Zakharova's Weekly Briefing--Selections: Part 2

Here's the Q&A plus some closing discussion

And now for the long Q&A session followed by a discussion of the nationalism issues noted in Part1.

Question: How would you comment on the fact that NATO countries intend to suspend the CFE Treaty in response to Russia's withdrawal from it?

Maria Zakharova: This is exactly what I would like to call an absolute absurdity. Let's start from the beginning.

Russia has finally withdrawn from the CFE Treaty. Obviously, we no longer have any practical interest in what is happening within the framework of this Treaty, which is characteristic of the States parties. For us, this topic is closed.

We have experience in suspending the CFE Treaty. Taking into account the fact that the Treaty does not directly provide for the possibility of suspension, but it is allowed to withdraw from it, in 2007 Russia proceeded from the general principle of law and the customary norm of international law, expressed by the maxim "whoever is allowed more has the right to what is contained in it." At the same time, from a procedural point of view, we then carried out all the actions necessary to withdraw from the Treaty (consideration of the issue in the chambers of the Federal Assembly, sending a notification to all member states, holding a corresponding conference, observing the deadlines provided for by the Treaty). Everything was done. Nevertheless, NATO tried to accuse us of violating international legal norms, referring to the absence of any mention of the possibility of suspension in the CFE Treaty itself.

What do we see now? At the same time, as we understand it, they are not going to adhere to the conditions of suspension provided for by international law (the need to send notification and comply with the necessary period from this step to suspension), nor the procedure followed by our country in 2007. The United States intends to suspend the Treaty as early as December 7. I would like to remind you that Russia, which has just completed its withdrawal from the CFE Treaty, has complied with all procedural requirements, despite exceptional circumstances that threatened its supreme interests.

I think that the current situation around the CFE Treaty clearly demonstrates the fundamental differences between the two approaches: the Russian one, which is based on international law, and the Western one, which is based on certain "rules" that are invented, changed and abolished at the will of their authors.

The most interesting thing is that they will never comment on everything to you in such a detailed, full-scale and prompt manner. They will always find an excuse to evade the question by saying "don't be aggressive", "don't ask inappropriate questions", "no time to react", "what's there to invent" or simply close the folder and leave.

We had a lot of explanatory information at every step. All representatives of our agencies and all branches of government spoke on this issue in a full-scale and open manner, with the invitation of all media outlets without exception.

Question: Deputy Spokesperson for the State Department Viktor Pattel, commenting on media reports that the West may be pushing Kiev towards a peaceful dialogue with Russia, having become convinced that it is impossible to resolve the conflict by force, said: "We are not aware of any conversations with Ukraine about negotiations outside the framework of the peace formula." What formula would be possible for negotiations with Ukraine, and what could be a prerequisite for them?

Maria Zakharova: It's surprising that the State Department and the White House don't know more and more things. Usually, people in positions get involved in the job over time and start to be more competent, professional, and knowledgeable. And here is some kind of regression. With each passing day, there are more and more unknowns in the Biden administration.

As for us. You know very well that the talks that were held in 2022 at the request and initiative of the Ukrainian side (which Russia agreed to) were blocked by the Kiev regime at the insistence of the United States. Then, a few months later, they were banned at the legislative level. Vladimir Zelensky managed to forbid himself to do so. We are well aware that the United States is behind this. Any negotiation process on the part of Ukraine is blocked by the decree that they adopted there.

Question: November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism, Racism and Anti-Semitism. Why is it important not to forget the events of the past, and what lessons should not be forgotten in light of today's events in Ukraine and Palestine?

Maria Zakharova: I can say that I know that in many countries of the world this day is indeed dedicated to this tragic history and a tragic page in the history of the world community.

The date was not chosen by chance – on the night of November 9-10, 1938, one of the most massive pogroms against Jews took place in Germany and Austria, which went down in history under the name of Kristallnacht. All shops owned by Jews were destroyed, hundreds of people were killed, and more than 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps. All this served as these terrible bloody prologues to the rest of the tragic years for the development of events of our civilization.

