Maria Zakharova Briefing: Selections

A Very Long Read

Sorry for not posting a selection from last week’s briefing. One item I was going to provide related to events in Moldova I’ll link to, “Why Are Gagauz People Against the EU?” I’ll also remind readers that the English version of Maria’s weekly briefings are usually provided in-full at the MFA’s English page, like this one from last week. I opined at several blogs that all the hullabaloo about French troops being sent East are likely related to developments in Moldova and Armenia rather than Ukraine. IMO, Maia Sandu has become a female Zelensky, and is of course being provided with many Benjamins and perhaps a property in Florida for her treason. But enough from me. There’ll be more Q&As in the selections. I haven’t provided a full Ukraine update for months as I usually prune it. Today, it’s in full, but it’s not about the combat on the front, that’s the MoD’s department. I’m certain most readers will be unaware of the related events. All bolded italics emphasis is mine:

On the Ukrainian crisis

The Kiev regime tried with all its might to disrupt the holding of the presidential elections in the border areas of our country. He paid special attention to his former regions - the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. How did they decide to support those who are still called "their citizens"? Of course, these are citizens of the Russian Federation, but the Kiev regime continues to insist that it still has some right to call them "its citizens." The so-called citizens of the Kiev regime (who, of course, are not) received first threats from those who "care" about them so much and want to bring them back "back", and then targeted bombing of civilian targets. Such is their "care". "Their" residents received open threats of physical violence. It came to the point of real terror.

On March 15 of this year, in the Kherson region, the Banderites attacked two polling stations in Kakhovka and the village of Brilyovka in the Oleshkinsky district, and planted an improvised explosive device near the third, in the city of Skadovsk. Maybe there is still someone on Bankova Street with brains not intoxicated by drugs? Do you really think that after you bomb and shoot people at polling stations with your own hands, you still have the right to claim something? The only way to respond to this is historical contempt for everything that is called the Kiev regime. Unfortunately, there were casualties. Two people were injured.

On March 16 of this year, in the Zaporozhye region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine dropped explosives from a drone five meters from the entrance to a polling station in the village of Blagoveshchenka. I have a question for those who commented on the Russian elections in Western countries. Are you sure you haven't forgotten to add anything to your "manuals"? For example, the condemnation of terrorist acts committed at polling stations by the Kiev regime? That's how it can be qualified. Do you know why you don't talk about it? I appeal to Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, and "collective Brussels." Because you are the spotters of the Kiev regime, those who give them the coordinates to strike at people who really, and not hypocritically, like you, want to live freely and participate in democratic procedures.

On March 17 of this year, a woman who was a member of the local election commission in Berdyansk was killed in the shelling of Ukrainian neo-Nazis. In the morning of the same day, they attacked two polling stations in the Molodezhny and Sovremennik Houses of Culture in the city of Enerhodar, a satellite city of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with the help of UAVs.

Where is the OSCE? I would like to ask all those who shouted "foaming at the mouth" about the need to observe the presidential elections in the Russian Federation in 2024. Is there not enough information for you to make a strong protest against everything that the Kiev regime is doing? What else is needed to draw such an inference from indisputable facts? I will say that you need to have courage and honesty in order to do this. Apparently, the specialized bodies that are supposed to make such statements have long since ceased to have either of them.

As a result, all Kiev's attempts to prevent the free expression of the will of the Russians failed. Turnout in the regions reunited with Russia was higher than the national average and amounted to more than 80%. People have demonstrated a resolute attitude and an unwavering desire to vote for the future of their Motherland, its prosperity and progressive development.

They did it under fire, realizing that they could die at the hands of the Kiev regime. They did it just as they did in 2014, when they went to the polls, the referendum, in order to choose real freedom. Where are all these numerous non-governmental organisations, special rapporteurs of special committees and tribunals who are so concerned about the situation around Ukraine? You see how the Kiev regime shoots people in hospitals, schools, and polling stations. And you are silent. This is a historic crime, not even a betrayal. You've betrayed the people you "care" about so much, you've betrayed them all these years, and now you're committing a real crime.

On March 12, Russian servicemen, together with the Russian Federal Security Service, prevented an attempt by militants to break through to a number of districts in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.

From March 12 to March 19 of this year, at least 98 people were injured in the Belgorod region alone, 16 of them died. Now there are about four dozen people in medical institutions, including children.

On the night of March 13-14 of this year, 60 UAV attacks were carried out in different regions of Russia.

On March 14 this year, in Kakhovka, Kherson region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled the building of the central hospital. On March 16 of this year, Bandera followers struck a local monument to the victims of fascism, near which a group of people had gathered. As a result, one woman was killed and four people were injured.

On March 15 of this year, three children, including a girl born in 2021, were killed by Ukronazi shelling in Donetsk.

On March 17 of this year, the Armed Forces of Ukraine opened fire on the territories of kindergartens in Brilyovka, Kherson region, and in Belgorod. A civilian in Belgorod died from a shrapnel strike.

We record each of these cases. The Investigative Committee of Russia and our law enforcement agencies are doing their job at lightning speed. Where are all the international institutions that have been repeating the words "Ukraine", "human rights" and "civil society" for so many years and each time turning away, saying that they do not know where the strikes on the civilian population came from? They have even stopped repeating the word "Bucha", because it is indecent to refer to something that did not exist, to distort the facts. Please, use the real facts. There are already enough of them.

On the basis of evidence collected by the Investigative Committee of Russia, the courts of the Russian Federation continue to sentence Ukrainian militants who have committed serious crimes against civilians.

In Donetsk, a court sentenced Azov militants who fired a mortar at residential buildings. They were sentenced to 26 to 27 years in prison.

None of the Ukrainian criminals will be able to escape punishment. They will be established and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

As for the Western curators of the Kiev regime. US Senator Larry Graham, one of the authors of the "war to the last Ukrainian" formula, who visited Kiev on March 18, called on the Zelensky regime to recruit young people under the age of 25 and speed up the adoption of a bill to toughen mobilisation. In his opinion, everyone should take up arms. "We need more people," he cynically remarked. At the same time, Graham demanded that Ukrainians go to fight "for themselves" and not think about whether the United States will continue to support Kiev or not. Apparently, this suggestion had an effect on Bankova Street. A member of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence of the Verkhovna Rada helpfully decided to speed up the passage of the mentioned project.

Where does U.S. Senator L. Graham need more people from Ukraine? On the battlefield? He is well aware of what fate awaits them in the very first days when they get there. So where are the more people? In the lists of the dead? Missing? There is no doubt that the people on Bankova Street are not able to perceive anything at all. And the others? Senator Graham will return to the United States. He has his own voters. Is it there that people can understand who they voted for? Only "non-humans" can come to a foreign country and force people, now even without promises, without "buying" a conscience, to certain death.

On March 19 of this year, the twentieth, regular meeting of the contact group on providing defense assistance to Ukraine in the Ramstein format was held. However, no gifts were made to Kiev for the anniversary. And this is not surprising. In Washington, they openly say that the recent $300 million emergency aid package for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. became the last one and there is no money for a new tranche. Kyiv's European allies are in a similar position.

At the same time, Ukraine remains a testing ground for the West to dispose of obsolete types of weapons. The National Interest frankly writes that the allies of the Zelensky regime do not see anything shameful in "smuggling" unnecessary "military junk and scrap metal" into a warring country under the guise of assistance, including those that have already been decommissioned, be it French AMC-10RC tanks manufactured in 2000, repaired British Challenger-2s or American Ml Abrams.

