Lavrov's Post Russia-ASEAN Meeting Presser

With Russia's initiative of the Greater Eurasian Partnership Added

Yes, Lavrov is a very active man and generates lots of news through his activities. That’s why at times he appears to dominate articles. The questions at this presser probe deeply and Lavrov provides answers to match that reveal the overall nature of the confrontation between the growing Multipolar World and the Outlaw US Empire Bloc. Readers will learn a great deal. In one of his answers, Lavrov refers to the Greater Eurasian Partnership that some may have heard about but don’t know what it entails. I’ve translated that and will append it at the end of Lavrov’s presser transcript. From his answers, it appears the “Grain Deal” is dead in its current form, a development that was seen as obvious by many. The same is true of the JCPOA or Iran Nuclear Deal that was broken by Trump as now the Europeans have knuckled under yet again. In my article about China warning East Asia/ASEAN, I noted how the Philippines is being used as a Trojan Horse; here you’ll read Lavrov expanding on that issue without naming that particular Horse as there are others. You’ll note the many imbedded links within the transcript that will also provide further background and will exercise your translation software. And now, Mr. Lavrov:

Once again, we held an annual ministerial meeting between Russia and the ASEAN member states with the participation of the Secretary General of this organization. We reviewed the implementation of the long-term action plan until 2025, which was adopted at the Russia-ASEAN summit in 2021. We noted the successful holding of the meeting of ministers responsible for scientific and technological development in February of this year, as well as the first Russian-ASEAN consultation on digital cooperation in the history of Russia, which took place in June this year.

Particular attention was paid to education. A work plan for cooperation in this area in all educational areas, including specific specialties, has already been prepared and will come into force in the near future. Good experience has been accumulated here. This plan will be valid until 2026 inclusive.

We also talked about cooperation in combating new challenges and threats, such as terrorism, drug trafficking and other forms of organised crime. We reaffirmed our readiness to expand and deepen the training of personnel for the relevant agencies of the ASEAN countries at the courses of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service. This cooperation has a ten-year history and is highly appreciated by our partners.

Another topic is cooperation between ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Union. This year marks the 5th anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the operators of the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the field of economic cooperation. There are good prospects here. This was discussed during contacts between representatives of the EAEU and ASEAN member countries on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June this year. We are waiting for ASEAN representatives at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September this year. We have specific plans aimed at developing practical cooperation in various fields in the mutual interests of all participants.

Question: ASEAN is mentioned in Russia's updated foreign policy concept, including as a potential core for the Greater Eurasian Partnership, along with the SCO and the EAEU. How does the Session Ten assess such a broader integration contour? Did you discuss any other practical steps to bring ASEAN closer to the EAEU and the SCO today?

Sergey Lavrov: I have already said that a number of specific events and substantive consultations are underway on areas in which cooperation can be promoted for the benefit of the cause and for each other. The concept of the Greater Eurasian Partnership was formulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at one of the first Russia-ASEAN summits in 2016. I want to emphasize that our vision of the Greater Eurasian Partnership is not limited to individual structures, but is an invitation to cooperation for all organizations and countries located on our common vast Eurasian continent without exception.

The secretariats of all three structures (the SCO, ASEAN, and the EAEU) have established contacts enshrined in the relevant memorandums. They aim to ensure that each of these organizations takes into account the possibility of joining forces with their partners in their practical work. This reflects our desire to contribute to the formation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership not through artificially formulated schemes, but "coming from life", from practical projects implemented "on the ground" in the EAEU, the SCO and ASEAN. We have more and more areas of convergence of interests and plans, so I am optimistic about further development.

Question: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that there are allegedly some new proposals for a grain deal from Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which the Turkish side is currently studying. Is this really the case, and if so, what are these proposals?

Sergey Lavrov: I am not aware of any new proposals, but apparently they are talking about what Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been discussing for a long time. Namely, our common readiness to work independently of other agreements on preferential grain supplies, primarily to countries that are most in need of this product.

