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originally posted by: musicismagic
People have lost all directions of common sense in their life.
Japan now is requiring visas to enter the country.
What the hell is going on?
I know, travel restrictions world-wide if you are on a now fly list.
We are all fkd.
originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: anonentity
The soundtrack is in a foreign language.
originally posted by: anonentity
a reply to: nugget1
The first bit is an interview with Lavrov with subtitles then it goes into english.
23 June 2022 17:32
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Question:
Israel and the United States have announced a new regional air defence alliance in the Middle East to protect Israel and neighbours from Iranian rockets. How will this affect the Iran nuclear deal? Will Moscow and Tehran intensify military cooperation in this regard?
Sergey Lavrov:
We are following statements made by our American colleagues, who are openly declaring their intention to try and forge a bloc between several Arab countries and Israel and target this new group against the Islamic Republic of Iran. I believe too much has already been said about the inconsistency of American foreign policy. I don’t want to repeat myself. But this idea is obviously at odds with their intention to normalise the situation in the region and resume full implementation of the JCPOA, through the efforts of the United States, if they are sincerely interested in this.
We prefer less contradictory arrangements, as compared to those the Americans are now promoting in various regions. Take their idea of ​​the Indo-Pacific. It runs counter to every universal format that has developed over the years around ASEAN in the Asia-Pacific region. Those formats included the US, Russia, China, Australia, India, Japan and Korea. It was a process whereby all interests, primarily those of the regional players and their partners, were brought to a common denominator. Instead, having disrupted all the bodies created under the auspices of ASEAN, the Americans are promoting conflict-generating, divisive formats, without hiding that their policy is aimed at restraining China and isolating Russia.
The same logic is evident in the initiative to create an air and missile defence system in the Middle East. This is the logic of division and confrontation. We prefer unifying logic. The underlying principle of our initiative to build a collective security system in the Persian Gulf region is unification. The system we propose should provide a framework for the Arab countries to establish a dialogue with the Islamic Republic of Iran, work out joint measures of confidence and transparency, and take other steps to ensure stabilisation. Our idea is to involve the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the EU, the Arab League, the UN and the OIC to facilitate these processes. This is an example of how we consistently propose resolving any problems through combining efforts and finding a balance of interests.
The example we are now discussing, which involves the US initiative in the Middle East, is not a case of finding a balance of interests; it is a case of planting confrontation, and an attempt to create dividing lines that will be there forever. Needless to say, this is a dead-end position. In any case, in the end, everyone will come to understand the need to return to the underlying principles of the United Nations, such as resolving problems through cooperation, and not through the creation of hostile and aggressive blocs.
23 June 2022 22:30
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Question:
We are seeing today that the West has declared a war on the entire world. At the same time, it fears the truth like the plague. It is enough to mention the closure of YouTube channels, Belarusian and Russian TV satellite channels and popular Telegram resources in Belarus. Zombifying the Western public to the point of absurdity – is it a sign of weakness? The values that they tried to teach us during all these years, democracy – this smokescreen instantly collapsed like a house of cards.
Sergey Lavrov:
The West fears honest competition. Many people are aware of this. Hence, a desire to cancel the culture of any country that stands on its own, nationally-oriented positions, a ban on TV broadcasting, expulsion of objectionable politicians from social media and suppression of everything that contradicts in some way the neo-liberal vision and arrangement of the world. This happens all the time. The West does not live in accordance with the truth.
In one of his recent speeches, President of Russia Vladimir Putin called the collective West “an empire of lies.” A succinct statement. I agree with it one hundred percent.
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originally posted by: anonentity
a reply to: turretless
The more idiotic you are, the more predictable your response is going to be. This is a natural law where nature will favor the most intelligent. If you put bait over the hook you catch the fish. The West has been given two choices, one is intelligent dialogue, and the other is a baited hook.
If they take the baited hook, it will be done with escalating energy and food resource problems coupled with a long and vulnerable supply chain and morale issues. No doubt an added complication with the timing,.... which will be a winter war In a battleground of Russia's choosing, mostly fought at temperatures that could get to 40 below. Good luck.
24 June 2022 16:35
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Question:
Ukraine and Moldova are now official candidates for EU membership. Charles Michel said this was a historic moment. Do you think this EU step has practical implications? Or is it just an expression of spite against Russia?
Sergey Lavrov:
We have always proceeded from the premise that the EU is not a military-political bloc. Unlike NATO, its relations with any willing country do not create any threat or risk for us. President Putin reiterated this in his remarks at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
However, we are fully aware of the fact that the EU has gone through a rapid evolution, not to say mimicry, over the past several years and has taken on an aggressive ideology-driven, primarily Russophobic, undertone. Whenever they strictly lecture countries that are either candidates for EU membership or are striving to become candidates, the EU leaders mince no words saying that a candidate country has no choice but to support every EU policy in the international arena, including its every action against the Russian Federation (this is almost verbatim). This is how EU officials express their demands, in particular, to Serbia. That country is an EU candidate, but like every other country, it is strongly against losing its independence and supporting decisions that flatly contradict its fundamental interests, in this case, its relations with Russia. Our country was one of the few countries that stood with Yugoslavia when NATO perpetrated its aggression against Yugoslavia in flagrant violation of every OSCE principle. This was the first time OSCE countries attacked and bombed another OSCE member, including its civilian infrastructure. Bridges, passenger trains, a television centre and other civilian sites were targeted. Serbia does not want to forget the fact that Russia stood up for it back then. It is necessary to, at least, show some respect for the Serbian people and their historical memory. I’m not even talking about earlier history, like WWII and other milestone events in our common history.
The EU’s brazen and wanton requirement is that if a country wants to be an EU candidate it must maintain a Russophobic position all the way to membership. The EU makes it clear that it does not want to see any unifying trend in Europe, is not complying and is not going to comply with the existing agreements between the Russian Federation and the EU on moving toward common spaces in the economy, research and education, and domestic security, and is unwilling to pursue lofty goals like creating a common space from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, to name a few. All of that is history. Let’s be realistic about the EU’s actions and track its actual steps and see how the candidate countries comply with these requirements or try to show their independence.
We have few illusions that the EU’s current Russophobic charge will dissipate or change any time soon or even in the long run. The path that the Europeans have adopted is reminiscent of World War II’s early days. Hitler put together a large number, if not most, of the European countries to attack the Soviet Union. Right now, in a similar way, the EU and NATO, among others, are putting together a coalition to oppose, or by and large, “wage war” against the Russian Federation.
We will track this situation closely.
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25 June 2022 00:01
BSEC: Riding the waves of opportunity to the seas of common prosperity
This year marks an important milestone, the 30th anniversary of the Organisation of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) which was created amid global change, optimism and hope for eliminating dividing lines in the interest of achieving global peace, well-being and prosperity.
In these 30 years, the BSEC has travelled a path of success starting out as a purely dialogue format and growing into an all-encompassing organisation in the Greater Black Sea region. For the first time in its thousand-year history, the Black Sea region has acquired an identity of its own and a reliable institutional framework. For many years now, the BSEC has been a driving force in developing collective decisions to promote sustainable development, expand economic opportunities, and integrate the Black Sea region into global supply chains.
Russia takes pride in being one of the founders of the BSEC and is one of its active participants. In conjunction with other states, we make consistent efforts to reinforce the organisation’s practical potential and to create proper conditions for effective operation. Key initiatives include the creation of a ring road around the Black Sea, sea route expansion, interaction on emergency situations and firefighting, and cooperation between law enforcement agencies. In the foreseeable future, we are counting on positive dynamics in trade facilitation and the introduction of a “one-stop shop” customs clearance mechanism.
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