A few days ago, the New York Post reported that there is a high probability that military equipment supplied to the Zelensky regime will be sold on the black market. Everything that they are now writing about as a "discovery" was discussed with facts in our hands a year and a half or two years ago. We pointed out that the very first deliveries of American and Western equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine immediately began to appear on the black market. It was said that they appeared on the black markets of the EU, and then began to spread further into the Middle East and North Africa and further around the world. Apparently, the American media can only receive the data that goes into publication from the hands of their employers or "grant-allocators." When this data is open, obvious, and objective, they are not interested.

Now it turns out that due to the lack of normal reporting, the Pentagon has no way to determine how much ammunition ended up in Ukraine and does not know how it was used. Haven't we been talking about this for two years? There are questions about the supply of weapons worth $42 billion. Against this background, the question arises: for what purposes will the new tens of millions of dollars be spent, around the allocation of which the US Congress is boiling in such passions, if no one knows where the previous millions and billions went.

We have taken note of the statements made by South Korean Defence Minister S. Won-sik regarding the events in the city of Bucha, who doubted the Ukrainian version of events about the "Russian massacre," referring to the fact that this "has not yet been conclusively established as a clear fact." You see, even such rhetoric is already beginning to "break through". Not only is Bucha not referred to as a direct accusation of the Russian Federation, but now expressions that call into question the official Western version have gradually begun to be used.

These words only confirm what Russia has been saying for almost two years. They didn't want to hear it, but they had to. The "tragedy" in Bucha is a cynical provocation by the Kiev regime and its Western curators. The media outlets that disseminated all this must be held accountable.

They took exactly the same position on Syria, when they first disseminated footage of children allegedly killed by the Assad regime. Later, when these children began to "speak," it turned out that no one from Bashar al-Assad had laid a finger on them. At the same time, when children began to talk about the horrors they experienced throughout their lives from the forces of international extremism and terrorism, which were backed by Westerners, the Western media immediately lost all interest in this.

We will definitely publish a selection of materials (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) that were published in the Western media on the first day after the entire story, which is in fact the false story of Bucha, was presented as fact. We will mention the names of the media outlets, the dates when this was done, and the names of the journalists who were in the frame in the Western, primarily American, media at that time.

Spinning their fiction about the "atrocities of Russian soldiers" in this city, Bankova stubbornly passes over in silence what is really happening in their country every day. For example, in the local pre-trial detention center, which was popularly called "Guantanamo". At the same time, Russian servicemen who passed through these torture chambers and returned as part of the exchange testify to the inhumane conditions of detention and the most sophisticated methods of physical violence and mass beatings during interrogations. All this is hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations. But how can you hide it if it is already part of the information field? You can find people talking about it, ask a question, and send them letters. It's just that international organizations don't want to see this side of the situation. They don't want to look there, so they turn away. But there's nowhere else to turn your back.

In this context, the information provided by a Ukrainian prisoner of war from the 24th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, V. Buchok, is quite remarkable. A video recording of his confessions was published in the media, where he said that at special courses in Britain, they were taught not only how to handle weapons and combat tactics. We quote him as saying: "Psychologists worked on us so that we did not like Russian soldiers, or all Russians in general. So that we kill them and treat them cruelly if we take them prisoner."

Once again, we call on the relevant international organisations to start paying attention to the mass violations of international humanitarian law by the Kiev regime, including to get a real picture of what is happening in the Bucha pre-trial detention centre.

All this once again confirms the relevance of the tasks set by the Russian leadership as part of the special military operation.

NATO report 2023 and Jens Stoltenberg's remarks

On March 14, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg presented his annual report on the organisation's activities in 2023. It does not contain any novellas. Even this formalized document is imbued with the psychology of NATO's "golden" billion confronting the rest of the world. At the forefront is the containment of Russia and China. The Secretary General reports on the continued expansion of the bloc to the east due to Finland, which was admitted to the alliance in 2023, the intensification of interaction with partners in the Asia-Pacific region, assistance to Ukraine and another significant increase in defense spending.

The budget of this military bloc has been growing for the ninth year in a row. Last year, it amounted to about $1.1 trillion. What is this, if not the budget of wars and conflicts unleashed and fueled by NATO? Yes, we constantly hear statements that it is not the alliance that is waging a hybrid war, but the member countries in their national capacity. But it is an interesting coincidence that these states are fully complying with the doctrinal documents that NATO members have defined as programmatic documents within their structures in the context of their anti-Russian course.

The report notes with satisfaction that in 2023, 11 member countries reached the goal of defense spending in the alliance of 2% of GDP, and in 2024 their number will reach 18. Here it is – the famous "bloc" discipline, which makes it necessary to increase military spending, while the citizens of European countries are facing an unprecedented drop in living standards, colossal economic difficulties and the lack of prospects for future development rates corresponding to the declared ones.

As expected, much attention in the document is paid to the confrontation with our country and the bloc's support for the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev. According to the report, the alliance spent $117 million on non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine in 2023. The cost of deliveries of weapons and military equipment by NATO member countries has already exceeded $100 billion. It is noteworthy that $24 million was reallocated from NATO funds to support Ukraine from a trust fund for the Afghan National Army. Instead of directing funds to help the people of Afghanistan, destroyed by Washington and its allies, they again chose to invest them in war. The alliance continues to paradoxically assure that it does not seek confrontation with Russia and does not pose a threat to it, but at the same time it continues to send weapons, instructors and mercenaries to Ukraine, and is proud of strengthening its military capabilities along our borders from the Baltic to the Black Sea. In 2023, NATO and its Allies conducted 130 coalition and 1029 national military exercises. Not for a decade, but for 2023.

Such an urgent global problem as terrorism has faded into the background for the bloc. Indeed, how can Washington and its allies deal with what they themselves create? They supply Ukrainian militants with weapons to carry out terrorist strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Russia, train their Kiev wards in cyberattacks and hate Russians. It doesn't matter whether they take people hostage, whether they have the opportunity to deal with them extrajudicially or "from a distance". The main thing is to hate. NATO is handing over depleted uranium ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which causes irreparable damage to the environment for many years.

Now let's talk about the elections. We regard the NATO Secretary General's comments that "the elections in Russia were not free and fair" as an attempt to grossly interfere in the internal affairs of our country. It is strange to hear such statements from an official of an organization that, under the leadership of Washington, has a long history of coercive pressure and direct military aggression against independent states. However, one should not expect anything else from the majority of today's NATO "leaders". They do not notice and even justify the strikes of Ukrainian terrorists with Western weapons on peaceful Russian citizens and polling stations, but they are ready to judge the illegitimacy of elections in all parts of the world. They do not have such a right.

To reiterate, direct presidential elections are the choice of every citizen of the Russian Federation. People do not vote for an intermediary, but directly for the person they want to entrust with the governance of the country. They don't delegate it to someone who calls themselves a lobbyist, a spokesperson, or anything else, but directly elect the president. Do many of the major NATO countries that are trying to teach us have such a system and put it into practice? No. I don't even want to talk about Britain – there is an incomprehensible intersection of monarchy and democracy. Maybe there are direct elections of the head of state in Germany? Chancellors "sit" for four terms in a row (then one, then the other). And no one blames anyone for anything. It is unclear how coalitions are formed and what the will of citizens has to do with them. And it's also normal, they are developing democracy and moving on.