Turkey was interested in helping to process our grain and participating in a scheme that would allow it to help developing countries independently of anyone.

Q: This year's ASEAN slogan is "ASEAN matters. The epicenter of growth", but the organization has long been reproached for inefficiency and the fact that it is more about speeches than practical solutions. How do you assess the relevance of such a format as ASEAN, especially against the backdrop of the growing influence and productivity of BRICS? What makes ASEAN so unique that other formats do not provide?

Sergey Lavrov: ASEAN is criticized by those who want to replace it as the mechanism and the main actor in the security and cooperation architecture in the region. For many decades, ASEAN has developed in accordance with its principles, which consist, first of all, in the need to seek consensus, a balance of interests, which takes time. But on the other hand, the agreements that are reached by taking into account each other's interests, on the basis of mutual benefit, are much stronger than those that were imposed in a hurry in an effort to announce something louder on the eve of this or that electoral cycle in one of the states that makes such statements.

There is an expression: "ASEAN Way". This is a calm, thoughtful method, without a reflex response to today's topical issues, sometimes artificially inflated and thrown into the international agenda. This is what has always been valuable to ASEAN, and everyone has praised the experience and capabilities of this structure to gather around itself a variety of partners, including the West, the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, and Japan, and to reach agreements that are enshrined in declarations and documents on practical cooperation.

I cannot agree that ASEAN is an ineffective structure. If you pay attention to the documents that this organization accepts by dozens, you will see that this is a very rich program of specific projects in various areas of human daily activity and forward-looking development. The documents reflect the trends that are taking place in the field of science, technology, industry, climate protection, etc. The same kind of documents are adopted when ASEAN holds meetings with its partners within the framework of the East Asia Summits and within the framework of the ASEAN Regional Security Forum. These are also branched projects, which include, among other things, the fight against infectious diseases and the development of tourism (Russian initiatives within the framework of the East Asian summits). Issues of exchange of experience through volunteer movements, which are increasingly developing in the countries of this region, as well as in the Russian Federation. This also includes issues of combating the terrorist threat, ensuring the safety of navigation and much more.

Not everyone knows about these projects, because this is an everyday, practical, discreet work, which now, unfortunately, does not attract media attention. The media are "thrown" stories, such as the "threat" from Russia and China or the fact that in Ukraine "the battle for the freedoms of all mankind is being decided." Well, and much more - opportunistic, dictated, as we have already noted, by domestic political events in a particular country. Especially on the eve of the elections, when you need to score as many points as possible and show how capable you are, how quickly you can solve problems.

It is true that the ASEAN methods are now being seriously tested. As a result of the fact that the United States and its allies are trying in every possible way to replace the ASEAN-centric security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, which has been developing for decades and suited everyone until recently, with their "Indo-Pacific strategies" and the introduction of the NATO bloc into this region.

You may have noticed that at last year's summit in Madrid and at the current summit in Vilnius, NATO declared its global role. Jens Stoltenberg said the other day that security is not a regional, but a global task. There is already a thesis that security in the Euro-Atlantic and the "Indo-Pacific region", as they call it, is indivisible. It is planned to move part of NATO's military infrastructure there, including to those countries that were invited to the Vilnius summit. I am referring to Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea. Japan and Korea are already signaling that they are not averse to hosting American nuclear weapons or acquiring their own. This is a serious and dangerous trend. We talked about this with our colleagues in ASEAN. We also spoke with the Chinese representative, head of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Wang Yi, with whom we had a long meeting today.

In general, the slogans of the "Indo-Pacific strategies" simply remain calls for public consumption by those who are interested in "inflating" some pseudo-sensations. In fact, they are being implemented: the AUKUS bloc has been created, which consists of the United States, Great Britain, Australia and which involves the implementation of a project directly related to the deployment of the nuclear infrastructure of a nuclear state on the territory of a non-nuclear state. Associations are being created that are directly aimed at splitting ASEAN. For example, the QUAD (USA, Japan, Australia, India) is now actively promoting the idea of creating a new format - QUAD + ASEAN. In fact, these are the same participants who are part of the East Asian summits, but without Russia and China.