There is another historical event that celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. On November 9, 1923, the Beer Hall Putsch organized by Hitler's National Socialists was suppressed in Munich. The putschists tried to take advantage of the difficult socio-economic situation in post-war Germany to overthrow the country's socialist government. Their confidence in their abilities was given by the success of the leader of the Italian fascists, B. Mussolini, who had seized power in Italy a year earlier.

On the evening of November 8, 1923, 600 storm troopers cordoned off a hall in the main beer hall in the center of Munich, where 3,000 people had gathered to listen to a speech by the Bavarian leadership. At gunpoint, Hitler persuaded the members of the Bavarian government that troops would be sent to Berlin the next day to overthrow the Weimar government.

The Bavarian leaders were not going to fulfill their promise to the Nazis – the participants in the putsch were arrested and received various terms of imprisonment. However, thanks to the patronage of certain forces in Germany, the punishment for the Nazis turned out to be very mild. Hitler was sentenced to only five years in prison, but he was released in December 1924. Although you can say from a "beer bottle". The prison conditions of a man who was going to storm the German state authorities under such slogans were surprisingly liberal that in nine months of imprisonment the Nazi leader managed to write the infamous program book of German Nazism, Mein Kampf.

The Beer Hall Putsch marked the beginning of the political ascent of German Nazism and the prologue to the monstrous atrocities of the Third Reich. Dangerous games with Nazism by Western political circles, which viewed Hitler as an instrument of struggle against the USSR, resulted in the bloodiest war in the history of mankind – World War II, which claimed the lives of tens of millions of people. Not only in the countries of the European continent. After all, World War II spanned several continents.

The Beer Hall Putsch brought the Nazis to power, and there are, of course, historical parallels. They are not always appropriate. In this case, there is no need to talk about any coincidence either. One way or another, you see 2014 as a made-up story about anti-government protests coming from people (in fact, it was all inspired and planned) that all this fetid "rot" was raised from the bottom. It was not raised by chance. That's by design. And the West condoned it. As he did in 1933, when he turned a blind eye to the presumptuous putschists on the Maidan in 2014.

For decades, the West has financed the spread of nationalist ideas in Ukraine. In the 21st century, history has repeated itself in Ukraine. Such lessons should not be forgotten. These dates should not be used for opportunistic purposes. This is a dangerous trend. We must remember the victims in order to prevent the recurrence of this horror. And not just to observe rituals. A pittance is the value of rituals that do not lead to the correction of a person, his nature, his soul, and which do not lead to the fact that a person would not repeat his own mistakes, and in this case, crimes. Otherwise, this ritual side becomes extremely dangerous. It only creates the appearance that people have understood, felt, changed their attitudes and changed themselves. In fact, this is not happening. It's important. This is what we have always paid attention to when we said that we are a country, not 27 million people after World War II and the Great Patriotic War. It has always been said that there should be not only a commemoration of the victims, but also historical lessons and the memory of those who stopped this bloody movement of the planet.

Question: To what extent can the new US sanctions against the Arctic LNG 2 project hinder its implementation, scare away foreign investors, in particular, France's Total, and interfere with Russia's plans to increase its share in the global liquefied natural gas market?

Maria Zakharova: Do you think that after the data mentioned in the introduction, the sanctions are hindering the implementation of the Nord Stream projects, gas projects, and our infrastructure projects? You can see that where even sanctions do not stand in the way, where we have managed to overcome everything (hatred of us, sanctions pressure, threats, blackmail, all kinds of opposition to these projects), where everything was ready to be implemented in the interests of Europe's development (from business communities to consumers), completely different mechanisms (terrorism) were activated. When you talk about the extent to which the new sanctions will hinder something, I think it would be appropriate to recall that these similar projects were destroyed not by sanctions, but by terrorist actions. I don't want you to forget that.

The Russian fuel and energy complex has become the main target of the sanctions policy of Western countries. The above example is no exception. Despite the challenges, our companies have shown that they are able to successfully cope with such obstacles on their way. They effectively use their competitive advantages, develop their own solutions and commission new production facilities.

Liquefied natural gas occupies an important place in the global energy market. At the same time, the growth of natural gas consumption, projected by all international energy structures on the horizon until 2050, will occur mainly due to liquefied natural gas.