Let them do what they want. These are their people, their politicians, their systems. This has nothing to do with Russia. But don't you come to us either.

Anti-Russia statements and steps taken by the Icelandic authorities

We have taken note of the surge in anti-Russia rhetoric in Iceland's information space. One of the latest examples is the speech by Icelandic Foreign Minister Benediktsson. On March 7 of this year, at the University of Iceland, he manipulated historical facts and argued that before the "Russian invasion of Ukraine," Western countries allegedly misinterpreted the revanchist aspirations of the Russian leadership. Benediktsson cites his assessment of the current situation in our country, which, according to him, "suffers from numerous economic, social and democratic challenges." And when will the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland start lecturing about the United States? I would like to hear about the economic, social and democratic challenges in this country. When will he talk about Germany, France, Spain, Italy? Any NATO country can and should be the object of his research. Why do they start with us all the time?

Distorting history, which Benediktsson is doing, is a well-known technique used by unfriendly regimes and hostile states to whip up Russophobia, as well as to justify the exorbitant costs of supporting Ukraine and its militarisation, and justifying their own mistakes in the eyes of the local population.

It is indicative that on March 12 of this year, the Icelandic government unveiled a long-term plan to increase assistance to the Kiev regime, which includes financing the purchase of weapons and training militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Unfortunately, Benediktsson did not tell his students that the Ukrainian armed forces were bombing polling stations with the money of Icelandic taxpayers. Before that, hospitals, schools, and kindergartens had been bombed for many years. Where does this modesty come from? Why not tell us where this money goes? Show photos of children's cemeteries, Alley of Angels. To tell how many children have died now, about how children are trying to survive under the shelling of the armed forces of Ukraine. They're not interested. Only propaganda in the form of manuals is important, without which it is not possible to tell your own people in Iceland in your own words why they are collecting the latter for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Work is underway on an Icelandic-Ukrainian agreement on security cooperation. Iceland is among the countries whose mercenaries have arrived in Ukraine to participate in hostilities, and has recently been training Ukrainian sailors on its territory.

Ostensibly "peace-loving" Iceland is thus struggling to keep up with its senior allies in sponsoring the Ukrainian Nazis, even though it does not have its own army. I think that it is not so much this country that does not want to lag behind, but the aggressive Western community does not want to let it leave its ranks. A real mutual responsibility.

There is no doubt that Reykjavik's irresponsible actions and rhetoric are taken into account when assessing our relations with Iceland.

Additional IOC decisions on the admission of "neutral" athletes from Russia to participate in the Olympics

The decisions taken yesterday by the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee are in line with the measures and principles formulated in December last year and relate to the admission of "neutral" athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the Olympics.

Recall that then the International Olympic Committee refused to allow the Russian Olympic team, official representatives of Russia and the Russian Olympic Committee to the Olympic Games in Paris, banned the use of the national flag, anthem and any symbols associated with our country, and also excluded the participation of athletes representing sports societies of the Armed Forces or law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation. Only individual "neutral" athletes and their technical assistants were given the opportunity to participate.

The current decision of the IOC establishes a commission that will consider specific issues for the admission of athletes on the basis of the above principles. At the same time, admitted "neutral" athletes from Russia will not take part in the opening ceremony, and the medals won by them will not be taken into account in the overall medal standings. The Commission is empowered to initiate additional sanctions against "neutral" athletes who are found to have violated this status. Members of the commission will monitor the actions of the participants after the end of the Olympic Games.

It is clear that the IOC's decisions are illegitimate, unfair and unacceptable. We are outraged by the unprecedented discriminatory conditions imposed by the International Olympic Committee on Russian athletes competing in individual "neutral status" and who are actually forced to renounce any association with their homeland, citizenship, history, culture and people.

By such actions, the IOC, which is called upon to develop world sports, splits and politicizes the international sports movement, following the lead of a certain group of states, and in fact acts as an instrument of unfair competition.

Our country consistently advocates the development of international sports cooperation based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination and ensuring equal access to sports competitions for all without exception.

I will say more. The International Olympic Committee has become a place where neo-Nazism and racism flourish. This is the only way to qualify it. The segregation of people by nationality and ethnicity, exclusion from international sports events on the basis of citizenship is the best evidence of this.

IOC call on athletes and governments to withdraw from the World Friendship Games

Absolutely unacceptable and not just politicised, but on a par with decisions supported by racial discrimination, is the statement of the International Olympic Committee, which directly called on athletes and states to refuse to participate in the World Friendship Games, which will be held in Moscow and Yekaterinburg from September 15 to 29, 2024.

Such statements from the mouth of an organization that is supposed to defend the Olympic ideals are discouraging to those who do not know what motivates the leadership of this structure. These decisions demonstrate how far the IOC has departed from its stated principles for the sake of political expediency and has "slipped" into racism and neo-Nazism.

The purpose of the Games held by Russia is to guarantee free access for Russian and foreign athletes and sports organizations to participate in international sports competitions and to develop new formats of international sports cooperation. The World Friendship Games are not an alternative to the Paris Olympic Games. Accusations of our country of politicizing sports, exerting any pressure on athletes and governments in order to force them to participate in the Games are absolutely groundless. This is what disinformation and fakes are all about.

Russia is open to sports cooperation with all countries on the basis of equality and non-discrimination, in accordance with the spirit and principles of Olympism, which we unswervingly follow. We stand for fair and honest competitions.

In this regard, we would like to recall Principle 4 of the Olympic Charter, which states: "Sport is a human right. Everyone should be able to play sport without discrimination, in the spirit of Olympism, which implies mutual understanding in the spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." All those who are related to the IOC as functionaries and receive money for this are obliged to comply with the Charter, and not to come up with new rules that contradict it.

It is not we who are bypassing sports organisations, it is Western sports organisations, following in the wake of their governments, which are pursuing an unfriendly and confrontational line towards Russia, that refuse dialogue and cooperation with us.

The World Friendship Games are held by an international association. All WADA's anti-doping requirements will be met.

As for UN General Assembly Resolution 78/10 of November 21, 2023, "Building peace and a better world through sport and the Olympic ideal", mentioned in the IOC statement, it is true that, as we have already said, Russia was forced to abstain from adopting it, since the authors, in particular France, following their Russophobic course, enshrined in the document blatantly discriminatory language contrary to the conventional wisdom of sport as an effective tool for building cohesion, promoting universal values, overcoming racial and political barriers, and combating prejudice and prejudice. In spite of everything, we will continue to work at the UN and other international venues, in cooperation with all constructive-minded states, to condemn discrimination in sports and to encourage equal opportunities for all athletes to participate in sports.

The World Friendship Games, reflecting genuine Olympic ideals, will be the embodiment of friendship, openness, sports brotherhood, equality and justice. We are waiting for all athletes and sports organizations at this sports festival!

Summit for Democracy

We are told that there is only one country that has the right to everything, because it is a "democracy." Allegedly, it is she who distributes certificates on the degree of democracy and has been holding a "summit for democracy" or "summit of democracies" for the past couple of years.

In the capital of South Korea, Seoul, a three-day event organised by the Biden regime called the Summit for Democracy is coming to an end today. This is the third such "gathering" in the last two and a half years. And, apparently, the last one. After all, the Americans and those who believed their myths about democracy have nothing to boast about.

As was to be expected, the current attempt turned out to be an absolute failure for the United States, like all previous ones. Moreover, it seems that the organizers themselves predicted such a result and therefore tried, as they like to say in the West, to "manage expectations." What does this mean? Not to say what they want to do, but just to proceed from what happens, and adjust goals and goal-setting along the way.