These are the consequences, what are the plans behind the slogan "Indo-Pacific strategies". The focus of these strategies against China and the Russian Federation is not hidden at all. That is why Mr. Wang Yi and I talked in some detail today about how we should build our line in this region. Our policy is based, as it should have been (as agreed), on the need to strengthen, not erode, the central role of ASEAN and the need for all other countries in the region and non-regional countries cooperating with ASEAN to respect the principles on which these relations were built. The West does not show such respect, as, strictly speaking, it does not respect the fundamental principle of the sovereign equality of states. Here, the West's disrespect for this is perhaps most pronounced.

Question: On Monday, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said that during the ongoing ASEAN ministerial meetings, the ASEAN member states will ask Russia and other nuclear powers to join the Treaty on a South-East Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. Have you received such treatment? Is Russia ready to accede to this treaty and under what conditions? What do you think about the fact that no discussions in this vein regarding AUKUS were planned?

Sergey Lavrov: This is an old topic. The contract was concluded a long time ago. This is not a question of Russia's accession to the Treaty, but of a protocol to it inviting the nuclear-weapon States to sign it and thereby provide assurances to the parties to the Treaty on a South-East Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone.

We are ready to put such a signature together with other countries that are permanent members of the UN Security Council, with one reservation. It literally reads as follows: we provide guarantees to all parties to the Treaty on a South-East Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, provided that all parties to this treaty comply with its requirements - not to have, not to develop, not to host any elements of nuclear weapons. This is an obvious thing. If one of the parties to the treaty suddenly violates its obligations, then the question of unconditional and unconditional guarantees takes on a slightly different meaning.

Moreover, the risks, as it turns out, exist. For example, Australia is a party to another nuclear-weapon-free zone treaty, the so-called Treaty of Rarotonga. Now, in violation of, as we believe, its obligations, Australia has agreed with the Americans and the British to deploy elements of infrastructure related to nuclear weapons on its territory. In such a situation, we cannot give guarantees to the country if one of the participants in the Southeast Asian zone follows the Australian path. Americans are not averse to "playing" the same "games" with individual ASEAN members. We have reason to believe that such plans are being hatched.

Question: At the NATO summit in Vilnius, Jens Stoltenberg officially stated that the alliance would work closely with partners from the EU and Asia against Russia and China. Is this goal-setting surprising or not? How, in principle, can you assess the results of the summit, given the rather vague wording regarding Ukraine?

Sergey Lavrov: I have known Jens Stoltenberg for a long time. The character is Nordic, he speaks bluntly, not in verse. This is not the first time such statements have been made.

I have already mentioned that the doctrinal documents of the United States and NATO state that Russia and China are threats and challenges. Now in Vilnius, he said that not just the plans of Russia and China, but relations between Russia and China are a threat to the North Atlantic Alliance. It turns out that we are not even supposed to have a relationship, according to their desire. This is a hopeless path that once again confirms the urgency of the task that we are now setting together with many partners to counter modern forms of colonialism, attempts at hegemony in world affairs and a direct violation of the above-mentioned principle of the UN Charter on the need to respect in practice, in fact, the sovereign equality of all states.

NATO members are clearly not ready for this. "Megalomania" is manifested in all the actions of the leadership of the Secretariat of the alliance and, by and large, the member countries. Everyone can see it. According to Freud, they sometimes come across the recognition that, as Josep Borrell recently said, Europe is a "blooming garden" and everything else is a "jungle" that needs to be treated accordingly. I see no prospects for such a policy. For some time, probably, they will resist objective trends in world development. Their line will not prevail historically. Although it may take some time.

Question: A clarification about Ukraine... Modest promises.

Sergey Lavrov: I will not say anything about Ukraine. We have already said so much on this topic. If any more or less understanding person who knows how to read gets acquainted with the text adopted in Vilnius on Ukraine, then he will understand everything.