In our country, no one is going to abandon large-scale plans in the field of LNG. The development of LNG infrastructure is our priority in the energy sector. Russia intends to increase LNG production to 100 million tons per year, and the planned volume of investments in the industry exceeds 6 trillion rubles.

We do it all. We are a responsible partner in this area. The question is not about us, but about those who will stop at nothing to prove their exceptionality, or to prevent competitors from entering world markets. This applies to gas, resources, finance and technology. The question is not for us and not for us. And to those who are ready to use even terrorist methods to eliminate competitors.

Let me remind you that a large number of countries that have unexpectedly outstripped the leaders in science, technology and other spheres are exposed to the same impact. They are under no less pressure.

The question of investors, the media, and the general public should be addressed to those who eliminate competitors by such illegitimate means (from sanctions pressure to terrorist attacks).

Question: The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that since October 7, at least 27 journalists have been killed while covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the Palestinian government, 48 journalists. Recent examples include the case of Anadolu cameraman Muhammad Alaloul (whose entire family was killed in an Israeli strike) and Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Dahdouh, who survived the same tragedy. Comment on these cases and the vulnerability of journalists covering military conflicts in general.

Maria Zakharova: As far as the Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned, even such organisations are not objective. It depends. But I can't say that this is a 100% objective structure. We have seen such an attitude in the example of our journalists. But even such structures are sounding the alarm.

Over the past decades, the Western community has worked out a lot, literally reacting to every sneeze, even if it is not related to the safety of journalists. Inspection at the airport began to be equated almost to an attempt on life and health. The usual standard procedure. In recent months, we have been accused that Western journalists do not like being interviewed when crossing the border. They said they felt slighted. All this becomes ridiculous against the backdrop of such a mass death of journalists as a result of hostilities in the Middle East.

We are talking about a truly shocking number of victims. It is with pain in our hearts that we perceive these tragedies and grieve together with our relatives and friends... If I tell only the media, I will sin against the truth. I have already given examples today. I will not single out separate categories. How can we separate them – journalists from children, the elderly from women, the civilian population from volunteers, UN members from social service workers who do not have accreditation from an international organization? We mourn with all the victims of this escalation. Regardless of their nationality, religion, profession.

Since we have developed so many international legal instruments to protect journalists, I would like to ask a question: when will all this work? The question is not for us. We implement these documents, we know our rights, duties and responsibilities. A question for those who have been making this their credo for decades was that this is what liberal values are all about. First of all, these are Washington, London, Paris, and Brussels in general, which are now silent and do not find words of sympathy, do not hold conferences, do not publish personnel, nothing. Where are they all now? Everyone who said that peaceful rallies, which turned into non-peaceful events when the law was violated, were almost a threat to the lives and safety of journalists? Where are they now, when it comes to dozens of killed representatives of the media, the media sphere, cameramen, correspondents, etc.? They were all on duty and did everything in their power to ensure that the world received reports and images from the scene, and was informed about what was happening there.

It is important to remember that, under the existing provisions of international humanitarian law, journalists are treated as civilians and thus enjoy an appropriate degree of protection during armed conflicts. Observing what is happening shows that none of this is being observed at all. Failure to comply with these rules constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.

Against this background, we cannot ignore the desire of some forces sympathetic to one side or another of the conflict, and here we can draw an invisible line between "us" and "them" media representatives. Don't do it. There should be no division into "good" and "bad". Since they worked in the conflict zone, since they did nothing but perform their journalistic duties, then we need to talk about them as dead. I apologize, I want to talk about them as if they were alive, but we see and know the numbers of those who lost their lives.

We consider it depressing that such sentiments are penetrating into the relevant international organisations. Their direct duty is to provide unbiased and honest assistance in ensuring the rights of journalists and the media, creating a safe environment for their activities, even when it comes to covering crisis situations and armed conflicts. Their direct duty is to condemn segregation, much less to encourage it.

At the same time, we see something else – the Western NATO liberal tradition. The linguistic preferences of some international officials in their assessments of tragic incidents with journalists in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone speak for themselves.