It is no coincidence that the process of preparation for the "summit" took place in the mode of almost complete information silence. Given such secrecy and the expected embarrassment, it is even surprising that the South Koreans did not timely withdraw their consent to host such an inglorious event on their territory. I am sure that any more or less independent country would do so. Unfortunately, Seoul apparently did not dare to disobey the order of its overseas "superiors" and embarked on this adventure.

It is quite obvious to all sensible participants in the international community that under the guise of convening such internecine meetings there is a stubborn desire of the ruling strata of the United States to give a semblance of legitimacy to the odious practices of interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states – in line with the notorious "rules-based order" – this crude mechanism for "pushing" the selfish interests of the globalist circles of the United States and its satellites.

The claims of the U.S. authorities to be leaders in promoting democratic values on a global scale are groundless. They simply do not have such a right, either by the law of the current situation or in the historical context. Today we will talk about it.

The reputation of the United States in terms of democracy, freedoms, and compliance with its obligations (which is also part of democracy) is, diplomatically speaking, destroyed. We have repeatedly drawn attention to this: in particular, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on December 1, 2021 and a comment on March 28, 2023.

Since then, the situation has only deteriorated. One can only talk about some kind of authority of the caricature of the Biden regime in a satirical sense. In fact, this authority has long been overthrown by them. They have self-exposed. We did this by taking concrete steps. No "summits" or "gatherings" can fix this.

I will cite an example from a recent statement by President Vladimir Putin, who described the situation in the United States as if what we are witnessing there is not democracy, but simply a catastrophe, and the whole world is laughing at what is happening. Perhaps they need "summits" to laugh at themselves together. At the same time, it is obvious even to an inexperienced observer that it is Washington that is the main obstacle to the democratization of international relations. And at home, sovereign nations will somehow figure out on their own, without the annoying promptings of American and other "teachers of life", how to live and build relationships inside and outside their communities.

The flagship idea of "summits for democracy" put forward by Joe Biden in 2020 during the election campaign is now completely dead. All normal people are sure that it will be buried along with the entire pseudo-democratic administration that calls itself liberal. Therefore, I will not comment in detail and analyze the "quasi-summit for democracy". What they are doing is no longer grotesque, but sarcasm. I will dwell only on a couple of points.

We categorically reject the accusations made against Russia during this gathering of conducting any disinformation campaigns. Who is even accusing us of this? The United States, which together with the Kiev regime came up with the topic of "Bucha"? Publish the lists of those whom you believe died there at the hands of so-called Russian servicemen. In two years, was it possible to "get hold of" at least a list of victims? It's exactly the opposite. We are accused of disinformation by those who are engaged in it.

Likewise, we consider unacceptable any provocative statements that discredit the dignity of other countries. We are defending not only ourselves, but also the principle of the inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of other states and the inadmissibility of spreading disinformation about these countries.

We consider it absolutely unacceptable to defame and spread accusations against the PRC of malicious, as it was formulated, manipulation of information, which is a typical example of the West's actions in the spirit of bias and double standards. I can say the same about the inadmissibility of using the West's rhetoric against the DPRK. We believe that the impermissible attempts by the organizers of the "Summit for Democracy" to use it to exert pressure on Beijing, in particular, by inviting certain "representatives of Taiwan" to the event, deserve strong condemnation. Russia firmly adheres to our traditional concept in this regard. We support the actions of our Chinese friends to protect their state sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of it. No pseudo-quasi-summits for democracy held by Washington will be able to change this.

And one more remark about democracy. As I have already said, Russia does not consider it necessary, necessary or correct to assess and qualify in terms of the pros and cons, the possibility or impossibility of the existence of various world systems in this or that country. There are many different models of democracy in the world. Each state has the right to its own views and traditions. No matter how ugly democracy may be in the West, it is, in the end, a matter and a choice of the people who live there.

Our country and other sovereign nations cannot and will not tolerate attempts to impose on them a monochrome and dead-end Western model of democracy. We will put a tough block on any attempts to interfere in our internal affairs. This position is shared by the overwhelming majority of countries in the world. And the Americans themselves, for that matter, are the first to support us in this matter, because they themselves sacredly observe the principle of non-interference in their affairs. But these are Americans who live not by the "rules" but by the law, by their Constitution, who still have the courage to express their point of view within the framework of the law. Unfortunately, there are also those who are deprived of all this or have deprived themselves of it. People who have a point of view based on the rule of law and a sense of real freedom in the White House and the State Department are really few. For decades, they have been driven out of there, constantly motivated and segregated according to certain political principles, putting an end to professionalism.

American democracy and diplomacy have degenerated into such creepy, ugly events as "summits for democracy." It would be time for them to spend this money on correcting the mistakes in the United States that led to the destruction of democratic foundations, rather than gathering people who will observe from close range those who have caused irreparable damage to American democracy.

On the next "ghosts" of the British colonial past

On March 12-14 of this year, a series of articles appeared in the British press devoted to the fate of half a million Indians deported to the Caribbean to replace African slaves. In historiography, they are known as "coolies", although this concept is now shyly avoided by former Western European and, in particular, British exploiters, considering it offensive. Formally, they were hired workers, but in fact they were deceived into indentured servitude. Exposed to unbearable working conditions, they were restricted in their rights and were not much different from slaves. In the vast majority of cases (90%), contrary to the agreements, they never received payment for their work and were not able to return to their homeland at the end of the "contracts".

Today, this is called trafficking – the illegal transfer of persons who are held for the purpose of selling them into modern slavery. At the same time, it was within the framework of Western "rules". In his youth, M. Gandhi was engaged in protecting the interests of this category of Indians.

The initiator of the current campaign is Guyana, where more than 40% of the population are descendants of the same people who have been imported from India since 1838 and from China since 1853. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, President Mohammad Ali recalled the atrocities committed by the British exploiters and called for acknowledging their involvement in historical mistakes.

According to media reports, at the initiative of Guyana, it is planned to establish a special commission that will study the damage caused by the exploiters, determine its monetary equivalent and work out mechanisms for obtaining compensation. It is planned that this topic will be brought up for discussion by the regional association of Caribbean countries, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In 2014, the organization sent a proposal for compensation to the former colonial powers, the Regional Justice Plan. At the time, however, the "democratic" Western European capitals arrogantly ignored these calls.

London traditionally rejects the idea of compensation for the victims of colonialism. It tries to limit itself to half-measures. For example, the Church of England plans to expand a previously announced fund to help countries affected by slavery. It is proposed to do this through private and corporate donations. At the same time, the British monarchs, who are the nominal heads of the Church of England, although they condemn the shameful pages of their country's colonial past, never express regrets about the key role of the British royal family in the system of English slavery.

The British government also rejects the idea of paying compensation to the victims of colonialism. In 2015, when he was Prime Minister of Britain, the current Foreign Minister David Cameron, who has many slave owners among his ancestors, spoke about this. The current head of the British Cabinet of Ministers, R. Sunak, refused to apologize for London's role in the slave trade. On the other hand, in relation to Guyana and the Caribbean countries as a whole, it demonstrates neocolonial approaches by sending a patrol ship at the end of December 2023, allegedly under the pretext of protecting the country's sovereignty from neighboring Venezuela.

