Today there was another briefing by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova. Traditionally, the correspondent of The Moscow Post asked...
The first question of the journalist of our publication touched upon the topic of using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. The EU has already approved the creation of a working group on this issue. Minister Lavrov called it lawlessness, referred to ties with friendly states, mentioned the transfer of settlements to national currencies, alternative financial entities.
"How can Moscow answer directly to the European Union, individual European countries, if Russian assets are actually used by the EU?," Maria Zakharova was asked.
The diplomat indicated the key point - any restriction of the law on the full and unhindered access of the Russian state, legal entities and individuals to their own assets in itself is a completely illegitimate measure, which violates the commercial norms of international law.
The EU's plans to use Russian funds to solve its own political and economic problems are perceived by Russia solely as a gross encroachment on sovereign property.
"You can have no doubt that this will cause a decisive, adequate response in the event of an escalation of this issue. We certainly do not want escalation and call on the West to return to strict compliance with the principle of democracy, the open economy, the competitive market and the inviolability of private property promoted by them, regardless of political requirements or slogans, "the diplomat said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also recalls the independence of the judicial system, in which the West itself began to doubt after the lawlessness that is now taking place.
Based on these pillars of world law and order, including the financial and economic sphere, the Russian authorities are considering all possible legal mechanisms for returning access to Russian foreign assets. The refusal of unfriendly countries to interact with the Russian Federation in the legal field will show all participants in the modern world financial architecture the dependence of the status of sovereign assets of national states on the opportunistic geopolitical approach in several Western countries.
"I immediately remember the expression from the Old Testament: today you, tomorrow someone else," Maria Zakharova said.
Russia calls on the world community to take full responsibility for what is happening arbitrariness and not to follow the lead of Western extortionists. Moreover, examples of other countries show that all political slogans that were applied to countries that went through a similar history, they changed over time to the opposite.
As an example, Maria Zakharova reminded Venezuela. Earlier, the American authorities indicated that the country's government is illegitimate, so the country's funds need to be taken away. When the "legitimate Guaido" captures the fullness of power, then all this will be given to him. Now no one in the West wants to give Guaido a hand, they wrote him off, "leaked" and that's it. For a couple of years, the political thesis of the West has changed to the opposite. Now Western delegations are traveling to legitimate President Maduro as if there was nothing.
"Everything that the West says about Russia, all accusations, intimidation and blackmail, at one moment can turn to the exact opposite. They will argue with the same brazen faces that they did not mean anything like that, they were simply misunderstood. Or maybe they will say that this is the past, but let's go straight to a wonderful future, "said the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In the future, other freedoms and independent states, which believed in the financial system built by the West, may experience all the "charms" of its allegedly impartial functioning, if today they do not give an unambiguous and clear answer to the obviously illegal and unreasonable actions of violators.
Do not forget about the foreign assets of Western countries, their business and citizens in Russia. As you know, the EU has traditionally been a major investor in the Russian economy, benefiting significantly from this for itself. This led to the concentration of significant material assets of European companies and citizens in our territory, significantly exceeding the volume of frozen Russian resources abroad.
Russia proceeds from the principles of legality, gives the prudence of partners or not partners all types of the last chances, but the Russian Federation is ready for any steps to protect national property, up to the application of equivalent compensation measures so that no one has illusions.
The UN "privatization" by the West cannot but cause indignation
In the second question, the journalist of our publication reminded Maria Zakharova of her statement about the "impartiality and equidistance" of officials working in the UN Secretariat. Minister Lavrov also touched upon the topic of "privatization" by the West of the governing bodies of international organizations, including UN bodies.
"What are the mechanisms to overcome such injustice, if this word applies at all?," - asked the correspondent of our publication.
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that when Russia requires the UN secretariat to strictly follow the principles of impartiality and equidistance, nothing more than strict observance of the spirit and letter of the UN Charter is defended. During a briefing on October 20, Maria Zakharova mentioned Article 100 of the UN Charter, which says: "The Secretary General and secretariat staff should not request and receive instructions from anyone, government or government outside the organization. They must refrain from any action that could affect their position as international officials responsible only to the organization. "
Russia has always prioritized respect for the UN founding document, which forms the foundation of a modern international legal system. As for the "privatization" of UN governing bodies, the tendency to fill them with citizens of Western countries cannot but cause concern and indignation. This state of affairs is doubly dangerous against the background of the intensification of attempts by the United States and its allies to subordinate the organization to its selfish interests, turning it into an instrument of pressure on objectionable states, including Russia. In the current conditions, their interests can hardly be called selfish, they are simply criminal.
We must not forget that Article 101 of the UN Charter states the need to comply with the principles of fair geographical representation in making decisions on recruitment to the secretariat. Here we are not talking about Russian quibbles or a high understanding of justice, this is a commitment to the basic tenets of a world organization, fixed on paper, to which everyone should be committed.
Our country consistently and at all levels calls for unconditional respect by the secretariat and the general secretariat of these statutory provisions. Together with like-minded people of the Russian Federation, he painstakingly works to ensure that the principles of impartiality and equidistance are emphasized in the decisions of the UN governing bodies, which are mandatory. In addition, if the Russian Federation is faced with obvious violations of the principles of geographical representation, then it is forced to resort to blocking the appointments of Western representatives, for example, to the post of special representative of the Secretary General and heads of various UN country presence, as well as expert groups of sanctions committees of the Security Council.
The supply of Russian weapons is a privileged area of diplomacy
The final question of our journalist was touched upon by one of the aspects of an interview with the director of the department, Yuri Pilipson, to Rossiya Segodnya. In it, the diplomat indicated that the military-technical cooperation of Russia has "purely applied significance."
"Please help to understand correctly what your colleague meant. What role does the military-technical cooperation play in foreign policy, in Russia's economic ties with friendly countries? "- asked the Journalist.
Maria Zakharova pointed out that terminological explanations on this issue are given in the Federal Law on Military-Technical Cooperation of July 19, 1998, No. 114, it is there that the definition is given. We are talking about the fact that activities in the field of international relations related to the export and import, including the supply or purchase of military products, as well as the development and production of these products.
Military-technical cooperation between states is one of the most important components of foreign policy activities, this applies to any state that has defense-industrial capabilities and potential.
The development and strengthening of cooperation takes place in a number of areas, and solves a set of tasks, among which the main thing is to ensure the national security of the country, promote its military-political and economic interests legally, based on national interests and in accordance with the norms of national law.
Russia sees military-technical cooperation as a means of raising the threshold for the use of force in world affairs. The supply of Russian weapons is aimed at strengthening the defense capability of the countries receiving it, maintaining the regional balance of power, stability and security.
For Russia, as one of the world's leading manufacturers and exporters of weapons, military-technical cooperation is a privileged area of international relations, within which geopolitical problems are also solved. It helps to consolidate the presence of the Russian Federation in those regions, strengthen friendly relations with the recipient countries of weapons, and so on, the diplomat summed up.
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