- Статьи
- World
- "The Kiev regime is a Nazi regime because it has launched an offensive against everything Russian."
"The Kiev regime is a Nazi regime because it has launched an offensive against everything Russian."
Russia expects that the consistent development of ties with neighboring Georgia will at some stage lead to full normalization and restoration of diplomatic relations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with Izvestia. At the same time, the Russian diplomat noted that the West's line in Transcaucasia is absolutely destructive. There is no real progress in the dialog with it and in the context of the Ukrainian settlement, he emphasized. About the diplomatic service, the influence of Yerevan's rapprochement with the EU on Armenian-Russian relations and building contacts with the West today - in Mikhail Galuzin's exclusive interview with Izvestia.
"In those years the channels of dialog were always preserved and functioning"
- You started your diplomatic career in 1983 - at the height of the Cold War and the moment of a new round of arms race between the USSR and the West. If we compare the situation in those days with what is happening in relations between Russia and the West today, how much more complicated is the work of a diplomat?
- You are right, I started my diplomatic career almost 42 years ago in Japan. In 1983, I went to work at our embassy in Tokyo. It was the time of the height of the Cold War and a new round of the arms race and generally worsening relations between the Soviet Union and the West. What is the difference from today? In those years, despite all the acuteness and serious outbursts of tension in relations between Moscow and the collective West, channels of dialog were always preserved and active. And not some episodic dialog from time to time, but a constant and regular one. If we are talking about the Japanese direction, which I was most familiar with at the time, then even at the most acute moments there was not just a mechanism of regular consultations between the deputy foreign ministers of the Soviet Union and Japan, the foreign ministers met quite regularly, and there were exchanges of visits.
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Galuzin
Now the situation is different in the sense that the West, driven by a pipe dream of inflicting a so-called strategic defeat on the Russian Federation, of ousting Russia from the ranks of influential and authoritative participants in international relations through the total use of sanctions tools that are completely ineffective in terms of damaging our economy, and in an attempt to force us to change our foreign policy course within the framework of its irresponsible and short-sighted policy, has proactively closed all channels of dialog with us. Western leaders of that time were wise enough to maintain effective channels of dialog. Today's Western politicians and government leaders are apparently not so far-sighted and not so deeply aware of what international relations are all about.
At the same time, Russia is not withdrawing from contacts with the West and remains open to them, but it is obvious that when or if this dialog is resumed, we will conduct it from the position of rigidly defending Russian national interests. And we proceed from the premise that it is not for Russia to initiate the resumption of dialog in front of the West now. If the West is ready for it, and if statements of this kind or at least intentions to resume dialogue with us are heard from there, but so far in the public space and not through diplomatic channels, then we believe that it should officially signal to us through diplomatic channels about this readiness and explain to us what it is coming with, what issues and priorities it is addressing.
- What competencies should a Russian diplomat working in the CIS space possess?
- As for the skills that a diplomat working on bilateral relations with the CIS member states needs, I would first of all mention the ability for multilateral diplomacy. In my opinion, the actions and decisions that we take together with our partners on the development of our bilateral relations, and I am engaged in this particular block, they should still fit into those joint integration initiatives and decisions that we initiate and implement together within the CIS, EurAsEC, EAEU and the Union State of Russia and Belarus.
That is, the combination of the bilateral factor with our multilateral integration complex is what, in my opinion, is required among the first skills of diplomats working in the CIS area. In addition, diplomats working in the direction of post-Soviet states also need to understand the need to respect the diversity of traditions, cultures and religions, the choice of societies and states of these countries in favor of independent sovereign development and positioning themselves in the international arena. And, of course, respect for our common history, especially important this year - the year of the 80th anniversary of the common victory in the Great Patriotic War.
"Vladimir Putin has made a unique contribution to the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations"
- In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow was doing everything to normalize Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and sign a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the document is almost 90% agreed. What do you think are the chances of its signing this year?
