🇷🇺 in Cape Town

❗️ Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates Cyril Ramaphosa on his reelection as president of South Africa The Russian leader expects Ramaphosa to attend BRICS summit in Russia's city of Kazan on October 22-24. Subscribe to @sputnik_africa 🔸 TikTok | Sputnik Africa | Boost us on Telegram 🔸

🖋 Article «The humanity should get rid of the colonial system heritage. Colonial powers’ time is up» by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russian Federation, Chairman of the United Russia Party Key points: • There is brazen interference in the affairs of independent states, which, unfortunately, still continues in various forms. Despite humanity’s persistent efforts to eradicate neocolonialism, the Western world vehemently resists it. • The former colonial powers persist in exploiting dependent countries, enhancing their own comfort through the humiliation and oppression of others – albeit employing more sophisticated tools and methods. • According to experts (American experts, for all their bias), between 1946 and 2000, the United States interfered in elections in other countries more than 80 times. Since 1945, there have been more than 50 attempted coups and military interventions. Of the 174 cases of restrictive measures applied in the 20th century, the United States was responsible for 109. <…> In fact, America has become a global sanctions neo-metropolis. • In order to preserve its geopolitical presence in various parts of the world, the West relies on the so-called debt neo-colonialism . <…> The neo-colonial powers are using financial institutions under their control and extensively exploiting the difficult socioeconomic situation in many countries of the Global South to induce them to borrow at interest rates that are higher than those offered to the so-called golden billion countries. • Neo-metropolitan powers have also been targeting certain countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa with their disruptive efforts in order to control their natural wealth, including critical minerals. They focus on gaining unrestricted access to lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and rear earth deposits they need for transitioning to a low-carbon economy. ❗️ The fight against neocolonialism is not an eternal confrontation for the sake of confrontation itself. It is primarily a progressive movement of states towards civilisational sovereignty, which is crucial in avoiding degradation and devastation in the 21st century. <…> Only fully sovereign countries that have independence in domestic and foreign affairs will be able to effectively counteract the deliberate efforts of the former metropolises to impose unequal economic and political deals on them. • Investigation of colonial crimes that do not have a statute of limitations should be placed at the forefront of this activity. It is necessary to consider the creation of a single public database (register) of crimes of the colonial period, as well as modern neocolonial practices, at the UN, and work out a scale to evaluate the damage caused by war crimes committed on their territory. • Neo-metropoles should be hit where it hurts the most, in their wallets, which they are filling largely by exploiting the rest of the world. We believe that the payment of compensations to the victims of neocolonial practices should be based on clear, legally considered and substantiated evidence. Political and diplomatic assessments must be complemented with a legal evaluation of their actions. • We wish the best of luck to our African and Latin American colleagues. Their success, including in establishing an anticolonial tribunal (akin to the Nuremberg Trials), will be a major step towards depriving the Global North of its domination and towards building a fair multipolar world order. 📄 Read in full

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions following the meeting of Foreign Ministers from BRICS and Global South and Global East countries (Nizhny Novgorod, June 11, 2024) 💬 We have just completed our two-day programme. Yesterday, we worked with the #BRICS countries, and continued our discussions today with the invited countries which have yet to join BRICS. They expressed their firm commitment to forging closer ties with this association. Apart from the ten BRICS countries, another 12 nations of the Global Majority representing Asia, Africa and Latin America joined us today. We discussed the most pressing and relevant international issues and challenges which all countries face today, as well as the present-day international environment and the role the Global Majority plays in shaping the global agenda. During the BRICS segment of our meeting and today, in the presence of the invited countries, all delegations spoke out in favour of reforming the existing global governance framework by focusing on enabling the Global South to play a bigger role in it. We noted the need to undertake collective efforts in order to achieve the sustainable development goals, ensure security and foster economic growth. Most of the delegations emphasised the destructive nature of protectionism in trade. The US and its allies have been sticking to this destructive policy. <...> ❗️ All meeting participants without exception paid special attention to the developments in the Gaza Strip where the death toll stands at 37,000, while about 100,000 people were wounded. The military operation continues there, resulting in more and more casualties among innocent people. We emphasised that there is no alternative to undertaking consistent efforts designed to support the emergence of a multipolar world order based on the sovereign equality of states as set forth in the UN Charter, as well as an equitable interstate dialogue free from any hidden agendas and aimed at coming up with collective solutions for addressing the objectives and issues the world faces today. <...> Following the BRICS meeting held yesterday, we have adopted an in-depth and explicit Joint Statement, which reflects the group countries’ stands on current international issues in the spirit of the assessments I have mentioned here. 🤝 It is highly satisfying that our work in the expanded format went smoothly. All participants tried to reach consensus even on the most complicated issues reflected in the text. Read in full

✍🏻Op-Ed by Ambassador of Russia to South Africa Ilya Rogachev (12 June 2024) READ IN FULL 💬Those who try to look solid in their pro-Ukrainian (and anti-Russian) deliberations often put forward false arguments about the nature of the Ukraine conflict, or groundlessly accuse our country of breaching the International Law. In particular, Russia is blamed for alleged violation of the Budapest memorandum with regard to Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and the UN Charter. Key points: ❌These narratives only work where there’s lack of factual knowledge. ☝🏻According to the Declaration of State Sovereignty of 1990, the independent Ukraine was to become a permanently neutral state, not participating in military blocs and free of nuclear weapons. Ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious rights of all national minorities of Ukraine were guaranteed by its Constitution. 🔹The 2014 coup in Ukraine and the subsequent events drastically changed the country. Kiev unleashed hostilities against its own population in the country’s South-East, renounced its neutral status and declared its intention to acquire nuclear weapons. ♟Ukraine’s hardships do not stem from Kiev being a signatory to the Budapest memorandum, rather from the loss of sovereignty and becoming someone else’s pawn in geopolitical games.

