Statement by the Head of the Russian Delegation, Mr. Dmitry Birichevskiy, at the Informal Meeting of BSEC CSO on February 23, 2024
28 February 2024 19:18
28-02-2024
Mr. Chair,
Dear colleagues,
First of all, I would like to support the words of our distinguished Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Lazar Comanescu, and reiterate that Russia has consistently been calling for upholding the economic mandate of BSEC and the depoliticized character of its work which constitutes the fundamental basis for its result oriented activities. We have heard support and similar calls from the vast majority of countries during our December ministerial meeting. Moreover, much time has been spent over the recent years to increase the efficiency of BSEC activities. Thanks to the last three BSEC Chairmanships-in-Office, we collectively managed to revitalize the Troika mechanism to promote the consensus based unified initiatives. We also formulated an extensive number of recommendations for increasing the efficiency of the Organization.
Last December we agreed on the BSEC Economic Agenda that is aimed at economic prosperity and cooperation in the Black Sea Region. We also managed to re-activate Project Development Fund.
Russia has been consistently calling upon upholding the economic mandate of BSEC and the depoliticized character of its work, which constitute the fundamental basis for its results-oriented activities. We have heard support and similar calls from the vast majority of members.
So I wonder very much, why should we rush to call up an extraordinary informal meeting without observing any procedures, without involving Troika, without even consulting it? And now we go totally beyond the mandate of the Organization and its Rules of Procedure. If we continue in such a manner, we will fade out all our previous results and the Albania's presidency will become a great failure in our history.
The fact that Albania decided to convene us today - on the Russian National Holiday - also stays beyond the BSEC common practice. And it is not just a holiday, today we celebrate the Holiday of the Defender of Motherland. It is about the Red Army which liberated Europe from the Nazis. Now Russian warriors keep liberating the reminiscence of neo-Nazism and neo-colonialism in Europe which emanated in recent years.
However, if there is a general mood in the room not to focus on BSEC, let's consider it as a talk show, as a self-made Security Council which we invented ourselves for ourselves, not for practical projects, not for helping people. We do realize that amidst the geopolitical fragmentation provoked by the collapsing unipolar world project we will get no effect from condemning Ukraine for its provocative performance in BSEC.
This country lost its sovereignty not now, but 10 years ago in 2014 as a result of the US-EU sponsored and directed coup d'état. Yesterday, on February 22 was the 10th anniversary of the so-called Maidan. By the way, we all remember the absolute fascist slogan of Maidan "Moskalyaku na Gilyaku" which means "Death to Russians". Of course we consider this coup d'état as absolutely nondemocratic, ruthless ousting of the legal authorities of Kiev. That happened on the very next day after the former president of Ukraine Victor Yanukovich signed an agreement with the representatives of the opposition on political settlement of the crisis with France, Germany and Poland being the guarantors of that. In the morning of that day the agreements were flushed down the drain. And nobody still cares.
If we want to remember everything today, then let's remember everything. They had a cheerleading team already in action. Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the US was personally feeding the protesters with cookies! A few days earlier that respected lady was discussing with the US Ambassador to Kiev Geoffrey Pyatt the composition of the new authorities in Ukraine. They didn't want anybody, including their closest ally - the EU - to interfere into their plots:
- "So that would be great, I think, to help glue this thing and have the UN help glue it, and you know... F**k the EU" - Nuland;
- "Oh, exactly" - Pyatt responded.
That is the American way to promote democracy standards!
Today we don't expect any meaningful thoughts from the representatives of the nationalist neo-Nazi regime, the regime of our brother Ukrainian people, that has been conducting a full-fledged war against its own population for as long as 10 years.
Daily shelling of peaceful neighborhoods, civilian infrastructure - these are the methods by which the Kiev regime has been operating. The data on losses and destruction is terrifying. Since February 2022, the territory of the Donetsk Peoples' Republic alone has been subjected to over 32,388 attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 4,787 civilians died on the territory of the Republic, including 142 children. 5,776 people, including 375 children, were injured. Lepestok anti-personnel mines used by the Ukrainian military in violation of all international treaties killed 143 people, including 11 children.