Question: The Europeans, according to the Western press, are going to withdraw from the JCPOA. The parties accuse each other of violating the agreement. What is the threat?

Sergey Lavrov: As for the Joint Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear programme, approved by a UN Security Council resolution, this agreement was destroyed by the United States, which, contrary to all the requirements of the UN Charter, refused to comply with the consensus resolution approving the JCPOA. The Biden administration has stated that it is ready to restore this program and its participation in it. But instead of making concrete decisions on the full resumption of the resolution and the JCPOA itself, they began to "bargain", trying to "knock out" from the Iranian representatives what is not covered by the Plan, what they would like to receive from Tehran beyond this. The bargaining went on for a long time. To the credit of our Iranian colleagues, in August 2022, Iran was ready for the document that representatives of the EU, namely the European External Action Service, "put on the table" as subject to approval by all parties. The case was "delayed" by participants from France, Great Britain and Germany. It is difficult to judge the reasons why they acted this way. Perhaps they wanted to "knock out" something else. They saw that since Iran agrees, then, they say, let's press, delay. Now it is not very realistic to expect something, because in a year there will be elections in the United States. A new administration will come, and who knows whether it is Democratic or Republican. No one can give any guarantees that it will not repeat the "trick" of withdrawing from the agreements reached.

At the negotiations on the resumption of the JCPOA, when all the conditions were agreed, the Iranian side directly offered the Americans that the agreement remain "forever" for as long as it was concluded, and there were no attempts on anyone's part to terminate it prematurely, ahead of schedule. The United States categorically refused. They say that they have their own system, every four years the administration comes, for which no previous agreements are written.

I am not very optimistic about the resumption of the JCPOA. Another thing is that in parallel with this stalled, "withered" process, there are unofficial, direct, unadvertised contacts between the Iranians and the Americans to normalize their relations by unblocking the arrested Iranian reserves abroad in exchange for resolving issues about the fate of certain American citizens who ended up in Iran accused of offenses. We will only welcome if these relations are improved. Again, this has little to do with the JCPOA.

Question: It is known that after the Azov operatives were sent to Kiev, you had a telephone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister H. Fidan. How did he explain Ankara's actions?

Sergey Lavrov: They have made public comments on this. I am not in the habit of telling what my interlocutors tell me during diplomatic contacts. This is not in our traditions. This is rather something that our Western colleagues constantly "sin".

Question: As you know, the countries of this region were badly affected by cluster munitions. Russia helped demine, for example, Laos. Do you think such a regional experience could help the West realize the criminality of its intentions to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions?

Sergey Lavrov: I don't think anything at all can help the West to realise the criminality, or the counterproductiveness, or illegitimacy of what they sometimes do. The West will decide specific issues depending on political expediency at a given moment. These are the very "rules" on which he wants the world order to be based, and which change from case to case.

It is not only Laos that suffered from cluster munitions during the anti-colonial wars. Cambodia suffered no less. Demining is still ongoing. We are actively helping Laos. We train sappers regularly and in large numbers for them. Our technologies are actively used. I met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos Stephen Kommasit and discussed this issue with him. The Lao Foreign Ministry made a statement regarding the US decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, in which it warned against these risky steps.

End Transcript.

I refrained from bolding many points Lavrov made, particularly the one above about the West’s criminality. One of the descriptions of the Outlaw US Empire Bloc that’s become popular is that of a Mafiosi gang; why ought to be obvious. Both China and Russia have stated their intent to not merely control that gang but eventually eliminate it so humanity can evolve to a higher plane of existence. All the nations that have allied and are forming the Multipolar World also share that aim. The Greater Eurasian Partnership is one of the many multilateral tools recently created to attain that aim without the confrontation growing out of control and its document follows:

Russia's initiative of the Greater Eurasian Partnership

The Greater Eurasian Partnership (BEP) is a specific, practical initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, put forward in his address to the Federal Assembly in 2015 in order to form a broad integration contour on the Eurasian continent. At the heart of the envisaged collective efforts with interested partners is the desire to contribute to the construction of a fair polycentric world order, implying the development of equal, multi-speed and mutually beneficial economic cooperation on the entire spectrum of pressing problems. Progress in this direction will be carried out on a voluntary basis, be open and contribute to the tightest possible conjugation of all relevant structures, mechanisms and tools in this area.

