Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks and answers to media questions at a joint news conference following talks with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Chad Mahamat Zene Cherif, Moscow, December 7, 2021
7 December 202118:05
2530-07-12-2021
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have discussed almost all of the entire agenda of our relations, including bilateral economic, humanitarian, and education issues, and military-technical cooperation and international problems, including coordination of our efforts at the UN and the settlement of conflicts in Africa.
We have traditionally maintained friendly relations that we continue to develop along the principles of equality, mutual benefit and respect at the most diverse levels.
We emphasised our interest in further promoting the entire package of bilateral ties, paying special attention to making them more effective and increasing the scale of trade, economic and investment partnership. We have modest figures for now, but we have agreed to help the relevant departments and business circles develop direct contacts. In our estimation, we have opportunities in energy, geological prospecting, IT, agriculture and healthcare.
In this context, we noted the intensive activities of the Association for Economic Cooperation with African States (AECAS) that was created following the first Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi in 2019. A couple of months ago an association delegation visited Chad's capital of N'Djamena. It had useful talks with the Division of Mines and Geology. Now they are drafting proposals on various forms of cooperation with Chad. Our colleagues promised to express their wishes regarding areas where Russian companies, with their Chadian partners, can be useful.
Our humanitarian contacts are traditionally well developed. We continue educating specialists for the Republic of Chad, something that has earned a good reputation over the years. Today, several hundred Chadian citizens study at our universities. In all, about 2,500 Chadians have received an education in our country.
We are grateful to Mr Minister and his colleagues for the detailed information on the domestic situation in the country, including preparations for a general election. We support the constructive steps made by the transitional government with a view to reaching political unity and stability. We are positive on the government's plans to hold a nationwide and inclusive dialogue.
We maintain good cooperation between our foreign ministries. The 2013 Memorandum laid the foundation for this cooperation. We will expand our coordination at the UN and other multilateral venues and regularly hold consultations on related issues.
We discussed African affairs at length: the difficult situation in the Sahara-Sahel zone that was destabilised after NATO's aggressive attack on Libya. This was followed by an inflow of terrorists and smugglers, and volumes of illegal weapons from the north to the south of Africa. These criminals were particularly attracted to this area and the Lake Chad region.
We discussed in detail the developments in this part of Africa, as well as in Libya, the Central African Republic and Mali.
We share the opinion that a nationwide dialogue, with the major political forces of society, is the only way to normalise the situation in a given country. In the process, it is necessary to mobilise all available resources of the Africans themselves and the international community for fighting terrorist groups.
We talked to our partners about Russia's efforts to maintain the joint forces of the Sahel Five which are in the process of being created. This is nearing completion now. We will continue supporting it with arms and hardware and personnel training, including peacekeepers.
We consider it very important to help Africa put an end to this evil and other challenges and threats, including drug trafficking and other forms of organised crime. We will always support the resolution of African problems by the African themselves. In the meantime, the international community represented by the Security Council and other structures, should grant them moral, political, legal and material assistance.
I am grateful to you for our talks. Our colleagues support the holding of a second Russia-Africa summit in 2022. We will keep you posted on these developments.
Question: A report by the US Department of State reads that during their talks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky agreed on the need for a peaceful, diplomatic settlement in Donbass. At the same time, Mr Zelensky believes that it is Ukraine's armed forces that will bring peace to Donbass. This is what he said yesterday, speaking before the Ukrainian military. What can you tell us about Ukraine's two-sided approach? Do you think Kiev is ready for a peaceful settlement to the conflict in the southeast of the country?
Sergey Lavrov: You called Ukraine's position "two-sided." I think you paid them a compliment. They have so many people, so many minds. Any of them can change their opinion several times a day. This is true of President Zelensky and his ministers. Former Deputy Prime Minister and new Defence Minister Alexei Reznikov said yesterday that Ukraine should invite (or has already invited) the Brits, the Americans and the Canadians to the frontline in Donbass. Two hours later he said they would not be invited. Apparently, his seniors told him he had gone too far. This process is described as a stream of consciousness. There are many streams flooding in different directions.
As for the principle of a peaceful settlement, there is no alternative. Having talked with his curator from Washington, President Zelensky promised to follow this but then said the opposite. This only confirms what I just said. Peaceful settlement can only be achieved through straight, unequivocal implementation of the Minsk agreements. Everything is written in these agreements and translated into UN languages. I am confident that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is familiar with this document although he is trying to interpret it in an unacceptable manner that contradicts the text.
The document reads that Kiev must coordinate everything with Donetsk and Lugansk. Our American colleagues are presenting the issue in a different way. They claim that Russia needs to observe the ceasefire, withdraw its heavy weapons and ensure the development of socio-economic ties between Donbass and the rest of Ukraine. They praise the Kiev regime for once again extending any action on the law on the special status of these republics and on working for the amnesty law. Meanwhile, the Americans should know that Kiev is using these documents to undermine the Minsk agreements.
An important event will take place in Russian-US relations today: a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Joseph Biden via videoconference. We will clearly explain our approaches to settlement in Ukraine and the need to compel the Kiev regime to fulfil its commitments that are written in black and white in the Minsk Package of Measures. Judging by what we see, Kiev will not listen to anyone except the United States. We will see how the conversation ends. We are very concerned about Kiev's attempts to provoke its curators.
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