On June 12, Russian Consulate General held a reception on the occasion of the Russian National Day. This event was attended by South African officials, representatives of the Consular Corps, Russian compatriots, community activists, media & business officers. It was emphasised, that the foreign diplomats of all BRICS countries officially represented in Cape Town attended the event. During the reception, footage of the Russian regions and natural wonders as well as the 2023 A.Stenin International Press Photo Contest winners, were showcased. The guests were offered specialties of Russian national cuisine. An opera singer Sipho Qabithole performed national anthems of the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Africa. The attendance of South African officials, partners and friends underlined the high level of relations between Russia and South Africa despite any pressure from the countries conducting policy of preservation of the neo-colonial world order.

🇷🇺 Happy #RussiaDay! As per tradition, on this day we share a video love letter to our Motherland — #IloveRussia! #RussiaDay #RussiaDay2024

🇷🇺 Article by Ambassador of Russia to South Africa Ilya Rogachev ‘National Sovereignty – the Pillar of Russia’s Statehood’ (12 June 2024) READ IN FULL Key points: 🔹The present-day collective West’s policies to redistribute the resources of the rest of the world in its own favour, leading to the increased global inequality, is no different from what was formerly known as colonialism – but with more subtle instruments. 🔹The true independence for many countries, including economically developed ones, is yet to be achieved. 🔹 Since over 1,100 years ago, we have firmly learned that erosion of our state and neglect of our national interests even for a limited period of time are mortally dangerous for our country. 🔹Throughout its history, Russia had to defend its sovereignty, opposed the attempts to subdue it many times – during the Times of Troubles, Napoleon’s invasion, during the Russian Civil War and the World War II. 🔹 Today Russia is fighting to defend its sovereignty again, with Ukraine conflict being an episode of this struggle. 🔹 The majority of nations in the Global South and the Global East tired of the collective West’s arrogance also stand up for strengthening their independence and against double standards, imposed values, manipulations and unequal partnerships.

🇷🇺 Happy Russia Day! #RussiaDay #Russia1Love #IloveRussia #WeAreRussia #RussiaDay2024

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at an extended meeting with the participation of the Foreign Ministers from the Global South and the Global East (June 11, 2024, Nizhny Novgorod) 💬 Welcome to Russia and Nizhny Novgorod, a beautiful city, the beauty of which and the feelings of the residents of which you had the chance to enjoy yesterday. Today’s meeting reflects the efforts of #BRICS members to develop ties with the stakeholder countries from the Global South and the Global East, the countries of the Global Majority, in order to identify solutions to the most pressing global issues faced by all members of the international community without exception. We are witnessing a profound transformation of international relations triggered by the formation of a fairer and polycentric system of international order, which would reflect the entire gamut of cultural and civilisational diversity of the modern-day world and ensure the right of every nation to determine its own future and its own path of development. The stronger voice of the Global Majority, i.e. the countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, which are not part of the collective West, is a major trend now. Only by uniting our ranks can we truly effectively promote a vision of a just future shared by all of us. In this context, it is important to strengthen the role of the country-to-country groups that advocate balanced and equitable approaches to international development. We are talking about the formats which reflect the principles of equitable cooperation in practice rather than in words. These include, along with BRICS, #SCO, #AfricanUnion, #EAEU, #CIS, #ASEAN, #LAS, #CELAC, #GCC, #IORA and many other organisations. The chairs of many of these organisations are here with us. We believe it is important to establish contacts between all such integration entities which operate at regional levels, on the one hand, and our global association BRICS, on the other hand. This will promote gradual and mutually respectful harmonisation of approaches to the issues facing all associations. The strengthening the international legal framework and collective decision-making on global issues is now at the forefront. Only in this case will those decisions be effective and legitimate. This principle is laid down in the UN Charter. Unfortunately, the collective West’s decisions, especially in the economy, finance, trade and more, increasingly fail to comply with the fundamental principles of the UN Charter. Our countries have largely overlapping approaches to reforming the system of multilateral institutions, including the UN and the UN Security Council, as well as addressing the post-pandemic recovery of the global economy and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals approved by the UN General Assembly. 🤝 We look forward to discussing all these issues today.

❗️ The World Bank has raised its growth forecast for the Russian economy in 2024 to 2.9% from 1.3% earlier Subscribe to @sputnik_africa 🔸 TikTok | Sputnik Africa | Boost us on Telegram 🔸