• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks and replies to media questions at a joint news conference following talks with Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Paul Richard Gallagher, Moscow, November 9, 2021

9 November 202116:52
2276-09-11-2021

Ladies and gentlemen,

We had meaningful talks. We have friendly relations with the Holy See. They are steadily developing in the format of political dialogue, including at the high and highest levels and between our foreign ministries.

We have a common interest in expanding our cultural and humanitarian ties. We welcomed the growth of exchanges between our museums and archives. We expressed our positive opinion about the joint events devoted to the 200th birth anniversary of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. We know that Pope Francis has a special attitude to his works. We are glad to note that the Vatican has a deep respect for the artistic heritage of the great Russian writer.

We are interested in further invigorating our scholarly and academic contacts. The agreement on mutual recognition of education, qualifications and scholarly titles, which is scheduled for signing, is designed to facilitate this.

We have many successful examples of cooperation, including productive contacts between the Moscow Voino-Yasenetsky Academic and Practical Centre of Specialised Medical Care for Children with the Bambino Gesu Hospital, a Catholic facility for children.

We noted that our dialogue at interstate level is being successfully supplemented by the Vatican's steady ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. This is confirmed by today's meeting of my colleague with Metropolitan Hilarion, Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

We had a constructive exchange of views on the pressing problems of our times. We emphasised the importance of developing interstate dialogue on universally recognised principles of international law. For our part, we welcomed the efforts of the Holy See to enhance international stability, facilitate peaceful settlement of conflicts and develop inter-church dialogue.

We have a common opinion on the need to protect the institution of the family. We agreed to coordinate our efforts to uphold the intransient Christian moral and spiritual values at international venues.

We have similar approaches to the urgent issues of environmental protection and climate. We believe the implementation of the Paris agreement on climate change is the right way forward for the international community. We hope the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow will contribute to resolving this task.

We reviewed crises in various regions of the world. We confirmed that there is no alternative to the full and consistent implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures on settlement in the east of Ukraine.

We discussed in detail the efforts of the Russian Federation to support the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, and launch processes that will enhance confidence and create the conditions for full-fledged economic and other cooperation in the South Caucasus.

We share approaches to an Afghan settlement. You are well aware of these. We look forward to the Taliban delivering on its purported steps and goals, including stabilising the situation in the country, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, preventing any conflicts from spilling over to neighbouring countries, and ensuring an inclusive government, which should represent all major ethno-political forces in the country.

We exchanged views on the state of affairs in non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control. In this context, we spoke about the efforts that, following the June summit between President Vladimir Putin and President Joe Biden, are being made between Russia and the United States to promote dialogue on strategic stability and cyber security.

We focused in particular on the situation in the Middle East, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, including from the perspective of the Christian communities in these countries. We agreed to promote cooperation on the protection of Christians at the UN, the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

I would like to express my satisfaction with the outcome of the talks.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher has a very busy programme. A meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin today is the next item on his programme. I wish him every success.

Question: With regard to the situation in Syria, you continue to meet with Kurdish representatives from Syria. How are the efforts to resolve the crisis going? What does Russia have to offer regarding the future of that country?

Sergey Lavrov: Russia is advancing the steps that are included in UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and insists on everyone respecting the provisions of this resolution in full. This applies to some military units' illegal presence in Syria. Also, everyone must respect that country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and act swiftly - especially so amid the coronavirus pandemic - to end the illegal unilateral sanctions that the West never stops imposing on Syria. Sabotaging the demands to create proper conditions for the return of refugees to Syria must end as well.

Unfortunately, the West is raising money with the sole purpose of keeping refugees in the countries to which they fled in the early years of the conflict. I'm talking, primarily, about Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. Our Western colleagues do not want to do anything to restore basic infrastructure for the return of refugees. Now, the necessity to create proper conditions for the people returning to their homes and to build the infrastructure in healthcare, and power and water supplies, has been included in the UN Security Council resolution. We will push for everyone, primarily the donor community, to comply with it.

With regard to the Kurds that you mentioned, they should identify as part of Syrian society. We maintain close contacts with Kurdish representatives. We are ready to help ensure that their legitimate interests are fully taken into account in the ongoing efforts to form a new political framework in the context of the Constitutional Committee's activities.

I would advise the Kurds not to succumb to the "dallying" that our US colleagues continue to use in relations with them as they try to feed the separatist sentiment in eastern Syria and to make their plans a major irritant aimed against the interest of preserving a single Syrian state. This is a dangerous game that can lead to the Kurdish problem going up in flames across the entire region given its dimension that includes other countries in addition to Syria.

We are using the Astana format to promote these approaches as best we can, including the Russia-Turkey-Iran format and observers from Iraq and Jordan. The next meeting is planned for December. We will then see what additional steps are required.

Question (to both parties of the talks): What can you say about the migration crisis on the Belarusian border with Poland and Lithuania? What should international institutions do to alleviate the sufferings of these people? Can the Vatican offer mediation or other assistance?

Sergey Lavrov: I believe that the resolution of these problems should be based on full respect for the principles of international humanitarian law. It is important not to forget the roots of these problems. They are caused by the long-term policy of the Western countries, including NATO and EU members, as regards the Middle East and North Africa. The West was trying to impose its version of a better life on these states, and its interpretation of democracy that it was pushing all over the world. When the West encountered the least bit of resistance, it launched military ventures. Iraq was bombed under a false pretext, the Libyan state was destroyed and there were attacks on Syria. These and other ventures of our Western colleagues triggered unprecedented refugee flows.

For all the steps that are now being discussed and undertaken, the cause of these problems and who is to blame for what is happening now must not be forgotten. The main responsibility for resolving the migrant crisis rests with those who created the conditions for its outbreak.

The second argument is about the need to avoid double standards. It is necessary to approach the position of the EU countries with uniform standards when it comes to their decision to accept or refuse to accept refugees. It is wrong to apply different standards to Italy and Poland when Brussels reviews how Rome and Warsaw will behave towards refugees that are coming to their countries.

The countries from which refugees come to the EU should also be treated equally. The approach should be the same for all of them. During political science panels yesterday, some participants asked: The EU paid Turkey to keep refugees bound for the EU on Turkish territory. Why cannot the EU help the Belarusians who have to provide a normal life for the refugees that Poland and Lithuania do not want to see on their territory?

Respecting international humanitarian law also means respect for the people who have become refugees primarily through the fault of the West that has unleashed aggressive wars in the Middle East and North Africa. These people do not want to stay in Belarus or Turkey. They want to be in Europe, which has been promoting its way of life for a long time. Words and actions have consequences.