By way of illustration. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, within the framework of her mandate, in a press release dated November 7 of this year, "condemned killing" Israeli photojournalist R. Iddan, while with regard to the deceased Palestinian journalist of the Al-Aqsa TV channel, S. Al-Halabi limited herself to "expressing regret" for his "death" (deplored the death). As the saying goes, feel the difference. We have been talking about this over the past few years. We see the same attitude towards our journalists.

We proceed from the premise that the use of a differentiated approach, even when it comes to seemingly inconspicuous details, on the part of multilateral structures vested with appropriate powers, is unacceptable, immoral and contrary to their national obligations. They get paid for exactly the opposite. We will consistently strive to ensure equal rights and security guarantees for all media workers in conflict zones without exception.

With this approach, they are fueling the growth of nationalist sentiment. They create a breeding ground for nationalism. This information spreads instantly. People see this injustice and associate it with nationalities. We have always opposed this. And this is done by the manager, who should be doing exactly the opposite. Its duty is to engage in the minimization of nationalism in the world, education for the benefit or education that would be aimed at eradicating the nationalist approach, nationalism, any segregation, inappropriate differentiation. What does she allow herself? Why doesn't anyone pull it off in the western camp?

Question: The Russian media, citing sources in the Russian Foreign Ministry, have reported that everything is ready for the evacuation of Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip, and that it remains to obtain Israel's consent. What are Israel's reasons for refusing to allow the evacuation?

Maria Zakharova: These are not some diplomatic sources. This was stated by Israeli Ambassador to Moscow A. Ben Zvi, who said that it would take two weeks. In fact, he admitted that Israel does not allow us to exercise the rights of our citizens to evacuate, for which everything is ready.

What are the reasons for contacting the Israeli side? I can confirm that for at least the last four days, our ambassador to Israel, Alexander Viktorov, has received assurances and promises from the Israeli side (as did the Israeli Foreign Ministry) that this "permit will be issued tomorrow." Despite the fact that this issue was raised by our country long before this date. Lists have been formed for a long time. They were handed over to the Egyptian and Israeli sides. Why is this happening? I ask you to put this question to the representative of Israel. They assure us that the situation will be unblocked in the near future. But this has been going on for the last four days.

I can reiterate that the task of rescuing Russian citizens, compatriots and all those who have turned to us is a priority for us. We have everything ready for this. The Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Transport, the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and our embassy were preparing everything necessary around the clock. For quite some time now, everything has come down to the position of the Israeli side. We hope that all these difficulties (their reasons have not been explained to us) will be eliminated and overcome.

Q: China has repeatedly called for an urgent ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone. Does Russia agree with China's position? And what efforts will Russia make to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?

Maria Zakharova: We are making intensive efforts to de-escalate the conflict, achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible and put the situation on a political and diplomatic track. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin held telephone contacts with the heads of Arab states, including Palestine, as well as Israel, Iran, Turkey and Brazil. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in constant contact with his counterparts from the region. Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov took part in the Cairo Peace Summit organised by Egypt. We are sending a message to everyone about the need for an immediate ceasefire.

In this sense, we share a common position with Beijing. We are coordinating our steps with our Chinese partners at the UN Security Council. Two draft resolutions proposed by Russia and supported by China, designed to stop the violence, prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and prevent the conflict from expanding to a regional scale, were blocked by the United States and its like-minded allies in the Security Council. We will continue to coordinate our approaches with Beijing in the future.

Question: In the current international situation, will Russia take part in the APEC summit at the invitation of the United States? If so, at what level will the delegation be sent? With what rhetoric and what issues do you plan to discuss?

Maria Zakharova: We are not just preparing. We see no reason not to do this. On November 15-17, 2023, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum Summit will be held in San Francisco. We have to admit that Washington continues to demonstratively ignore the chairman's duties, replacing the unifying agenda of this authoritative international structure with the unilateral implementation of its painful complexes. In the course of the year, the United States was marked by another destructive measure called "visa denial" against our country's delegates. Trips of Russian representatives to APEC events have been repeatedly disrupted due to such a destructive line of the current leadership of the forum.

