of sanctions. Now the Mexicans, Panamanians, Danes and representatives of a number of other countries will be able to experience what the "abolition" of competition is. Our Chinese friends responded harshly. People who want to dominate do not understand any other language. But this will be a broader topic. The world order, the fate of the globalisation system that the United States created and then "cancelled" when it realised that it was no longer beneficial to them. And it is beneficial to those who agreed to work according to the rules of this system – free competition, respect for property, the presumption of innocence and much more. Everything that has been propagandized has now been "cancelled" because it does not "work" for the interests of the United States. Ultimatums are now working in their interests. Let's see how this will happen. We have not yet had the opportunity to look at the new president's team in practical matters.

In addition to the desire to physically "abolish" and dismember Russia, the West has joined the campaign to destroy Russian influence in the international arena. Ukraine is extolled as a beacon of human rights and European values. Let me remind you that among those promoted by Ukraine are the values of Nazism, when collaborators convicted by the Nuremberg Tribunal are elevated to the rank of national heroes. This is also a European value. This does not surprise me. We cannot forget that neo-Nazism is "raising its head" in the West.

As for the desire to "cancel" everything Russian. They are trying to close Russian artists' tours that have already been agreed with the relevant cultural institutions, the "cancellation" of Russia in sports – all this is doomed to failure.

It is sad that just like the UN Secretariat, which supports the West's policy of "canceling" inconvenient facts and refusing to help in the investigation of crimes, the Secretariat of the once respected UNESCO organisation is also involved in these attempts.

The head of this agency, Ms Audrey Azoulay, a French citizen, contributes to the complete Ukrainisation of the agenda by politicising the organisation and refusing to fulfil her direct duties, including those related to protecting the rights of media representatives. She does not react to the numerous murders of Russian journalists in the special military operation zone, to the demolition of historical monuments in Ukraine, including in Odessa. A monument to Empress Catherine the Great, who founded this city, a monument to Georgy Potemkin and all those who were involved in this project, who built it, who created ports, plants and factories and inhabited these lands for a hundred years, were demolished there. Their memory is being destroyed. A week after the demolition of the monument to Catherine the Great, not only did UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay not react to it as she should be in her professional duties, but also included the historical part of Odessa where this monument stood and was destroyed on the World Heritage List of this organisation. Even here there is some element of "challenge". They say that you wanted to see your Empress there forever, but I removed her. Or it was done by the Ukrainian Nazis, and I allegedly encourage them for this. Therefore, UNESCO is in a deep crisis.

But despite this, Russian culture, including through UNESCO's intergovernmental bodies, is making its way. In 2024, at the World Heritage Committee meeting in India, another Russian site was included in the list of natural and cultural sites of global importance. These are the landscapes of the Arkhangelsk Region. In 2024, in Abu Dhabi, we took an active part in the development of the Programme for Education in the Field of Culture and the Arts. We took an active part in the work at the special conference and did not feel any discomfort, as Ms Azoulay and her staff wanted to achieve. Despite all the obstacles, we are holding Russian Language Days at UNESCO headquarters on Alexander Pushkin's birthday. On our initiative, the D.I. Mendeleev International Prize for achievements in the field of fundamental sciences was introduced. The third competition is already underway.

If we talk about our cultural and sports projects, many of your countries participated in the BRICS Games, which brought together a large number of athletes from more than eighty countries. The Games of the Future took place – the first experiment to combine physical and e-sports. The second Games of the Future will be held in the UAE this year. You have probably heard how successful and loud the World Youth Festival was, how special events are held to expand student Olympiads. In 2024, the International Russian Language Organization was established at the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. We have a growing number of students from foreign countries who study in Russia. There are already more than 370 thousand of them. This figure will grow. In other words, Russian culture, humanitarian influence, and sports cannot be "canceled."

Speaking about the events that we are holding in order to counter the true ideals of sport, culture and cooperation in science with attempts to Ukrainise everything, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that two days ago President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed a decree on holding the Intervision International Music Contest, which will provide an opportunity for all countries to show their best musical traditions without any censorship. More than twenty countries have already announced their participation and sent their representatives to the jury of this competition. I am convinced that this will be another platform for interaction between artists from many countries of the world. A unique music expo in its own way. We will be glad to see your countries among the participants. I guarantee that there will be no perversions and mockery of human nature, as we saw during the Olympic Games in Paris.

