Lavrov in Bangladesh: Discussion and Explanation of the Global Situation

Very complex answer given to a complicated question: "How do you see the solution to the problem of Ukraine? A year or two later? When can we say the World is Safe?

The USSR was the mid-wife for Bangladesh’s independence, a favor that still has great meaning for Bengalis. Much is happening there that you’ll read about along with the very strong fraternal relationship. The discussion is about those relations until the subtitle’s question is asked, then one of the most complete answers Lavrov’s given to it is provided as further information’s disclosed that most are unlikely to know about. The last portion—When will the world be safe?—was predictable based on past statements, but not in the manner presented to this audience of friends. Unfortunately, there’s really no way to abridge his answer into a soundbite as many would like. But it must be read by more than the specialists that always follow Lavrov’s activities; so, please share it around. And while you’re reading it, recall Lavrov’s talking to friends, so it’s not a diatribe despite his rhetoric. Sometimes, being emphatic just can’t be helped, and IMO his audience understands.

Dear graduates, dear friends,

We appreciate your contribution to the development of our relations between civil societies and organisations and the governments of the two countries. This seriously helps to develop relationships and look for practical, useful, mutually beneficial projects. We saw this yesterday during our talks with Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh A.K.A. Momen, with representatives of other ministries, and today, when Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sh. Hasina received us for a fairly specific and lengthy conversation. We agreed to continue cooperation in the field of education. Your ranks will be replenished. Since this academic year, we have increased the number of state scholarships for Bangladesh (by 40) to 110. In total, more than 500 Bangladeshis are currently studying with us. Every year they will join the ranks of your Association. At the very least, we will definitely recommend them not to pass by such a public forum, which works usefully to promote our friendly relations.

I will no longer occupy your attention with an introductory speech, let's talk interactively.

Taksem Ahmed Khan, President of the Association, RUDN University graduate, 1981:

Your Excellency Mr Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation,

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Bangladesh, Your Excellency, Mr. A.V. Mantytsky,

Our graduates,

Dear Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me thank you for inviting us and all graduates of Soviet and Russian universities to Bangladesh to attend this historic event, which is taking place for the first time in Bangladesh, the visit of the esteemed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Sergey Viktorovich, for the fact that despite your busy schedule, you took the time to visit Bangladesh and gave us the opportunity to meet with you. Bangladesh and your country have had close relations since 1971, during our war of liberation, when the Soviet Union supported our people's struggle for independence. We know that the USSR helped after the war by sending the navy to Chittagong.

In 1972, our father of the nation, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, made a historic visit to the USSR, to Moscow. After that, many contracts were signed. Important was the construction of the thermal power plants "Gorazal" and "Siddirganj", an electrical equipment plant. They are still working.

Unfortunately, in 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed and could not complete his plan. But his daughter, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sh. Hasina, is now continuing her father's work.

We wanted our students to study in the USSR. A corresponding agreement was signed. After that, every year, starting in 1972, our students went to the Soviet Union. Every year there were 300 students.

In 2022, we celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and Bangladesh, as well as 40 years since the establishment of the Association of Alumni of Soviet and Russian Universities. Our Association was established in 1982 and has 5000,<> students studying in different cities of the USSR/Russia and are now working hard in Bangladesh and abroad.

Bangladesh maintains good economic and political relations with Russia. A good example is the Rooppur nuclear power plant. We believe that this will solve our energy problems.

Now our former students, who have become specialists, work in all important spheres of life. There is not a single profession - an engineer, a doctor, an economist, a historian, where there would not be a graduate from Bangladesh. We are proud to study in Russia. We know that our Prime Minister Sh. Khasina highly appreciates the graduates of the Association. They work for their country. Now the first graduates of Soviet universities are already many years old and they are retiring. We need to increase the number of students who will study in Russia. Thank you for providing scholarships.