Now there is less than a week left before the summit. So far, not all Russian representatives have been issued US visas. At the same time, the State Department declares its intention to ensure the "appropriate participation" of Russia. Issue visas and provide. Why hypocrite, deceive, mislead the public? We will certainly comment on everything through the Foreign Ministry or the Presidential Executive Office (who will go and who will head the delegation). For now, let's wait and see how the visa situation develops. Next, let's summarize the relevant results.

We see that the Americans are using not only the visa policy for destructive purposes. They endlessly manipulate the topic of Ukraine on the APEC platform. I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that the anti-Russia sentiments promoted by the Americans in APEC (again, they are linked to the situation in Ukraine) have nothing to do with the agenda. But the result is already there. All this does not find support among the countries participating in this association. Strengthening the foundations of the multipolar world order and strengthening the positions of developing states to prevent the hegemony of any one association or one country when it comes to destruction and destructive logic have an impact. Together with our partners, primarily from emerging markets, we adhere to constructive approaches (despite the destructive course of a number of participants) and seek to depoliticise APEC's activities. We will also shape our approaches in the future.

We reaffirm our readiness to ensure that Russia is represented at the proper level during the summit in San Francisco and to help the forum return to the path of mutually beneficial and respectful dialogue. At this event, we plan to actively promote our country's principled positions related to promoting economic recovery and eliminating imbalances, taking into account the environmental factor. We will encourage our partners to find effective ways to overcome the global challenges of multilateral economic diplomacy, to expand business contacts, industrial cooperation and practical integration, to solve all the real problems that are on the agenda of our planet, and not to invent imaginary threats or create threats that have no natural basis for their appearance.

We consider this platform as an opportunity for creative work. We see and know that countries with the same approach are involved in it, except for those who contribute an endless destructive element. This year, for the 12th time, the APEC International Conference on Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education was held in Vladivostok. Recently, Russia has also initiated the launch of three new initiatives that are in demand: a review of approaches to the validation and verification of climate projects, to unleash the potential of women in the creative economy, and to promote tourism in certain territories.

We will certainly inform you about the composition of our delegation.

Question: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the United States and its Western allies are pushing the Middle East towards a major war. Today, there are already reports that clashes have begun between the Syrian army and US military personnel in Deir ez-Zor after a missile strike by the Americans on facilities used, as they claim, by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Three countries are already involved. Does this confirm Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's fears that the Americans and their allies are pushing the region towards a major war? Can radical groups such as Tahrir al-Sham, ISIS and other radical groups in Syria and Iraq become more active?

Maria Zakharova: The risks of global confrontation in the region are obvious. This is not even the aspiration of any one country or group of countries. This is an unresolved problem. I don't think I need to explain it to you, you understand everything perfectly.

A region with a huge number of historical unresolved issues, conflict problems and potential risks. Against this background, the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli situation leads to the fact that it is becoming the epicentre of many problems directly in and around the conflict point.

In fact, this is what Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was talking about. Not only publicly, not just for the last month. In recent years, he has been telling all our Western partners that forgetting the entire international legal framework for the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, unfortunately, will lead to the opposite result, and that the whole world will be engaged in resolving this conflict, but it will be too late. Escalation is inevitable. He spoke about this regularly.

The solution should in no way be related to ethnic cleansing or to the idea of geopolitical manoeuvring without regard for international law, with a legal basis, taking into account interests and mitigating risks. We need a real, deep and fundamental solution to this long-standing historical problem, the conflict, on the basis of international law.

Washington's blocking of peace initiatives for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip at this stage and its one-sided policy over the past few years, aimed at preserving (as they formulated) the status quo, but in fact, its unwillingness to implement everything that countries and peoples have agreed on, without moving forward on the negotiation track, leads to the risks of radicalization, intensification of tourist activities, expansion of the geography of the conflict and, Among other things, "plugging in" other potential or smoldering conflicts in the region. Further apocalyptic development is not far away.

We have repeatedly said that the build-up of foreign military presence in the armed conflict zone, in particular, the US grouping in the Eastern Mediterranean, and provocative bellicose statements are also part of a global escalation and will not lead to anything good, they will only aggravate the situation.

Let me repeat what the Russian leadership has been saying all these years. Without a settlement of the Palestinian problem on the basis of international law, there can be no long-term stabilization in the Middle East.