We have many other figures, I don't want to draw your attention to all of them. But all of them are recorded and registered by the Russian prosecutors.
The economic consequences of Ukrainian military operations are grave indeed - and this is recognized by the representative of this country today. We witness continued attacks on critical civilian infrastructure, primarily water and heat supply facilities. The Ukrainian military are targeting doctors, rescuers, and firefighters who are providing assistance to civilians affected by shelling.
Among the attacked are civil objects of regional dimension: On 8 October 2022 and 17 July 2023 - the Crimean Bridge with the civilian traffic on it; on
26 October 2023 - the Kursk nuclear power plant, with the Zaporozhie power plant being shelled regularly. Attacks on the Kakhovka hydro electrical power plant conducted since July 2022 have lead to its catastrophic destruction on 6 June 2023 severely damaging the ecosystems for hundreds of kilometers. On 5 June 2023 Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in Kharkov region of Ukraine was blown up by the saboteurs.
This list can be continued. All facts are meticulously registered by the Russian investigators and law enforcement. Judicial processes are taking action against the criminals.
The proxy war till the last Ukrainian is not just about providing security to the US and NATO. Many times we suggested negotiations to our American and European counterparts and they [our proposals] were neglected. It is a lucrative business project for Washington, nothing more. The majority of EU members obediently follow Washington's orders to supply more and more arms to Kiev replenishing them with products purchased from the US defense industry.
Another "gain" of the US warfare project in Ukraine is the destroyed economic might of the EU, that has lost at least 1,5 trillion USD due to the anti-Russian so-called sanctions initiated by Brussels.
All of the mentioned are manifestations of neocolonialism aimed at global dominance. Ukraine is not a unique example of such policy. Let's commemorate the innocent victims in Serbia, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan. Other regions of the world - Asia, Middle East and Africa, Latin America clearly feel the negative impact and opt for more democratic and efficient global governance.
The global majority - about 150 countries - never blamed Russia and never introduced any restrictions and they are ready to cooperate.
As for the Russian policy in Ukraine, we will pursue the goals of the special military operation. Observers and statistics register that local residents are fleeing from war crimes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the territory of Russia, and not to Ukraine at all, as they say in Kiev. A total of about 7 million Ukrainians have found refuge in Russia, far more than in any European state.
We will continue to provide security, stability and development to the new regions of our country. Their economic restoration is under way in the framework of comprehensive 5-year plans (the current one encompasses projects to be implemented in 2024-2028). Russia has built and restored over 18 thousand objects, including over 4 thousand apartment buildings and 2 thousand social objects. Special focus has been put on roads with more than 2 thousand kilometers already in operation.
As the President of Russia has said on many occasions Russia has always been and remains open for peaceful negotiations. It was not Russia, but Ukraine that suspended talks in 2022 after a direct instruction from London and Washington. The genuine unwillingness of Kiev and its Western patrons to put an end to the tragedy lasting from 2014 has been demonstrated on numerous occasions.
Ukraine for Russia is not about territories - we have plenty of other issues historically. It's not about geopolitics as well. It is not only a cradle of our civilization - with churches, monasteries and monuments destroyed by the Nazis during WWII and neo-Nazi ripping off the cultural essence of the people. Ukraine is a matter of life and death for Russia. It is about children from Belgorod being able to hug a granny in Kharkov without being called a "Moscal" or being threatened to be hung and killed. It is about a daughter from Moscow being able to come and take care of her elderly father in Kiev - without fear. It is about being able to live as it was for ages - as one family with the same core values that are not for foreign intruders to destroy.
Coming back to the nature of our Organization, we will call on collective efforts to strengthen the identity of the Black Sea region through collective measures, developing beneficial economic, trade, cultural and scientific ties. It would be to the detriment of all if we allow turning our region into an area of chaos, conflicts and economic degradation. We believe that BSEC will overcome these issues. The newly adopted Economic Agenda provides necessary tools for our further practical work.
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