We are proud of the doctors - graduates of the Association, there are more than 50 of them. There is an idea to create a Russian-Bangladeshi hospital. Maybe Russia has the opportunity to create a Russian-Bangladeshi friendship university.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you, Mr Lavrov.

We believe that the friendship between Russia and Bangladesh is strengthening.

I remember how President Vladimir Putin in 2003, speaking at the World Forum of Foreign Graduates of Russian (Soviet) Universities in Moscow, said that every graduate of his country deserves to be the Ambassador of Russia. We believe that every graduate of Bangladesh is the Ambassador of Russia to Bangladesh.

Long live the friendship between Russia and Bangladesh!

Ashik Imran, Honorary Consul of Russia in Chittagong, businessman, architect, graduate of the Belarusian National Technical University, 1983:

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov,

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bangladesh Mr. A.V. Mantytsky,

Dear alumni and guests present in this hall,

It is a great honour for me to be here today and to address Mr Lavrov, who is one of the most famous politicians and brilliant diplomats in the world. Personally, I am a big fan of Mr Lavrov.

Since December 1, 2019, I have been acting as Honorary Consul of Russia in the port city of Chittagong (now called Chottogram) and have a special connection with Russia. On its land rests the body of the Russian sailor Y.V. Redkin, who died in the line of duty during the operation to clean up the Chottogram port in 1972 After my appointment as Honorary Consul of Russia, at my request, the mayor of the city allocated a plot and funds for the opening of a memorial in the historical center of the city. According to my design, a stele was erected in honor of Y.V. Redkin in a short time. Former Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bangladesh Mr. Alexander Ignatov officially opened the memorial on February 23, 2022.

In connection with this event, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation awarded the mayor and me with medals for strengthening combat cooperation. It is a great honor for me.

The people of Bangladesh love and support Russia from the bottom of their hearts. I want to emphasize that he remembers the help of the Soviet Union during the war of independence in 1971 The new generation is interested in Russia and often turns to me with a request to open a branch of the Russian house in Chottogram.

Western media are constantly spreading fake information about Russia and current events. From the office of the Honorary Consul of Russia, materials sent by the Russian Embassy and military attaché are distributed daily. Materials about the special military operation in Ukraine are being actively disseminated on social networks, which we understand.

I would like to ask you to revise the visa regime for citizens of Bangladesh so that more citizens, businessmen, cultural figures and society can visit Russia. This will help to establish closer relations between our countries and peoples at different levels.

In the current turbulent times, when the unipolar world is collapsing, the leaders and peoples of most countries of the world look with hope to Russia, which is currently the architect of a new world order, a multipolar world based on mutual respect for the national interests of all countries and peoples.

I would like to thank Sergey Lavrov for giving me the opportunity to say a few words. Russia and Bangladesh are friends.

Sattar Mia, businessman, President of the Bangladesh Friendship Society, Tashkent Polytechnic Institute, 1989:

I am glad to welcome you on behalf of the Society for Friendship and Cooperation with Bangladesh. The establishment of the Society this year was a landmark event for Russian-Bangladeshi humanitarian ties. The main task of our organization is to make a significant contribution to strengthening bilateral relations through the implementation of a number of humanitarian, cultural and educational programs that would be interesting and in demand both in Russia and in Bangladesh.

Long-term plans for the work of the Society have been drawn up, including the organization of events, meetings, festivals of cultures, scientific conferences, business projects. On the sidelines of SPIEF in 2023, we signed a memorandum with Synergy Corporation. It is the first university to have planned special programs with Bangladesh. It will produce specialists in those areas of activity in which large Russian projects and companies will be involved (energy, including nuclear, oil and gas sector). We have practically started the implementation of this project. We are completing the creation of a commission on Bangladesh at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It will be a kind of platform for holding meetings, business forums.

Long-term plans for the work of the society have been drawn up, including the holding of socially significant events, meetings and scientific conferences.