Question: Will Russia initiate or support the initiation of a discussion of Israel's nuclear dossier at the IAEA? In this regard, as you have recently said, the declaration of the Middle East as a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. Conferences and meetings were held. Taking advantage of the fact that I am now on a business trip to Helsinki, Finland was one of the countries that actively worked in this direction, but in recent years this issue has stalled. Finland is no longer a neutral country that could contribute to the solution of this issue. What is to be done now with the topic of declaring the Middle East a WMD-free zone?

Maria Zakharova: It is necessary to deal with the legal basis for this issue. Israel is not a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and has not concluded a comprehensive safeguards agreement with IAEA, so the Agency does not verify the compliance of its nuclear programme with the goals and objectives of the Treaty. This is the legal side.

In addition, I can say that Tel Aviv has concluded an INFCIRC/66 safeguards agreement with the IAEA for specific facilities. The IAEA did not report any violations of the provisions of this document. Nor do we have any such information. If any interested party has other information, it should be shared directly with the Agency.

Now let's talk about political assessments and steps. At one time, the Arab countries promoted the resolution "Israel's Nuclear Potential" at the IAEA General Conference. Russia, guided by its invariable policy of universalizing the NPT, supported it. However, for eight years now, such a resolution has not been submitted to the Agency's General Conference for consideration. The question is not for us, but for those who developed and implemented it.

It is also worth noting that the UN General Assembly has repeatedly adopted resolutions noting the importance of Israel's accession to the NPT. Most recently, on October 27 of this year, another such document, entitled "The Danger of Nuclear Proliferation in the Middle East," received broad international support: 148 states, including Russia, voted for it in the First Committee of the General Assembly.

As for the Greater Middle East initiative free of weapons of mass destruction, you are well aware of it, and I agree that it is necessary to devote additional efforts to this area.

Question: A group of countries is gathering evidence to accuse Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people. Could Russia support the initiative to bring this issue to the UN General Assembly?

Maria Zakharova: It seems to me that, first of all, this is a question that should be addressed to those countries and organisations that are already dealing with this. Usually, according to diplomatic practice, such things are commented on after receiving any appeals.

Question: Israel admits that if the United States does not veto the humanitarian resolution on Gaza in the future, it will be difficult for Tel Aviv to continue its military operation. On the one hand, this once again confirms Russia's position that Washington is behind all this, on the other hand, it shows that Israel is an outpost for the implementation of American imperialist policy in the region. How would you comment on this?

Maria Zakharova: You have a rather long question. Could you tell us what exactly you are interested in? I have said a lot about this situation today in order to repeat myself.

Question: Russia's position is clear and fair that Washington is behind all this. But Israel is also responsible, because it is an independent state. And it turns out that we are shielding Israel, and all the accusations are only against the United States. He is killing Israel, albeit at the behest of America. How would you comment on this policy?

Maria Zakharova: Please note that when we talk about the need to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli issue on the basis of international law, we often hear Israel complaining that we should build our political rhetoric in a different way, focus on rejecting terrorist methods, condemn them, etc. In this case, speaking about the need to de-escalate the situation, stop the bloodshed and resolve the issue on the basis of international law, we are talking about the root cause, the basis of this crisis.

It seems to me that you reproach me here in the same way as a number of Israeli representatives and experts reproach me. You are talking about important things, but I will again respond to you in the same way as I respond to criticism coming from Israel. These are the most important components of the situation, which is why we are submitting the relevant resolutions, working on them, and we are joining the resolutions and proposals that are being drafted by countries whose approach to the humanitarian tragedy is in tune with us. But without understanding the root cause of the situation, we will not get anywhere. The root cause is that this problem has not been resolved. It was aggravated by the fact that Washington insisted that the concept of settlement should be relegated to the background. It's better to forget about it altogether. That's what it's all about.

There are humanitarian organizations, UN agencies, NGOs that give estimates and count the number of victims. We are talking about the unacceptability of civilian deaths, declaring that (we are a multi-ethnic, multi-religious state) the issue of segregation of the civilian population into "right" and "wrong", with that nationality or not, with that religion or not, is unacceptable.