Time and again, London ignores the unflattering legacy of its colonial past. We call on the British authorities to stop using high-sounding rhetoric to cover up the crimes of that time. It is incumbent upon the British ruling class to take practical steps to compensate the descendants of the victims of the slave trade and finally apologize to the peoples of the world for the mistreatment. It's not an easy road, but London needs to do it. We understand that the search for the missing Princess of Wales Christine Middleton is on their agenda. When they find it, they will immediately start.

Question: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. How would you comment on his tour of the South Caucasus? Can this visit trigger a new round of escalation of tensions between Baku and Yerevan, especially against the backdrop of Nikol Pashinyan's statement yesterday about the threat of war with Azerbaijan?

Maria Zakharova: This is yet another manifestation of an attempt to draw the South Caucasian republics into the zone of Euro-Atlantic influence. They have been undertaken by NATO and its member states for a long time and systematically. The recent visit of a NATO official of this level confirms that the alliance's activity in this area has multiplied.

The bottom line is that there are fewer problems in the region, but who in the West can be satisfied with this? The Westerners are haunted by the very fact that these states are interacting with each other, which has already begun to build up in line with the approach to peace agreements. They are not satisfied with the very fact that these states are communicating with Russia on the basis of an equal, mutually respectful dialogue aimed at peace in the region.

Hence the incessant attempts by NATO and the European Union, which has joined it, to stimulate the rupture of relations between the states of the region and with Moscow, and to aggravate the situation along the perimeter of our southern borders. The Westerners' maximum program is to open a "second front" in Transcaucasia against our country and "burn" the region again. The agreements reached with the mediation of Russia worked like a red rag for the West, because it was the road to real peace, based on mutual respect and mutual consideration of interests.

Recall that at the last NATO summit in July 2023 in Vilnius, the formula adopted in 2008 that Georgia would become a member of the alliance was reaffirmed. Coalition standards are being actively imposed on Tbilisi in order to establish control over the defense and security sectors of this former Soviet republic. Recently, Western emissaries in the Armenian direction have become noticeably more active: in particular, they are pushing the "Armenia-NATO Individually Adapted Partnership" program. Their efforts are aimed at discrediting Yerevan's ties with Moscow, and ideally at curtailing them completely. Westerners do not hide this. They are also trying to drive a wedge into our partnership with Baku. The West has a whole "front" of goals and objectives.

It is obvious that NATO is not interested in stability and security in the South Caucasus. What Washington and its satellites have really excelled at is in instilling an anti-Russian narrative in the countries of the region, bringing chaos and tension. This is what they know how to do and love to do. The bloc's interference in regional affairs will only destabilize an already difficult situation. The efforts of such "helpers" are unlikely to meet the interests of the peoples living in the South Caucasus.

Question: How would you comment on the harsh statements made by EU politicians regarding the legitimacy and transparency of elections in Russia? The EU expressed dissatisfaction with the elections held in Russia. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the elections allegedly took place in a "limited" political environment.

Maria Zakharova: We have already commented on this situation. There is a wonderful phrase: "Whoever calls you what you call is called that." Josep Borrell himself is probably limited. And I say this on the basis of its limitation to the framework of a "blooming garden".

The three-day voting, during which citizens elected the President of the Russian Federation, was held in full compliance with our legislation and standards developed by international experience. Although this standardization does not exist even in international organizations that have endowed themselves with the functions of global observation of all elections, in particular, the OSCE/ODIHR. But they never came up with standards. Compliance with Russian legislation is fundamentally important for us, but at the same time, international experience is also taken into account. Everything was in full accordance with both the first and the second.

Foreign representatives were present at the polling stations as observers. You could see it with your own eyes. CEC Chair Elvira Pamfilova spoke live and commented on all issues not only these days, but also long before the elections. I would like to remind you that the legitimacy of elections is determined by the will of the voter. The turnout was record-breaking, all the figures were announced by the Central Election Commission.

As for the final summing up. It will take place on March 21 of this year and will be done by CEC Chairperson Elvira Pamfilova. Anyone in the West who has expressed any doubts can watch it live. I don't know what the Westerners "put" as the main complaint. They saw queues at polling stations, people, could talk to them themselves or through the media.

At the same time, the ambassadors of the countries of the "collective West" cannot come to the Russian Foreign Ministry, not because we are "pushing" them away from this interaction, but because they are being shouted at and urged by Brussels not to go. And after that, we are told about unfreedom, opacity, and inadequacy? They have even taken their own diplomats out of the zone of legality and professionalism, which puts an end to any of their comments about someone's compliance or non-compliance with something.

Regarding the statements made by EU representatives on the elections. I think this is precisely because of the inability to exercise one's sovereignty. On March 18 of this year, when many polling stations had not yet closed, and Europe and "collective" Brussels had already begun to say something about the fact that they did not like our elections.

We followed the statements of the European Union, which were read out in the same way, according to the manual, with the same words. Then the United States got involved in the process and focused on what we were talking about – reality. They said that this is a reality and that Vladimir Putin is the President-elect of the Russian Federation.

Thus, we are talking about the fact that the European Union is being used as an American "useful idiot" in fomenting and implementing a Russophobic course. People like Josep Borrell and Ursula von der Leyen regularly act in this capacity. Which of the peoples of the European Union has delegated such powers to them? No one. It is not known where they have the right to speak on behalf of all EU countries in such a tone. But they do, and they are obviously affiliated with Washington. Today I spoke about Ursula von der Leyen's ties with US pharmaceutical companies. Impressive figures were announced. It is clear who is behind what.

Unfortunately, this is yet another manifestation of how, under Washington's pressure, the EU has lost its independence, role and significance in international affairs, as well as its sensible perception of reality.

It can also be explained by the banal envy that all their efforts have gone to waste. Russia's economic indicators are stable, while their indicators have "sagged" due to Western actions against Russia. No one knows how to get out of the crises in the economies of Western Europe, which are turning into stagnation and recession.

Perhaps it is also impotent anger that they have lost ties with Russia, which provided them with well-being, well-being, and prospects for development. Among other things, they are driven by the desire to find someone to blame for their troubles. They are not able to admit their mental defeat, they need to find out who is to blame for the fact that they have not thought it through, that they have harmed themselves, that they have gone down the wrong path. They endlessly search for the culprits. But they just need to buy a mirror. Then many things will become easier.

Question: On March 18, President of Moldova Maia Sandu said that "there can be no talk of free and fair elections" in Russia, because opponents are allegedly "excluded from the race," because of repression, "people are afraid to speak," and "there is nothing left of a free press." Could you comment on this?

Maria Zakharova: As an example, I would like to cite an unprecedented case of "retreat" from democracy in the course of electoral procedures. This is an outrageous case. Less than two days before the general local elections, the Moldovan authorities urgently redrew the electoral legislation in order to remove "inconvenient competitors" from the "run". As a result, more than 100 opposition candidates were left out of the election race. Is this how free and fair elections work? Can we talk about free and fair elections, as Maia Sandu says, when opponents are excluded from the race, repressions are carried out, people are afraid to speak, and there is nothing left of a free press? All of the above is proof of her words. With only one exception. It's not about Russia, it's about Moldova.

Four or five months ago, it was in Moldova that candidates were withdrawn from the elections, repressions, intimidation of people, distortion of democratic procedures and a retreat from free and fair elections took place under the leadership of Maria Sandu. That's what she said to herself. The President of Moldova said exactly what is happening under her leadership in that country. I can't call Moldova her country. After all, Maia Sandu also has a Romanian passport. The President of Moldova is working towards the "Romanization" of the entire society and statehood.