- First of all, we welcome the progress made by Azerbaijan and Armenia on the way to the conclusion of the peace treaty and normalization of bilateral relations. I am very grateful to you for mentioning in your question and starting your question with a quote from Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is very right, because it was he who made, I will not be afraid of this word, a unique contribution to the launch of the process of normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. First of all, this was done in November 2020, when a trilateral document was formalized - a statement by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia - a document that contained a roadmap for an Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement with the assistance of Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
We advocate that the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides - and Armenia and Azerbaijan are countries with which we have allied relations - work out a peace treaty that would open the way and mean a sustainable long-term settlement of relations, rather than laying a "mine" for future generations. Naturally, we are always ready to contribute to moving forward and we are against the conclusion of any hasty documents, as the West insists, which is very eager to push Armenia and Azerbaijan to conclude a peace treaty on any Western platform as soon as possible. Such hasty, ill-considered and not fully verified decisions may not lead to long-term sustainable peace, but on the contrary, may lay some seeds of confrontation for the future, which, of course, we consider extremely undesirable neither for Armenia and Azerbaijan, nor for the South Caucasus, nor for Russia.
Unfortunately, the work of the trilateral group headed by the Deputy Chairmen of the Governments of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia to unblock transportation communications and resume economic ties has now been interrupted and frozen, if I may say so. Of course, we call on the parties and, first of all, our Armenian friends to return to the work within the framework of this group. The Russian side is always ready to provide all possible assistance to the parties if they so wish.
"Simultaneous membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the EU is impossible"
- Recently, the Armenian authorities have become more actively engaged with the European Union. For example, a dialogue on visa liberalization was officially launched in September 2024, and work on a new comprehensive document called "New Partnership Agenda" is also underway. Does Russia discuss this issue with the representatives of Armenia?
- First of all, we consider the West's line in the South Caucasus absolutely destructive, because it is aimed not at stabilizing the situation in this strategically important region for Russia, but at trying to "contribute" to our strategic defeat from this flank. Sometimes there is even talk about attempts to induce some countries to open a second front against Russia - in the Transcaucasus.
Yerevan, Armenia
As for the tightening of ties between Armenia on the one hand, the European Union on the other, and the West as a whole, we proceed from the following. Official Yerevan, the Armenian state, the Armenian society and the Armenian people make sovereign decisions on how to build their foreign policy and how to position their country in the international community. This is their prerogative, and we, as you well know, never interfere in the internal affairs of other states and never impose some prescriptions and our vision on other states, but try to work out through dialog some mutually acceptable modalities and compromise approaches to the solution of certain issues.
- Can Yerevan's rapprochement with the EU affect the relations between Russia and Armenia?
- As for Armenia's rapprochement with the European Union, we have made it clear both publicly and in dialogue with our Armenian friends that simultaneous membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union is impossible, because these are two incompatible regulatory systems with different approaches to customs standards, technical, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, goods labeling and certification, and even intellectual property issues. These are completely different systems, and it is simply not possible to be in them at the same time.
As for the issue mentioned by you about the beginning of negotiations between Armenia and the European Union on various projects in favor of rapprochement and in particular visa-free regime, yes, such negotiations have been started. We see that the European Union is true to itself here as well, because without making any promises or serious decisions in terms of visa-free relations, it is already demanding political loyalty from Armenia and joining the anti-Russian sanctions. And all this is happening against the background of the fact that Armenia's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union brings it tangible and significant long-term benefits in the form of increased trade with the EAEU and increased investments from the EAEU space to Armenia.