The Board of the Society includes 26 representatives of the Russian public, scientists, cultural and educational figures. Among them are a deputy of the State Duma, regional director of Gazprom International, vice-president of Rosatom, professors of Russian universities. Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh A.E. Mantytsky agreed to be an honorary member of the Board of the Society.

The solemn ceremony of the presentation of the Society in Moscow on May 15 this year was attended by heads of diplomatic missions, prominent state and public figures, representatives of business, culture and science. Sergey Lavrov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh AHMED A.K.A. Momena sent a welcoming address. They stressed that Russia and Bangladesh are long-standing partners. Relations between our countries have always been friendly and developed on the principles of equality and mutual trust. Our Society plans to hold a similar presentation ceremony in Dhaka by the end of the year. I hope that it will be held at a high level.

In the struggle of the Bengali people for independence in 1971, we recognize the role of the Soviet Union. He was the first to recognize the new sovereign republic and assisted in the reconstruction of the economy destroyed during the war of liberation. An important point is the visit in 1972 of the first President of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to the USSR. Agreements were signed that laid the foundation for bilateral cooperation for decades to come.

In order to perpetuate the memory of the great figure of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, the Board of the Society took the initiative to erect a monument to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Moscow. This idea was supported by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. We sent a letter to you, Sergey Viktorovich, and received a positive response. We are starting the practical implementation of the initiative. We wrote a letter to the Moscow government. I hope we will resolve this issue at the level of the city leadership and with your help.

Together with the Russian Association for International Cooperation and the United World Dialogue of Cultures International Charitable Foundation, we ask you to donate a bust of the world's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to the People's Republic of Bangladesh in order to install it in the capital or in one of the country's major cities.

We pay great attention to youth projects. The society is actively involved in the work of Bangladeshi students studying in Russia and Russian students studying the Bengali language and culture of our country. The Board took the initiative to allocate a scholarship to Bengali students of MGIMO. There is a corresponding consensus. We sent a letter to the rector. This is such a symbolic sign.

In a nutshell, I would like to say a few words about Russian-Bangladeshi trade and economic cooperation. The projects that are being implemented today in the field of oil and gas, energy, and agriculture are the result of joint work. Strengthening relationships. Gazprom International in Bangladesh is engaged not only in geological exploration, but also in the practical implementation of the project for the development of deposits, the construction of plants, etc. Projects that were implemented with the help of the USSR continue to operate. We are engaged in the modernization of power plants and equipment. It is important that the project remains Russian.

I am confident that the activities of the Friendship Society will contribute to the further development of mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries in various fields. Friendly relations based on the principles of public diplomacy will be filled with new content.

Sergey Lavrov: We have noted all the questions that have just been raised. Use your structure to send us papers. Talking and communicating is very important. But in order to take steps, a "bureaucratic process" is required, it is necessary to send letters to the mayor's office, to our various departments. We will try to help.

Debapriya Bhattacharya, economist, researcher, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, 1984 When we studied in the Soviet Union, there were graduates from more than 30 cities. Many studied in Ukraine. I myself studied Russian in Donetsk. What is happening now in Russia, in Ukraine ... In our heads, this section has not completely happened. Nostalgia still keeps us in the Soviet Union.

We know what steps the Russian government is taking in Ukraine, we know how the alliance has approached Russia's borders, we know that the security issue is important. Aware of the fact that "third parties" interfered in the internal affairs of Ukraine.

I followed your work when you were still Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, I saw how you work, all the subtleties and knowledge. Today I would like to take this opportunity to ask: How do you see the solution to the problem of Ukraine? A year or two later? When can we say that Russia and the world are safe?

Sergey Lavrov: I appreciated that you emphasised the knowledge of the reasons for this situation, the last drops that overflowed our patience. They left us no choice but to ensure our security through a special military operation and, at the same time, the rights of the Russian people who lived and live in the territory where their ancestors lived for centuries, where the Russian people mastered, built cities, ports, roads and everything else.