General approaches to the principles of the functioning of the BEP are set out in the key strategic planning documents affecting the international activities of the Russian Federation.

These primarily include the 2021 National Security Strategy and the 2023 Foreign Policy Concept. It means that the BEP, the core of which can be made up of the EAEU, the SCO, ASEAN, also uses the capabilities of such complementary formats as the Chinese infrastructure initiative BRI, can create the necessary prerequisites for turning Eurasia into a "single continent-wide space of peace, stability, mutual trust, development and prosperity."

In the framework of the work of the BEP, special importance will be attached to due consideration of the peculiarities of the organization of production processes, technological structures and market conditions. At the same time, the key tasks are to strengthen regulatory and physical connectivity, simplify trade operations and investments, and eliminate unjustified barriers that impede the effective establishment of supply chains and economic ties.

From the point of view of the sectoral structure, the BEP could include the following components:

- Network of International Trade and Investment Agreements;

- Common transport space;

- Unified network of economic corridors and development zones;

- Digital measurement;

- Energy space;

- Financial dimension;

One of the key players in the field of the BEP will be the EAEU. Particular emphasis will be placed on the conclusion of multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements. Such work is already being actively carried out through the EAEU. There is an FTA with Serbia and Vietnam, the prospects for signing similar documents with Egypt, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, India, Iran are being considered (today there is an interim FTA Agreement with Iran).

The task of forming the Greater Eurasian Partnership is reflected in the Strategic Directions for the Development of Eurasian Economic Integration until 2025, approved at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC) on December 11, 2020.

In 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the SCO and ASEAN secretariats. The possibility of establishing mutually beneficial cooperation between the EAEU, ASEAN and the SCO was supported by the ASEAN countries at the Russia-ASEAN summit in May 2016 in Sochi. On the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN Summit in Singapore on November 14, 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) and ASEAN. The program of cooperation between the EAEU and ASEAN has been extended until 2025 During the Council of Heads of State of the SCO on November 10, 2020, it was decided to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the EEC. The corresponding memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in Dushanbe on September 16-17, 2021.

An intensive dialogue has been established with China since 2015. As part of the implementation of this agreement, in May 8, a non-preferential Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation was signed between the EAEU and its member states, on the one hand, and the PRC, on the other hand, which entered into force on October 2015, 2018.

In continuation of these efforts, in February 2023, a Plan (Roadmap) for the development of trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU and China was adopted. The document is aimed at enhancing trade and economic cooperation in the practical plane and consists of three sections: digitalization of transport corridors; establishment of dialogues on foreign trade policy issues; conducting a joint scientific study to study the effects of various scenarios for deepening trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU and the PRC.

The transport sector has always been a priority for the BEP. The transport system is the backbone of any economy for increasing foreign trade flows. Russia, which occupies 1/7 of the world's land area and is located along the entire Eurasian continent, is able to offer a wide range of competitive air, road, rail and sea routes by all modes of transport. Systematic work is underway to develop transport infrastructure in the East-West and North-South directions. The importance of developing these projects was especially emphasized by almost all the heads of the SEEC member states at the last meeting on May 25, 2023.

We are working closely with all constructive international partners to support the BEP initiative. In addition to China, such dynamic and attractive economies as Vietnam, India, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, etc., also declare a positive perception of the BEP in one form or another.

Within the framework of such significant international platforms as SPIEF and EEF, thematic sessions and round tables are regularly held, touching on various aspects of the construction of Greater Eurasia and the BEP.

At present, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is updating the concept of the BEP in an interdepartmental format, which will be supplemented with practical tools: an action plan at the level of economic authorities and sectoral applied projects.