If we take the latest figures of Armenian statistics - I'll give you approximately, so as not to be mistaken in some details - the volume of trade turnover between Armenia and its EAEU partners is about $13 billion and last year it increased by 53%, while the volume of trade with the European Union last year barely exceeded $2 billion and decreased by 24%. That is, even by these figures of Armenian statistics we can see where the origins of the current economic well-being of Armenia and its people are, and a sharp paradigm shift and transition to the European Union, in our opinion, will inevitably be associated with a drop in GDP, and with serious blows to Armenian business, economy and living standards of ordinary citizens of Armenia. Armenian politicians sometimes say that there are sentiments in favor of joining the EU in Armenian society. Perhaps there are such sentiments, but we believe that the sentiments of those Armenian citizens who think of their country's future in the Eurasian family and within the framework of Eurasian integration are equally worthy of attention.
"Consistent development of relations with Georgia will at some stage lead us to the restoration of diplomatic relations"
- Last year Irakli Kobakhidze said that Georgia would maintain a pragmatic policy in relations with Russia. Nevertheless, it is premature to talk about restoration of diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia. Does Russia see an opportunity for their restoration in the future? Under what conditions is it possible?
- Generally, it is not exactly our policy to impose conditions, although in some cases it has to be done, but this is still an exception to the rules. We are in favor of continuing the development of relations with neighboring Georgia - a country with which we are united by common history, common cultural traditions, common faith and extensive human and family ties, we all know and remember it well. Seeing this pragmatic line of the government of the Georgian Dream party, we have taken and are taking steps to develop Russian-Georgian cooperation, first and foremost in the interests of the peoples of our countries.
Tbilisi, Georgia
This is what dictated such decisions taken by Russia as resumption of air communication between Russia and Georgia, restoration of visa-free regime first for those who travel to our country for short-term trips, and then, after a year, for those citizens of Georgia who enter Russia to work and study and simply to live here. And we are ready to continue on this path, ready to develop pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation with Georgia. We have been and will continue to be Georgia's key economic partner. We believe that such a consistent development of relations with neighboring Georgia will at some stage lead us to full normalization and restoration of diplomatic relations. Here we are ready to go as far as the Georgian side is ready to go, and there are no restrictions for us here.
"As a result of political and diplomatic settlement, the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine should be eliminated"
- Does the Russian Foreign Ministry expect the launch of the negotiation process on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict in 2025?
- You and I can see that recently, maybe in recent weeks, especially on the part of the collective West and, in particular, the United States and its new administration, opinions have been expressed in favor of the need to restart and resume the negotiation process as soon as possible in order to reach a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Such statements have been made only in the public space so far, and we do not have any official appeals in this regard. But I must say that despite all these seemingly positive statements, in reality nothing is changing in the sense that the West continues to pump arms into the Nazi regime in Kyiv, a fact that we record and take into account in our policy above all. Cumulatively over the past almost three years, the volume of arms pumped into the Ukrainian regime has amounted to about $200 billion.
In addition, there remains such a factor that hinders any normal dialog as the self-barring imposed by Zelensky on negotiations with Russia. A decree is still in force that prohibits the Ukrainian side from negotiating with the Russian leadership. And finally, the factor that hinders the negotiation process and, most importantly, the achievement of possible agreements is the illegitimacy of the current regime in Kiev, because Zelensky's powers as president expired on May 20 last year, and any signature under any agreement will be legally null and void in the current situation.
This is the picture now, I emphasize - the real picture, not the one that is sometimes painted somewhere in publications. Russia's position has always been consistent - as formulated by the President of the Russian Federation, as voiced by the Russian Foreign Minister and Russian diplomats. It is as follows: we are open to a political and diplomatic settlement and to appropriate dialog, and we assume that if the opposite side is in the same mood, it will let us know about it officially, just as it will let us know what it is coming to these negotiations with.