I will not talk about the long history of the accumulation of these irritants, direct threats: NATO, the elimination of the rights of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine (linguistic, educational) media, culture, the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Books are being destroyed there. Russian books are taken out of libraries and sent for waste paper. A. Hitler burned, and these are sent for destruction in another way.

When I spoke with Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Sh. Hasina today, she asked when this could end. Many people ask about this and what Russia is able to do. The question is not for us.

Those who follow the developments know that President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin emphasises almost every speech he makes, in response to the relevant appeal, that we are not against negotiations. We did not disrupt the signing of the peace treaty back in April 2022, when, shortly after the start of our operation, the Ukrainians offered negotiations and themselves in Istanbul handed us a set of principles on which they proposed the signing of the treaty. We agreed. But when the agreement itself was made, completely on the basis of Ukrainian proposals, which was originally initialed by both us and the Ukrainians. Then the British and Americans forbade it to be signed (although the place where the presidents would meet had already been discussed), saying that if the Russians were ready to negotiate in this way, then they were weak, which means that something else could be "squeezed" out of them, "let's deplete them more." This has been going on ever since.

When we are asked whether it is possible to complete this process and whether negotiations have prospects, we need to recall that Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree back in September 2022 prohibiting any negotiations with the Russian Government under the leadership of Vladimir Putin. He put forward a "peace formula", which the West now calls the only basis for a settlement. In addition to innocent names, to avert their eyes - food, energy, nuclear security, it contains what they need: Russia must be thrown back to the borders of 1991 (which means giving up the Russian Crimea and Donbass), the Russian leadership must be held accountable at a special tribunal and Russia must pay reparations (as much as Ukraine asks). After that, there will be a peace treaty. It is this formula that the West (being "serious people") calls the only basis for negotiations. At least, those elites who in most Western countries have now "seized" power, and who do not have any historical memory, speak from precisely such positions.

Rare and sensible voices are drowning. Instead of negotiations on this completely unacceptable idiotic basis, they demand a strategic defeat for Russia "on the battlefield." They declare: only defeat, surrender (which by definition is impossible), or a solution to the problem "on the battlefield." There is no other choice. If they come to their senses and understand that it is stupid to support the Nazi regime led by drug addicts and spend such a huge amount of money, then, perhaps, we will be ready to listen to them.

An example discussed yesterday at the talks with the minister, and not so long ago in Johannesburg at the BRICS summit, is climate change. A global challenge that affects everyone. A lot of questions. How catastrophic is this really catastrophic, or is it a seasonal period that has happened in the past? There is the problem of the "green transition", which was forced several years ago, primarily by Europeans and Americans. They refused to invest in oil and gas. The Germans refused nuclear energy (this is a big stupidity). We invested and relied on wind, water, sun, and new renewable energy sources in every possible way. Then it so happened that they themselves reduced purchases of Russian gas and oil. The sun did not shine often, the tides were weak and the wind blew quietly. There were investments in this. Their advanced forms of oil and gas production have declined. Therefore, they have a crisis. When they are now trying to tell everyone that the war in Ukraine is the reason for this, this is a lie.

Returning to the climate. When we discuss the place of the Ukrainian issue in world affairs, Africans tell us that it is not proportional to Western propaganda and discussion. It does not reflect at all the attention that they are trying to pay to it and forcing everyone to talk about this topic, as well as the impact of this situation on solving global problems, incl. food. It also began immediately after the outbreak of coronavirus infection. Americans, Europeans and Japanese have printed trillions of paper money and frantically bought food around the world to stock up in case there is a serious problem with movement. They quickly created a deficit. Now, again, they believe that the cause of all the troubles with food is the war in Ukraine and Russia's refusal to extend the "Black Sea deal". Only three percent of what Ukraine sold during its implementation went to countries in need, which are on the list of the UN World Food Program, and another half to the EU. Now everyone is demanding that we allow them to export grain. And we don't forbid it. We will simply not allow them to pass through the humanitarian corridors that were opened and which, contrary to the requirements of the agreements concluded with the assistance of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, were used to attack and launch surface and underwater vehicles not only against our military vessels, but also against civilian ones. Moreover, they tried to attack the warships that patrolled the route of the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines. The supply of Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and other countries depends on them. They began to patrol this section of the Black Sea. There is information that they will also try to blow them up, just like Nord Stream. No one is formally conducting any investigation. It is only reported that supranational bodies are dealing with this issue. But there is no information. Here, too.

