Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's video address on the 20th anniversary of RT television network, Moscow, October 17, 2025
17 October 2025 09:03
1715-17-10-2025
Ms Simonyan,
Members of the RT team,
Friends,
Today, we have a wonderful occasion to come together and celebrate as we mark 20 years since RT's founding. This project went on to become one of the most distinctive undertakings in the media industry. Let me start by congratulating all of you on this anniversary on behalf of the Foreign Ministry, as well as in my personal capacity.
Over the past years, your television network has developed its own traditions and has served as a role model of professional excellence in journalism. RT reporters always stay in the heat of action around the world, often putting themselves in harm's way when working in various hotspots across our planet. It is thanks to their reporting that millions of people watching your channel receive accurate information about what is happening in our country and beyond its borders.
Your effective efforts have been a constant irritant abroad for those who are about to lose their monopoly on creating and spreading their narrative to a broad audience. Still, they refuse to come to terms with this reality and persevere in their efforts. But RT has shouldered this burden with dignity and pride, even when targeted by the destructive actions of unfriendly governments in their attempt to silence the truth. We cannot but express our deep respect for the patriotism of the network's senior executives and staff, who continue to perform their duties despite all the threats, attempts to discredit them, sanctions, bans and other discriminatory moves by those who want to harm you.
Russia views forging stronger bonds with the Global South and East as its foreign policy priority. We welcome RT's efforts to expand its presence in the countries of the Global Majority, and applaud the fact that your materials are becoming increasingly popular in the CIS, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
On a special note, I would like to recognise the dedicated and selfless efforts of your frontline correspondents in the special military operation zone. It is thanks to their courage that people around the world can access honest and accurate information and learn about the root causes of the Ukraine crisis, the tragedy unfolding in Donbass and its heroes, as well as the Nazi essence of the Kiev regime and the Russia-hating nature of the collective West's policies. Wherever something important is happening that affects the world order, RT correspondents have acted as professionals.
The Foreign Ministry has much praise for the constructive cooperation we have built with your network's friendly and united team. In fact, diplomats and journalists pursue the same mission, even if their methods may differ - they use their knowledge, skills and talents to try to make the world we live in better, safer and more people-friendly. At the end of the day, foreign policy actions and efforts to accompany them in the media space share the same objective: securing favourable and stable external conditions for promoting Russia's steady and positive development and improving the wellbeing of its people.
I would like to wish you good health, new creative achievements and all the best.
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