As for the "repressions". It is well known that the Moldovan opposition is under severe pressure from the country's law enforcement agencies. On January 26 of this year, the Intelligence and Security Service of Moldova approved a list of 530 individuals and legal entities in respect of which government agencies and financial institutions are instructed to apply additional monitoring and restrictive measures. Prominent members of the opposition were among the "unreliable". What other questions might there be? This is what Maia Sandu said to herself when she mentioned "repressions".

There are speculations about the possibility of prosecuting Moldovan politicians who visited Russia for "anti-state actions." This is repression. It is indicative that after the visit to Russia, the Governor of Gagauzia, E.A. Hutsul, was labeled a "conductor of the Kremlin's interests", and a number of Moldovan delegates to the World Youth Festival in Sochi were subjected to the humiliating procedure of an eight-hour "interrogation" upon their return to Chisinau.

Finally, about the "free press". In Moldova, a total purge of the information space from independent, primarily Russian-language media has been carried out. Despite the lifting of the state of emergency at the end of 2023, the authorities are in no hurry to lift the ban on Russian-language TV channels, whose licenses were revoked in 2022-2023. A separate state body, the Center for Strategic Communication and Combating Disinformation, was created to control the media. To be clear, strategic communication in the West refers to what used to be called propaganda.

Question: On March 19, the Moldovan side declared an employee of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau persona non grata for voting in the presidential elections in Transnistria. Could you comment on this?

Maria Zakharova: This decision by Chisinau is part of an anti-Russia campaign aimed at the complete destruction of Russian-Moldovan relations. We consider this step as settling scores for the fact that Russian citizens living in Pridnestrovie were given the opportunity to express their will in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation.

About 250,000 Russian citizens live in Moldova, of which about 220,000 live on the left bank of the Dniester. On March 17 of this year, more than 46,000 people cast their votes on the left bank. If polling stations had not been opened there, our fellow citizens would have been deprived of the opportunity to exercise one of the fundamental human rights within the framework of democracy – the right to vote. Perhaps, from the point of view of Maia Sandu, this is compatible with the "rules-based order", but it has nothing to do with democracy. Of course, the actions of Chisinau will not go unanswered by the Russian side.

Q: At present, the finalization of legislation in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR of the People's Republic of China is "nearing completion". At the same time, the relevant agencies and individual members of the U.S. Congress discredit the legislation of the UAR, defame human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong, demand the adoption of draft laws on sanctions related to Hong Kong, and interfere in the affairs of the UAR. How would you comment on the US actions?

Maria Zakharova: I would like to draw your attention to the material published on our website on March 12.

To reiterate, such actions by the United States and its satellites are yet another example of gross interference in China's internal affairs and a manifestation of a policy of double standards or the destruction of any standards, when the desire declared by some Western leaders to develop respectful and equal relations with Beijing actually turns into hypocritical and unfounded criticism of the legislative initiatives of China's regional authorities and is being implemented in a number of other areas.

Obviously, it has become routine for Washington and its allies to poke their noses into China's internal affairs, including Hong Kong SAR, instead of concentrating on solving their growing domestic problems, including in the legislative sphere.

It seems to me that the US central authorities in Washington, the federal authorities, should "bleed their hearts" over the situation in Texas and a number of other major state cities, because the situation there is really deteriorating. These are abandoned, dying cities, populated by areas of people without a special place of residence, drug addicts, ghettos that form themselves, this is an imbalance in the development of the states, their inharmonious coexistence within the United States of America.

America has problems not only in the field of democracy, freedom, human rights, the economy and culture, but also problems with the state structure. They have a lot to do. It is not at all clear why they are dealing with issues related to China's internal life. Who gave them this right? The main question is, who gave them the right to interfere in the affairs of sovereign states? Moreover, they [other states] are sovereign in terms of the totality of their activities: they are not only self-sufficient, but also ensure the world with the result of their work, help in crisis situations, come to the aid of countries, peoples and continents when they need it, or offer it individually on their own initiative. It is impossible to understand why, despite this responsible attitude to their international role, a number of states become the object of interference by the United States, except to explain this by hegemony, which endlessly causes an itch in Washington.

Q: Next week, the Boao Forum for Asia will be held in China. Its motto is "Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared Responsibility". What would you say is the biggest challenge for Asia and the world this year? And what is the relevance of this Forum?

Maria Zakharova: This is a continuation of the answer to your previous question. All the challenges are related to the irresponsible, destructive and aggressive actions of the United States of America.

Attempts by the United States and its allies to spread a bloc, aggressive ideology in the spirit of the Cold War to this region, to build dividing lines, and to create conditions for the consolidation of NATO's presence there.

This is manifested, in particular, in the economic sphere. Unilateral sanctions, bans, and stop lists are being introduced more and more often, protectionism is intensifying, and the process of reformatting supply chains in the "friendly only" mode has been launched. Closed partnerships are formed, in which political considerations prevail over economics. Accordingly, it is "killed".

Such logic directly contradicts Asia's traditional agenda of trade liberalization, openness, and inclusiveness. It is no coincidence that there is such a demand for formats interested in a non-politicized dialogue on political and socio-economic issues. Among them are the Boao Forum for Asia or the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

For the Russian side, such forums provide an opportunity to discuss with constructive-minded representatives of governmental, business and expert circles in the Asia-Pacific region the current state of affairs in the Russian economy, the formation of new supply chains with our participation, and the development of trade and economic ties with leading Asian partners, including China. To share with colleagues information on strengthening integration within the EAEU, including the Union's cooperation both with individual Asian countries and in the context of the Russian idea of forming a Greater Eurasian Partnership.

This meeting of the Forum will be attended by a large delegation from Russia, which will include representatives of both the Government and the academic community.

We wish our Chinese friends success in holding the Boao Forum for Asia.

Question: Has Moscow received Yerevan's proposals to regulate the broadcasting of Russian TV channels? The transfer of the relevant document was announced by the Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic Mkhitar Hayrapetyan. If so, what are these proposals? At what stage is it possible to shut down Russian TV channels in Armenia?

Maria Zakharova: We are in contact with the Armenian side on this issue. We have consultations. The exchange of views is ongoing. We have received the best practices from Yerevan. They conveyed their thoughts. We are in close contact.

Our joint task, and this is in the interest of both sides, our peoples, is to resolve all existing problematic issues and resolve those that arise in such a mutually respectful manner. We proceed from the premise that this is what the representatives participating in such contacts should aim at. For our part, we follow this approach.

Question: Is there any threat of shutting down our television?

Maria Zakharova: I said that we are doing to prevent this from happening, even hypothetically.

We all remember very well the slogans under which the representatives of the current official government in Armenia "came" – maximum openness, total freedom, transparency. They owe their political popularity to their absolute openness. Surprisingly, at that time the current authorities criticized the previous ones for some kind of "incomplete compliance with the highest requirements of freedom of speech." I do not presume to discuss this, but I remember that this was made as the main complaint. I don't even want to think that any of the representatives of the current official Yerevan can follow in the footsteps of those who were criticized, or even go further, to switch off the channels that are so popular in their country. In my opinion, the basis of freedom of speech is a combination of media accessibility, openness and respect for the rule of law. It is in this synergy that we need to find the appropriate harmony. I can't imagine that people who have come under the banner of the movement towards even greater democracy would overstep their own principles and start turning off television channels or engaging in censorship.