Again I return to the climate. If we compare the attention paid to Ukraine by the West, and how it treats its obligations to solve global problems that are really important for everyone, then here is an example. In 2015, there was another climate conference in Paris, where, among other things, the West (OECD countries) pledged to allocate one hundred billion dollars a year to developing countries to invest in the creation of green technologies and finance the "green transition". Instead of one hundred billion a year for all this time, only thirteen billion were allocated to all developing countries in total, and one hundred and seventy to Ukraine in a year and a half (half of them for the war and so that their country did not go bankrupt, there was some kind of budget to pay salaries). The injustice of this is obvious to all developing countries. Another thing is that the Americans and Europeans are blackmailing and threatening to stop loans from the World Bank if someone does not "obey" them in relation to Ukraine. It's not fair. You recalled the reasons that we have repeatedly stated. For many years, they warned that they pose a threat to our security not somewhere out there, but right on our borders, territories that were part of both the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire, which turned out to be on the "side of Ukraine", because it was one state. V.I. Lenin transferred Donbass to Ukraine, "married" with western Ukraine. Donbass will never celebrate the birthday of Sergei Bandera and Roman Shukhevych and other Nazi criminals. These birthdays are celebrated in Kyiv and Lviv, and in other parts of western Ukraine, where May 9 will never again be celebrated as Victory Day. And for Donbass and Crimea, this is sacred. Such a strange "animal" turned out. Yes, our leaders in the Soviet Union "experimented", thinking that by connecting the Russian regions with the western ones, where nationalists predominate, some kind of "mixture" could be obtained, which would not be as radical as Bandera, who, both before, during and after the war, committed a huge number of crimes against civilians, Poles, Jews, Russians and Ukrainians. This is absolutely destructive. He is visible to everyone. For many years, we have publicly discussed all this, proposed to conclude contracts. Back in 2009, it was proposed, then in 2021 in the OSCE, the West signed at the highest level that security is indivisible, no one should reinforce their security at the expense of the security of others. And that no country, group of countries, or organization can claim dominance in Europe. This was signed in 2010, and since then NATO has "diverged" even more. When we proposed that this political paper, signed by US President Barack Obama, be put into the language of a legal treaty, they said no. We pointed out to them that they had signed up. To this, they replied that this is a "political promise" (wow, a "promise" signed by the presidents), and legal guarantees can only be obtained from NATO. Speaking on February 24, 2022, President of Russia Vladimir Putin once again explained all this in detail and outlined our position. Our ambassadors have received this text. They were instructed to meet with the leadership of the States concerned, to transmit this information and to explain their position. That's what we've done. The West has also publicly condemned all this to the whole world. Decent people and, especially, the Democrats should have stopped there. Russia presented its arguments, the West its assessments. So let's consider everyone else to be adults and independent people who have every right to take their own.Decisions are based on assessments from both parties. They are not allowed to do this. They do not just explain their positions, but accompany them with demands, how and what to do or not to do.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the flagship of our cooperation plan, was mentioned. The Americans tried to "disrupt" it, because they banned the use of sixty-nine Russian ships for the delivery of equipment, which they included in their sanctions lists. That's all colonialism in its modern version. My Bangladeshi friends and I have found other vessels. They are now delivering equipment on schedule. The ceremony of delivery of the first batch of nuclear fuel is scheduled for October of this year. Everything is going according to plan there. These Russian ships carrying equipment were forbidden to enter the port of Chittagong. Although, as Mr. Honorary Consul recalled, Soviet sailors and experts were engaged in the demining of this port and the recovery of sunken ships. Many of them are still alive. You see, for sentimental people, this is also such a difficult moment. The port and the city are linked by friendship and our struggle against the colonialists and imperialists. Now the country that provided fraternal assistance cannot send its ships for civilian purposes, because the Americans imposed sanctions. This is not a democracy, but a real diktat.