In conclusion, I would like to go back to what I said when I spoke about Holocaust Remembrance Day, when even UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was embarrassed to name the facts about who liberated Auschwitz. A major campaign is underway now in an attempt to undermine the reputation of my country and whitewash the Nazis.

At this event dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust, the representative of the European Union avoided the word "Nazism" and did not utter the word "fascism" at all. He called Germany of the Hitler era an authoritarian state. The same is true of Russia, the People's Republic of China and a number of other countries represented here. Therefore, the attempt to "blur" and destroy the memory of historical truth has a serious expectation that the entire West will rally around this idea.

We will not allow this to happen. This year in Russia and in the CIS is marked by Victory in the Great Patriotic War and Victory over Nazism. We are planning a large number of events. We hope that we will inform you about these events in a timely manner so that you can take part in them. The main date is May 9, when the Victory Parade will take place. Many invitees have already confirmed their participation, including all our friends, neighbours and allies from the CIS countries and many other countries. [My Emphasis]

Trump contributed to cancel culture via the Abraham Accords and saying the Zionist annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights was legal, all of which broke existing international law. His most recent transgressions is to abet the Zionist Genocide and proclaim Gaza US Imperial territory so he can remove the natives to a reservation. That Rubio acknowledged a reality doesn’t signal any change in policy. And more illegal sanctions were issued.

It should be noted again that NATO’s advance eastward violated not only very important verbal agreements but three major OSCE Treaties and the 1975 Helsinki Accord. The 2014 coup—another violation of a legal agreement—was the de facto beginning of the war against Russia waged by the Outlaw US Empire and its NATO vassals—note that to-date no de jure declaration of war is present because that would bring international law into the conflict along with its rules/laws about the proper conduct of war in regard to civilians. When Russia moved as it said it would to protect its people and territory against NATO in February 2022, the lack of a Declaration of War allowed yet another cherry picking of law to say Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked and illegal, which is super ironic by those who have no intention of obeying the UN Charter or other longstanding components of International Law. As for Trump not contributing to the already ongoing war against Russia, that contention is false and it was wise for Lavrov to note the words uttered, not any deed that was done. As for Lavrov saying Trump is serious about discussing NATO, IMO that’s wishful thinking as I’m unaware of Trump saying any such thing. Just because he recognized NATO’s encroachment as the cause doesn’t mean he’s serious about discussing NATO. Furthermore, what kept Trump from halting the entire affair during his first term and what evidence exists to prove that he had any such intention? Instead, he escalated the war and stole more Russian property.

It must also be recalled that the USA saved Nazism and many Nazis from their justified fate and date with death. That preservation seems to have begun in 1943, although IMO it began much earlier before the war when Nazism was actively promoted by all Western powers. So, Lavrov really isn’t giving full credit when it comes to “values” as the Outlaw US Empire’s record of genocide and warmaking clearly show why it saved Nazism.

Lavrov’s closing remarks inform us why he titled his address “The Failure of Cancel Culture” because Russia will not allow it to succeed At least when it comes to all things Russian that appears to be a correct assessment, but globally the very serious challenge presented by the Outlaw US Empire is far more openly committed to not conform to any treaty of international norm. I wrote earlier today that Putin should refuse to meet one-on-one with Trump, t converse via phone instead and to tell him straight that “we know all you fear are our missiles and are incapable of obeying any agreement you might sign, so there’s absolutely no sense in any further meetings until you change your behavior and cease being the #1 International Outlaw.” Yes, it calls the spade a spade and is undiplomatic. But as Lavrov noted above, the language of force is all the West responds to. There’s a very major problem with the Empire and the West’s attitude as law is required for almost every human interaction, especially business and finance. How about all those nations with odious dollarized debt saying we refuse to honor these contracts anymore; we’re cancelling them. IMO, that would be a very good lesson about the importance of law and the need for it to be obeyed.

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