Question: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a meeting with residents of Tavush Region that if Yerevan does not compromise with Baku on the issue of border villages, a war could break out at the end of the week. At the same time, it is Baku that is the initiator of the signing of the peace treaty and does not voice any military plans. What or who, in your opinion, is behind such statements of the Armenian leader?

Maria Zakharova: I have already commented on this immediately after the appearance of such reports. We double-checked them. They turned out to be consistent with what was voiced. Maybe it was all fakes, fake news. No, everything that has passed through the news corresponds to what has been said.

We immediately commented on this. I can only add that it is unlikely that intimidating one's own population is the best way to achieve a result that suits Armenia. These issues need to be addressed in a calm and constructive manner. There is a mechanism for this – the Commission on the Delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Border. In view of our extensive experience in demarcation and delimitation, we stand ready to assist in all possible ways in its work. We have such a role.

Now let's talk about what role we definitely don't have. We are in no way connected (I would like to emphasise that no one in our country, not a single structure, no one has anything to do with) with the decisions that were voiced by the leadership of Yerevan as possible. I would like to ask everyone, both the media and the people of Armenia, to understand and remember that what was said by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan should in no way be associated with our country. We have not been consulted in this regard. There was no contact. This is exclusively what the Armenian leadership has decided on the basis of consultations with the West – the European Union, NATO, individual countries – this is their area of responsibility. It is better to ask Yerevan directly what agreements there were, what decisions they made, in what form they "pushed". Taking into account what we hear endlessly after the fact after the Armenian leadership takes and takes some steps regarding global decisions. Then third countries are blamed for them. We get hit all the time. Then there was the CSTO. I would like all the steps taken under the influence of our Western partners or together with them to be held directly responsible by those who voice them in Yerevan.

This has nothing to do with Russia. We are constantly trying to convey in the public sphere and through bilateral channels the unacceptability, the endless linkage and the search for those responsible for individual decisions made in Yerevan. In this case, we are proactive. We are doing this so that they will not later say that this is all again because of someone in the CSTO or in Moscow. No, this is something that we do not have and had nothing to do with.

Question: Recently, we have seen positive dynamics in the negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. But sometimes we notice how Armenia's international partners somehow interfere with the negotiations, pushing Yerevan to provocations, or make such provocative statements themselves. In this regard, Baku insists on bilateral negotiations, considering it the most effective way to achieve peace. How does Russia assess Azerbaijan's steps towards establishing stability and peace in the region?

Maria Zakharova: Positive dynamics in the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia was observed when the trilateral agreements (1,2,3,4) were actively implemented at the highest level, regular contacts were held in the Russia-Azerbaijan-Armenia format with the mediation of our country. That's not to say there aren't other theoretical possibilities. Surely they can. Let's talk about when this dynamic took place. There are facts. It was related to the implementation of trilateral agreements and the formats that stemmed from them or were created for their implementation. There are concrete examples of this.

Then the Westerners, who wanted to intercept the agenda, began to "infiltrate" the situation in the region. They were haunted by the fact that the situation was entering a peaceful direction, there was an international legal dimension, the countries were negotiating without any aggression or anger, despite the difficult past, but looking to the future and having a clear plan on how to get into this peaceful future. It was really a "subpoena hijacking". It was the Westerners who imposed their "formula" on Karabakh on Armenia, forgetting about the need to respect the rights and security of the local Armenian population. What was the result? You understand perfectly. We hear this from the local population of Karabakh as well. This has led to the creation of an additional problem in the region. Today, Western regimes are forcing Yerevan to make unilateral decisions on disputed territorial issues on the border of the two countries.

We see how Western countries are pitting Yerevan against each other in order to destroy the positive trends you are asking about, both in contacts with Baku and in relations with Moscow. Although we have had and still have relations with Yerevan. I am sincerely convinced that they will continue to develop in the direction of alliance.

We see how the Westerners are trying to infiltrate the situation in this region in order to pursue exclusively their own interests. What is behind their interests? The ideology of endless "controlled chaos". Another thing is that they have already forgotten how to manage "chaos". But the ideology remained. The EU mission is spying on our country, Iran and Azerbaijan from the territory of Armenia. This has factual evidence. Such destructive activity leads to growing tension in the region, and may even lead to irreversible consequences. This is understood by everyone who has access to sources of information, who can analyze.

We have repeatedly reiterated that all the recipes for normalizing relations between Baku and Yerevan, including those related to the peace treaty, border delimitation, and the unblocking of transport communications, are spelled out in the set of trilateral agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia (1,2,3,4). They should be followed because they were first drafted, then signed and reaffirmed many times on the basis of free will, equal participation in the preparation of these documents and respect for those with whom these agreements were drawn up. This has been repeatedly voiced by all parties.

What is unique about these trilateral agreements? In the fact that they are comprehensive and include comprehensive and compromise solutions that take into account the interests of all countries. A lot of hard work has been done. From the point of view of the West, its results should be destroyed only because they have their own view of the future of the region.

Question: Earlier, you agreed with us that the Anaconda Ring plan is underway, which implies the creation of military infrastructure around Russia. Recently, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, I. Garibashvili, said that "Georgia still faces the risk of being drawn into a military conflict and opening a 'second front' against Russia." What is the Foreign Ministry's assessment of this statement and is any work being done to prevent Georgia from creating a second front?

Maria Zakharova: We regularly comment on this issue and constantly dwell on this topic. We talked a lot about this topic during the briefing on how the Westerners are interfering in the affairs of the South Caucasus and the region as a whole.

As we understand it, the chairman of the ruling party of Georgia, in fact, confirmed the well-known fact that the Westerners and the Kiev regime continue to provoke Tbilisi. This suggests that they are not abandoning their plans to destabilize the entire post-Soviet space, including the South Caucasus.

There is a whole range of measures here, but first of all, these are measures taken by the post-Soviet countries themselves to protect their sovereignty. How is it done? This is the correspondence of national interests to the proposals that come from the West. That's the score. No one is saying that it is necessary to block the development of relations. The only question is how effective and constructive these proposals are from the point of view of states realizing their national interests. Or is it about the subordination of the will to those who do not consider countries and peoples from the point of view of equality and equality, but endlessly use the ideology of monopolies and colonies, the colonial view of things?

As for security issues in the Georgia-Abkhazia-South Ossetia triangle. They are being discussed within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions with the participation of official representatives of Abkhazia, Georgia, South Ossetia, Russia and the United States under the co-chairmanship of the European Union, the UN and the OSCE. A natural question arises as to how the Westerners' plans to "kindle fires" in the region relate to their participation in the Geneva discussions.

Question: We have noticed that Russia is part of a multipolar movement, which is also beneficial to Africa, but at the same time, on the other hand, the Western bloc hopes to constantly impose a unipolar world. How does Russia intend to reverse this trend and support Africa on its path to true independence?

Maria Zakharova: Russia and Africa are taking an increasingly active part in shaping a multipolar world, and they are doing so very responsibly. They participate in international organizations, becoming co-authors of the most important documents of the UN General Assembly and its Security Council. There are our associations that have become the harbingers of multipolarity, such as BRICS. It was created with the active participation of Russia. Then South Africa subsequently joined.