Our American and European partners are repeating to the whole world (as, for example, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday) that China is not their adversary, but that it is a challenge to their influence and values. Can they name these values? If this is what we sometimes see at parades in European capitals, then if they want to "pull Orthodox, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus" to these values, then we do not need any of this. Let them "add" themselves, and leave us alone. They do all this aggressively. Westerners, when they talk about democracy, mean only one thing, that their system, power and organization of states is ideal, so everyone else should take an example. And Americans are in favor of their democracy spreading around the world. Whoever disagrees with them is an autocrat, an authoritarian ruler. Joe Biden began to convene a "summit for democracy". It would seem that what could be more democratic than the UN, where everyone is represented, where the Charter states that the UN is based on the sovereign equality of states. Name at least one act of the West after the creation of the UN, which would respect the sovereign equality of states - large and small (as it is written). There are none. All actions were committed solely for the purpose of obtaining one-sided benefits, just as in colonial times - to live at the expense of others. They discuss with their "democracy" the situation in Myanmar, in some other country, here in Africa or in Latin America, which they do not like very much. Like, they are for democracy to prevail there. In those years, when we were still talking to them, we edited documents and asked them: let's support the progress of all democracy and the rule of law. I proposed both domestically and internationally. They do not want any democracy and the rule of law in the international arena, because the rule of law in the international arena is the UN Charter, which I quote. We discussed this in Indonesia at the EAS summit and will continue the discussion today and tomorrow in India at the G20 summit. They say that Ukraine should be mentioned and it must be emphasized that the UN Charter and territorial integrity must be respected. It mentions the right of the nation to self-determination, which, among other things, was used by the Bangladeshis at one time. When all this was written down in the UN Charter along with other principles, there was a dispute between lawyers, which is more important: the right to self-determination or the territorial integrity of states. The dispute became the subject of negotiations, which culminated in the unanimous adoption of the UN General Assembly's declaration on the principles of relations between states. It says that with regard to this link of territorial integrity and self-determination, everyone is obliged to respect the territorial integrity of states whose governments recognize the right of peoples to self-determination and therefore represent the entire population living in a given territory.

If we assume this in the Ukrainian situation, then after the coup d'état of 2014, which was carried out by people who proclaimed their task to abolish the status of the Russian language in Ukraine, it was clear that they did not represent either Crimea or Donbass, where residents said that they did not want to deal with them. They created their own republics. A war was started against them. We helped stop this war in 2015, and persuaded them to sign the Minsk agreements, which confirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine, provided that these territories in Donbass are granted special status. The right to the Russian language is not so much, especially since respect for the rights of Russians and other national minorities is written into the Constitution of Ukraine (still written). They carry out their legislative exercises in absolute violation of the Constitution. At some point, they promised that they would have a local police, they would be consulted when prosecutors and judges were appointed to these regions. All this had to be coordinated in a dialogue between Kiev and these regions. The authorities in Kiev refused to comply with them. Thus, the Kiev regime refused to comply with the UN decision that territorial integrity is provided for those governments that recognize the right to self-determination. At first, the Donbass people had such a right to self-determination. After this coup d'état, they held a referendum. We persuaded them to moderate their right to self-determination and renounce independence, to agree to be part of Ukraine, but by and large to be allowed to speak their language. That was the only condition. Ukraine violated this decision. In the same way, no one can claim that the current Ukrainian regime represents all the people living in the territory that Ukraine wants to get back to itself within the borders since 1991.