You remember our position on Syria. At that time, we said that there are no "right" or "wrong" extremists, as Washington said. If it's terrorism, it's terrorism. All this (as our basic position) has not gone anywhere. On the contrary, it has only strengthened. We are opposed to any justification of terrorism. We don't justify it ourselves. And I don't want anyone else to justify it. We are in favour of respect for humanitarian law with regard to the civilian population, which should not be subjected to the terrible ordeal that has befallen the Palestinian population and not only the population of the Gaza Strip. Our citizens and citizens of other countries are also there.

The protection of civilians in armed conflict must not be called into question. These basic things haven't gone anywhere. We have our own statistics and data, as well as UN data and our estimates. But I repeat: without a vision of the root cause, without an understanding of who aggravated this situation, who led the countries of the region in a different direction, we will not be able to overcome the current crisis. I don't mean Russia, I mean all of humanity. It is necessary to see the root causes, to stop justifying anything on ethnic grounds. It is necessary to stop stirring up nationalist feelings, pitting people against each other all over the planet and in the region and those who support them around the world: relatives, families, loved ones, colleagues, etc. We must do everything we can to stop this and address the root cause of the crisis.

Question: Could you comment on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision to launch a global initiative on the Gaza Strip? Is Russia ready to participate in such an initiative from Turkey?

Maria Zakharova: There are many initiatives in this regard. It's already about ten. Each country presents its own vision. Someone organizes forums for fundraising, financial assistance, someone offers summits, virtual options for communication of the international community. We evaluate them. We are actively promoting our approaches at international venues. We connect to those of them and in such forms that we consider effective. We will keep you informed in this regard.

Question: Speculation continues on the use of Russia's blocked funds to rebuild Ukraine. The EU authorities have long been talking about sponsoring Ukraine at the expense of Russian assets. You even called the freezing of Russian assets theft. What retaliatory measures can Russia take in the event that the misuse of assets occurs?

Maria Zakharova: President Vladimir Putin spoke about this. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov also recently spoke on the same topic on October 17. A few days ago, our Government, the economic bloc, gave explanations. Therefore, I believe that there is nothing to comment on.

I can tell you about the political background. This is what is happening, and these conversations are intensifying in the West. We are running out of money, we need to survive somehow. Accordingly, they are increasingly saying that they need to be taken somewhere.

The second factor is the situation in the Middle East. Obviously, the West's involvement in this situation will also concern the financial sector. It is clear why all this has become more active now.

Once again, I invite you to read Finance Minister Anton Siluanov's comments.

Question: The European Union is trying to deprive Hungary, Poland and Slovakia of the right to veto decisions because of disagreements over support for Ukraine. How can you comment on the EU's attempts to deprive the above-mentioned countries of their sovereignty? And where is the democracy, equality of all members and freedom of speech that the European Union spoke about?

Answer: Nowhere. I will answer briefly. There is no democracy. There are pseudo-values that have not stood the test of circumstances and time. That's it. Everything remained in words, in practice there is nothing. They need to make up their minds: either they are following in line with their own obligations (today I spoke about the numerous facts of Western countries violating their not just virtual, orally given obligations, but enshrined in writing), or they need to be told once and for all that they will never comply with anything. It is unclear how they will negotiate with other countries. It concerns their inner life. There is no coherence. We are told about solidarity all the time. You can see what it really is. There is a command-and-control system within NATO: they are forced to vote, and sometimes they are simply notified of how they will vote or have already voted. We've seen this before.

There is no democracy either in international relations from the point of view of Western logic, or within their own communities. There is the dictatorship of liberalism. Totalitarianism is the extreme point of development of this liberal idea. That's what they came to. When everything is permitted, everything is possible, no one restricts anyone in anything. Then comes the law of force. This leads to totalitarian habits, which you are seeing in a number of areas.

Question: French reporter Robert Schmidt conducted a journalistic investigation and published information about the involvement of the foundation of the wife of the President of Ukraine Yelena Zelenska in the trafficking of children into sexual slavery in European countries under the guise of evacuation measures. A former employee of the foundation presented lists of children, routes, addresses and other internal documents. Is the Foreign Ministry aware of the fact that children are being sold through the Yelena Zelenska Foundation? Does the Ministry have data and evidence regarding these actions of the Foundation?