Our position is that as a result of political and diplomatic settlement, first of all, the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine must be eliminated, including the ones that forced us to start the NATO Strategic Defense Forces, namely NATO's expansion to the East, including through the possible, as they believe, accession of Ukraine to the bloc and thus creating unacceptable threats to the security of the Russian Federation. The second root cause is the trampling of the legitimate rights of the Russian and Russian-speaking population of Ukraine, because today these rights are being exterminated. We are also talking about the de facto banning of the Russian language in Ukraine, Russian-language media and Russian culture - the destruction of monuments in Odessa alone is worth nothing. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. This is also the de facto banning of the canonical Russian Orthodox Church. In fact, the Kiev regime is a Nazi regime, as it has launched an offensive against everything Russian. These two root causes must be eliminated as a result of a future political and diplomatic settlement.
We proceed from the fact that the future negotiation process should be based on the achievements that were reached during the negotiations first in Belarus and then in Turkey in February-March 2022. Another thing is that now the situation "on the ground" has radically changed - the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions became part of the Russian Federation as a result of referendums. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of residents of these regions voted in favor of reunification with Russia. And even earlier, in 2014, Crimea and Sevastopol were reunited in the same way. All of these realities must be recognized, just as the initiatives put forward by the Russian president in June 2024, speaking here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, must be taken into account.
"The pro-Western line in Moldova itself has suffered a fiasco"
- Moldova held presidential elections in 2024, which were won by the pro-European-minded Maia Sandu. How does Russia see the development of relations with Moldova?
- I would still advise to look at these elections and their results somewhat more broadly than just as a formal record of the victory of a certain group and a certain party. The point is that it is obvious to any unbiased observer that these elections revealed, first of all, a deep split in Moldovan society and a very serious polarization between the supporters of the pro-Western line, which envisages turning Moldova into a part of the EU's Russophobic periphery and turning it into a NATO logistical hub aimed against Russia, primarily for the purpose of supporting the Nazi Kiev regime. This pro-Western choice, among other things, also implies the replacement of the traditional values of Moldovan society and the national identity of Moldovans with neoliberal narratives and total Romanization.
It should be said that this pro-Western line has failed in Moldova itself, because during the voting there, not the current president of the country, but an alternative candidate won the victory. And only thanks to the voting of the Moldovan diaspora in the countries of the West and various kinds of electoral manipulations, which the authorities allowed, the victory of those forces, which are in power in Moldova today, was fixed. At the same time, it should be noted that only two polling stations were opened in Russia, where several hundred thousand Moldovans living in the diaspora live.
The majority of ordinary Moldovans are in favor of preserving their cultural and linguistic identity and for friendly and good-neighborly relations with our country. If today the ruling authorities in Chisinau are not ready for a serious dialog with Russia, we will develop ties with those regions and with those political forces in Moldova that advocate the development of Russian-Moldovan relations in the spirit of friendship, good-neighborliness, mutual benefit and non-interference in internal affairs.
"The Western-centered model of the world order is failing and disbanding"
- Does Russia see any interest among the CIS countries in supporting the Eurasian Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity, which is being developed and promoted by Russia and Belarus?
- Our Belarusian friends and allies came forward with the initiative to adopt a charter of diversity and multipolarity in the 21st century, and we actively support this endeavor. Today, the initiative to adopt this charter is already of a Russian-Belarusian nature. You know that this topic was discussed at the Second Minsk Conference on Eurasian Security in late October - early November last year, and then the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Belarus adopted the Joint Vision of the Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century in Brest on November 22. We very much look forward to a constructive, thoughtful and in-depth discussion in the Eurasian space with the Eurasian integration structures on the future content of the charter.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov at a joint board meeting of the Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministries in Brest.
The essence is that the Western-centric model of world order, including the security system based on Euro-Atlantic narratives, is failing and disbanding. And we believe that it should be replaced by a Eurasian model, including in the field of security, which will be based not on the dictate of those who think of themselves as a "garden" and others as "jungle", i.e. the collective West, but on mutually respectful partnership and building relations for the harmonization, stabilization and democratization of international relations with those countries that share the principles of non-interference in internal affairs, sovereign equality and indivisibility of security. This is the direction in which we hope the discussion will develop.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