You can talk a lot, but the topic of democracy in international relations is very uncomfortable for the West. They will supposedly tell you how they should "organize democracy" in their country. On the world stage, everyone is required to respect the "rules-based world order." Not a single list of "rules" has been published anywhere. There is a Russian proverb: "The law is like a drawbar: where you turn, there it goes." The referendum in Crimea was categorically rejected, although there were procedures, international representatives, parliamentarians, public figures from Western and other countries. None of the respectable analysts say that it was rigged or the results are shown dishonestly.

There was no referendum or fighting in Kosovo. Serbia did not attack the Albanians. A mediator worked, there was a calm situation, without violent actions. But suddenly they took it and said that we were tired of negotiations, we recognize independence. And they admitted. The Serbs went to the International Court of Justice in the hope of justice. The essence of his verdict was that international law allows for the unilateral declaration of independence of part of the territory of a state, even without the consent of the central authorities. This has been said as a generally applicable principle.

When there was decolonization, referendums were held in Africa. The Comoros voted for independence from France, and the French said that the island of Mayotte would not be given up. The British have not given up and will never give up the Chagos archipelago. British Foreign Secretary John Cleverly once talked about Ukraine and referendums in our new territories. He was asked whether a referendum would be held in the Malvinas. He said that they had already done so. Everyone there said that they were an overseas territory of the British Empire and the issue was closed. When it was held, no one told anyone. We just got together and decided. Every year, a UN General Assembly resolution calls on the UK and Argentina to resume negotiations. But this does not concern them.

Now there are coups in Niger, Gabon. How is the West reacting? First they condemned, then they called for a constitutional order, then they began to enter into negotiations in order to reach some compromises. But still they did not accept the coup.

What did Washington and Europe say after the coup in Kiev? The opposition signed an agreement with the then legitimate president, which was guaranteed by Germany, France and Poland. In the morning - a coup. We began to call these capitals with a request to calm down the putschists, to force them to fulfill what they guaranteed. Moreover, it was only necessary to wait five months and early elections would have been held. They said no. Like, sometimes democracy makes inexplicable zigzags.

Look at the interest in BRICS. Six new members at once. About twenty more, including Bangladesh, want to establish a special relationship. Bangladesh also applied to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for observer status. ASEAN and the SCO have their own relations. The EAEU has also established them. On the Eurasian continent, it is necessary to take advantage of the advantages given by nature, God, and history. We are interconnected. There is integration between various structures in the post-Soviet space, in Asia, within the framework of the SCO, ASEAN. It is a promising process. This will create and strengthen the material base for a multipolar world, so that Eurasia becomes one of the centers of the world order, which the West opposes by hook or by crook. Wants to maintain its advantages.

But the dollar is discredited, and so are the principles of free competition. Look at how they slow down the work of the World Trade Organization so as not to consider the fair treatment of China and other countries. The principles of the order that the West imposes on everyone have been compromised. About 70 percent of Russia's trade with China is in national currencies (ruble and yuan). With India, it is less, but the share is also growing. Both with Iran and with the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia receives yuan from China for oil. This is a blow to the dollar. The process will continue. The manipulation of paper dollars, on which the entire world economy rests, will end, and more reliable tools will appear to ensure the functioning of the financial and other systems. Then let's see how the well-being of the United States and Europe will be ensured, because the euro has about the same fate.

This is a long period, a whole era. As decolonization took more than one decade, so here you will have to "work". I hope that we will have a complete mutual understanding. The Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77, is also "straightening its shoulders". They have been in the "pen" for many years.

Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Professor of International Law at the University of Dhaka, former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh, Director of the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs:

I consider myself a "product" of the Soviet Union. I would like to ask you to convey to President of Russia Vladimir Putin the sincere wishes of me personally and all those present: we know that the Soviet Union gave humanity Victory Day, May 9. As students, we celebrated this holiday. We want Russia to give a second Victory Day - over neo-fascism.

Sergey Lavrov: I will definitely pass it on.

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