Maria Zakharova: We have seen the links to this publication.

We believe that the relevant international agencies should study these circumstances.

Much has been said about the fact that the entire Western community – the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, the entire EU and the entire NATO – is concerned about the fate of Ukrainian children. Let them, together with the relevant international organisations, take this publication for a thorough analysis and then present their ideas.

As for our assessment, we must base it on facts. Study. But let me remind you of two things.

First, we provided information and made it public about organ trafficking (1,2), which is carried out by people involved in the Kiev regime. Over the past six months, organ trafficking has become one of the "gold mines" for the Kiev regime. Appropriate laws have been enacted to facilitate crimes in this area. There are a lot of facts, a ramified structure of how all this is done.

Secondly, under various pretexts and with the use of sophisticated schemes, minors from the territory of Ukraine become victims of trafficking in persons, primarily for the purpose of sexual exploitation. All this is happening because of the connivance of the Kiev regime. These unlawful acts are on the rise. The main beneficiaries of the sale of children's "human goods" (this is everything related to the structures involved in the corruption schemes of the Kiev regime and the illegal circulation of weapons entering the black market) are those who have traditionally been known on the European continent as the Ukrainian mafia. In recent years, it has become absolutely intertwined with the Kiev regime as a state structure. One way or another, it remains state-owned.

As far as the West is concerned, human organs, children's organs (this has been said), and children, as sex slaves, are in demand. For one simple reason – this business has been developed for a long time. Ukraine has simply become a new donor. Remember Kosovo, who was the beneficiary? NATO countries, Germany, the United States in the first place. People who have the financial means to pay colossal amounts of money for human organs. Read the books that have been written, remember the statements of the former chief prosecutor and prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Colette Del Ponte, who told the truth in her memoirs that the facts of trafficking in human organs were confirmed and the beneficiaries were NATO countries.

The Kiev regime has never said anything about any of the cases I mentioned, let alone taken any action.

Look at what is happening, the Westerners are even exporting soil from the territory of Ukraine. For them, this is a zone of absolute disenfranchisement of Ukrainian citizens, total theft and all kinds of experiments. Dozens of biological laboratories were opened on the territory of Ukraine under the auspices of the Pentagon. Who did they feel sorry for? Who were you thinking about? No one knows what kind of experiments were carried out there.

Nationalism was noted as something on the rise again in the world, but nationalism is a natural factor related to citizen support for the nation, which is also known as patriotism. Russia just celebrated National Unity Day with calls to rally round the nation by celebrating its past, present, and to work hard to fulfill the future. All those are tenets of nationalism. The distinction needing to be made is to single out radical or extremist nationalism of the sort called out in Ukraine, which is akin to the Extreme Nationalism known as Nazism. We should also view Zionism as a form of Extremist Nationalism, and we might also place American Exceptionalism into that category as well. The international norm as spelled out in the UN Charter is the unqualified equality of peoples and nations, which are international core values we see violated daily mostly by Zionists and Western nations. Unfortunately, few governments have called out Zionism for what it is—a modified form of Nazism. Further, only a few global figures have made the easy connection between Zionism and Anti-Semitism as Zionists as we see hourly are the most violent Anti-Semites since Germany’s Nazis: Arabs are Semites as they clearly “own” the one major qualification—the speak a Semitic language. What ought to be called out and combatted is extremism in all its forms—religious, ethnic, national—which often has its practitioners declaring themselves to be The Chosen and thus superior. The root of the Genocidal drive by the Zionists is precisely because they interpret Judaism to confer on them the status of The Chosen, while the history of Zionism shows it to be just another cult using extremism as a cover for their Imperialism. Now out-of-control, that cult is generating blowback against Jews who are not Zionists as many people outraged at the Genocide they see happening strike out blindly at those they assume to be part of that cult because of their religion. Maria Zakharova is a very intelligent woman who knows all of the above but didn’t make the distinctions that must be made, which is what she gets paid to do.

*
*
*
Like what you’ve been reading at Karlof1’s Substack? Then please consider subscribing and choosing to make a monthly/yearly pledge to enable my efforts in this challenging realm. Thank You!