We are actively working with regional African associations on a number of global and regional issues. You are right, the West is trying to hinder the process of multipolarity. This offends the interests of the West, based on its attitude towards the world in terms of the ongoing colonialism that has entered a new stage. If earlier it was the formation of the world on the principle of metropolis and colony, today it is the management of countries on the principle of neocolonialism through transnational companies, discriminatory ways of conducting trade, the exclusion of countries from scientific and technological progress and its results, the poaching of personnel, the pumping of resources that continue to be stolen from the African continent. As a matter of fact, Africa is not the only one who suffers from this. Yes, Africa is bigger than any other. But the situation is the same with Asia. Similar processes are taking place with Europe now, and similar processes are taking place with Latin America.

The West will interfere with this. The process of reformatting politics, the economy, the social, cultural and value spheres of human life will indeed be subjected to their pressure. But we are the majority of the world. It seems to me that it is in our power to reverse this trend. How? As I have already said, cooperation in international organisations, the search for common ways to resolve global issues, the development of regional organisations, economic cooperation, humanitarian ties, information interaction, and the Russian-African strategic partnership, which was outlined as a joint goal in the final decisions of the St Petersburg summit, are designed to give this process even greater stability and accelerate the changes that are ripe in international relations.

Question: When the results of the presidential election are summed up, traditionally the first statements of the newly elected head of state are always given special attention. On the night of March 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his election campaign that "the coincidence of interests between Russia and China is a stabilising factor in the international arena." Does this mean that now, in a period of fundamental changes in the world, the formation of new global ideas, values and meanings will largely be determined by the interaction between Moscow and Beijing?

Maria Zakharova: Much is already determined by the interaction between Moscow and Beijing. Russian-Chinese relations are developing dynamically in all areas. This is an example of equal, mutually beneficial cooperation and support on issues affecting key national interests. We are responsible participants in international relations. The largest countries in terms of geographical, geopolitical, international legal significance, economy, science and technology. We have repeated this repeatedly. This level of our relations is the result of long-term planning, as well as a lot of well-coordinated work between governments, business and the public.

Based on a similar understanding of the underlying causes and patterns of the current geopolitical situation in the world, Russia and China jointly continue to closely coordinate their foreign policy steps in the interests of building a more just and democratic multipolar world order based on equality, respect for the interests of all states, cultural and civilizational diversity, and a balanced balance of interests among members of the international community.

At a time when Western countries are purposefully destroying the system of financial, trade and economic ties, our joint initiatives, which are inclusive and creative, are gaining new prospects. Moscow and Beijing are naturally the driving forces behind these global ideas and values.

This is finding more and more sympathy and support from the world majority, which was clearly demonstrated, in particular, by the recent decision to admit new members to BRICS. We will continue to expand the club of our friends and like-minded people, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in the UN, the G20, the SCO, APEC and other multilateral associations.

Question: Do you think the protest vote abroad can be considered a victory for the West or, on the contrary, is it our victory, because it only proves that Russian citizens have real freedom of expression?

Maria Zakharova: There are many aspects to this. Every political scientist, expert, person dealing with jurisprudence or social issues will find in the elections, as in any election, at different levels, from municipal to presidential, something that is important directly to their social group or within the framework of their activities.

One social group will say that this is "their victory" because such principles were reflected, for example, in the course of voting, or in connection with the fact that this or that candidate who "covered" their topic won. Others will say that it is a victory because new technologies have been used. Some groups will say that this or that election was a departure from their idea of "beauty." Everyone will have different grades.

The most important thing is that our country, in accordance with Russian laws, held direct elections for the head of state in the context of the most brutal aggression unleashed by the "collective West", taking into account the Russophobic policy pursued by NATO for many years in order to inflict a "strategic defeat" on us (as they say). One of the goals and objectives of this "blow," which should be delivered by the West and lead to the "strategic defeat" of Russia, is a blow to democratic institutions. They distort reality and say that there is a retreat from democracy in our country.

Let me remind you that we are in a state of hybrid aggression. Information resources, communication capabilities, and the cyber environment are used to exert pressure on Russia and interfere in the internal affairs of our country. When shells, weapons and colossal sums are supplied to a terrorist regime that professes extremism and terrorism (I am talking about the Kiev regime) in order to deliver an actual blow to our regions and civilian facilities.

In these conditions, taking protective measures to prevent this aggression from achieving its goal, we preserve the democratic principles of the state's development, hold elections both within the country, in accordance with the law, and abroad. Despite the fact that (let's be honest) this was fraught with threats to the security of Russian diplomats and our foreign institutions, as well as to the safety of those who come to the polling stations. What was the number of provocations before the elections, how we were intimidated, how we were literally promised that this would not happen. We calculated all the risks. They were really high. Therefore, we had to abandon online voting. It would obviously have been thwarted, given the large-scale cyberattacks. In addition, a number of websites of government agencies from abroad were inaccessible or gave irrelevant results as a result of contacting them.

Polling stations were set up. Despite the fact that their number has been reduced due to the reduction of our foreign missions by these unfriendly regimes. Elections were held in 144 countries, and 288 polling stations (under the competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) were deployed. Several more were deployed additionally, outside our competence.

In addition to the work of journalists, all our foreign missions participated in the media coverage of these elections. Why? Due to the fact that Russian journalists were not represented everywhere, even local journalists did not have the opportunity to cover this objectively everywhere. Local authorities in unfriendly countries literally harassed them, banned them, and threatened them with the idea that they would be put on some kind of black lists and appropriate measures would be taken against them. We understood that. Russian diplomats, in addition to organizing polling stations and, in accordance with the law, becoming members of PECs, literally became those who told the whole world about how these elections were being held online. Thousands have been published. In my opinion, this is one of the most important achievements of the fact that, despite the aggression against us, we are able to preserve what is fundamental for us – the development of our statehood, political system, and state social structure. We can and will demonstrate that even in the face of unprecedented pressure on our country, now backed up by military aggression, we can do so both at home and in accordance with our obligations abroad.

The Global Majority sees Russia standing strong, staying cool and calm, while pushing back in admiration, while the Western bullies continue to destroy their credibility and shred their honor. Come late Summer, a very powerful jolt to the groin will be delivered and the lead bully will double over and likely pass out, and at that sight its little henchmen will faint. Many will have waited decades for that moment. But as related, The Outlaw US Empire has yet to cede the field and continues its operations. The actions in Moldova and the declarations by France’s Macron are likely connected. Armenia will be much harder to flip for many reasons beyond those noted above. Clearly, the IOC is an obscenity to sport and deserves to die. It’s very possible that the Paris Olympics will be the last one held under the auspices of the IOC. Given what it’s become, I say Good Riddance!

Russia has excellent reasons for standing tall after its elections as it’s establishing itself as the leading new democracy on the global stage. The Global Majority can easily weigh the actions of a hegemonic actor claiming to be a democracy when its actually an oligarchic empire versus that of a nation who promotes and protects the values of the UN Charter and fairness in international relations. I doubt if people in the West are aware of the gross violations of Russia’s elections by their governments including the terror attacks by their Nazi ally specifically aimed at polling places. The plan Russians voted for is extensive and ambitious and beyond the capabilities of any Western nation. In an offhanded manner, the West is driving Russia’s resurrection which is now teamed with China’s resurrection. The Global Majority is now engaged in the process of fusing together with the two leading nations to finally end the Age of Plunder and begin the Age of Complementarity. Slowly, as the West sinks to its nadir, some will refuse to remain on the sinking ship and leave, a process that’s already begun. The West will likely become more frantic as time moves forward. With luck, it will only pull out its own hair and not try to harm others any further.

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