Russia and Venezuela stand for the rule of law

Opening address and answers to media questions by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a joint news conference following talks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez, Moscow, 8 October 2014

Ladies and gentlemen,

We have held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Rafael Ramirez. This is the first time that my colleague has come to Moscow in the capacity of foreign minister, although he visited our country several times before. The talks took place in a traditional atmosphere of mutual trust and friendship, according to Russian Foreign Ministry.

 

Venezuela is one of the main strategic partners of the Russian Federation in Latin America. We are bound by relations of real solidarity and cooperation, mutual understanding and readiness to coordinate our approaches to international issues. Today we have reaffirmed our commitment to these principles, which became the foundation of our cooperation during the presidency of Hugo Chavez.

We have discussed in detail our cooperation in various spheres, primarily considering the results of talks between President Vladimir Putin and President Nicolas Maduro in Brazil in July this year and my meeting with Rafael Ramirez on the sidelines of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.

We focused on the implementation of decisions that were taken at a regular meeting of the High-Level Intergovernmental Commission in Moscow in May. We noticed that the majority of agreements were being implemented on time and set out measures to implement other plans and projects.

We discussed the situation in Venezuela and the socioeconomic reforms that are being implemented by the country’s leadership. We have reaffirmed our support for the policy of President Maduro aimed at carrying on a nationwide dialogue in the constitutional framework and without external interference or attempts to apply unilateral pressure or use sanctions or the threat of sanctions.

Our positions on international issues coincide or are very close. Russia and Venezuela stand for the rule of law on the international stage, for a stronger central role of the UN, for collective efforts to settle international issues, and for the renunciation of diktat in international affairs and of attempts to force development formulas and models on others, especially via organised coups.

We highly appreciate the cooperation of our UN delegations to promote a number of important initiatives, including a resolution to condemn the glorification of Nazism and other forms of xenophobia. It is especially important in 2015, when we will celebrate 70 years since the end of World War II and the creation of the United Nations Organisation.

Russia has reaffirmed its support for strengthening the international role and prestige of Latin America, which is a major factor in the creation of a fairer and democratic polycentric world order. Russia’s contemporary relations with Latin American countries are acquiring a fundamentally new dimension, which the July visits of President Vladimir Putin to several Latin American countries have shown.

We welcome Venezuela’s initiatives on advancing integration in Latin America. I will mention some associations: the new one – the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). We appreciate Venezuela’s tangible contribution to the development of relations between the Russian Federation and these and other Latin American structures. We are interested in forming a regular mechanism for political dialogue and cooperation in the Russia-CELAC format. CELAC foreign ministers discussed this at their meeting in New York on 25 September this year. We’ll continue enhancing our cooperation and carrying our practical joint projects.

We exchanged opinions on the events in Ukraine. We are both convinced in the need to stop any violations of the ceasefire agreement as soon as possible, carry out commitments on the sides’ separation and, most importantly, to launch inclusive political dialogue. This dialogue should be aimed at achieving agreements that would reflect the interests of all regions and political forces in Ukraine.

Ukraine took this commitment last spring when it signed the Geneva Statement of 17 April together with Russia, the EU and the United States. This commitment must be fulfilled. Maybe Ukrainian politicians are too involved in specific methods of the election race but for the time being they are doing nothing to start a national dialogue and comprehensive constitutional reform. We are worried about this.

We are content with the results of the talks. I’m convinced that they will facilitate the further consolidation of the Russian-Venezuelan strategic partnership.

Question: What do you think about the attempts of outside interference in the affairs of sovereign states, such as Venezuela, with a view towards replacing their legitimate governments?

Sergey Lavrov: We perceive extremely negatively attempts to replace governments in sovereign states through outside interference. This applies to Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, China and any other state, including EU countries. Attempts to interfere in internal affairs and to use some instruments to fuel tensions are illegal and contrary to the commitments of states under international law. Let me repeat that we have a negative attitude towards such attempts and will work for the world community to condemn them and urge their renunciation for good. We spoke about this during the current session of the UN General Assembly. We also discussed with Minister of Foreign Affairs Rafael Ramirez the need to pool efforts to prevent getting used to a coup d’etat being a legitimate method of changing power. If everyone is working for the assertion of democratic principles, it is necessary to be consistent.

Question: The armistice in Ukraine is violated continuously. Do you think this unstable armistice is still a positive factor? Are Western countries sending signals about the potential weakening of the sanctions? Have you discussed this with them? Is it possible to reduce the level of confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine because of the common threat of the Islamic State? Do you discuss these issues with your Western partners? How serious is the threat from ISIS for Russia’s national security?

Sergey Lavrov: The armistice in Ukraine has been announced and the relevant papers have been signed. The Minsk Protocol of 5 September was followed by the Minsk memorandum of 19 September. The latter specifies steps to make this armistice stable. Now the sides are separating, albeit not without breakdowns. They are coming to terms on practical steps to withdraw heavy arms and deploy OSCE observers between the conflicting parties (Russia is rendering expert aid on coordinating the required steps on the ground). This is all positive, of course.

Nobody hoped that the armistice would be strictly observed from the start – this does not happen in any conflict. The mutual exchange of fire continues, but the OSCE observers report that its intensity has substantially diminished. Contacts with the conflicting parties are aimed at preventing such incidents altogether. I believe that, on the whole, the process is positive and deserves all-round support to become steady.

I don’t see a logical link with the sanctions. We are facilitating the implementation of the Minsk accords not to have the sanctions removed (this is the problem of those who imposed them), but to achieve normalisation in southeastern Ukraine as soon as possible. It is in our national interests to see the restoration of peace in Ukraine and the beginning of the process that was promised early this year. I’m referring to the political process with the participation of all of the regions and political forces that should help to achieve national accord through national reconciliation. We are doing all of this and insist on finding the truth as a result of completed investigations into the numerous incidents and tragedies that took place during the crisis because we want the restoration of peace and accord in Ukraine, which will allow all Ukrainians to feel protected and understand that their rights are ensured and security guaranteed. This is what we want.

Sanctions are the matter of our Western colleagues, countries that decided to use this illegal instrument for venting anger. This is their problem – we didn’t choose this road.

As for the question whether the threat emanating from the terrorist ISIS group helps to find common ground for cooperation between Russia and the West, this is a simplistic viewpoint. ISIS is just one manifestation of the terrorist threat. Throughout the past few years, we have urged the world community to unite efforts in the struggle against any manifestations of international terrorism. Some steps have been made. The UN has adopted important documents, relevant conventions and Security Council resolutions. Its Secretariat has established agencies that help to coordinate the actions of the world community.

However, these efforts were sometimes accompanied by double standards when our Western partners refused to denounce overt manifestations of terrorism in Syria, stating that Bashar al-Assad was to blame himself because he remained in power, thereby breeding radicals that wanted to oust him. They claimed that if he had left, there would have been no terrorists in Syria. This reasoning runs directly counter to the previously asserted principles that acts of terror cannot be justified by anything, no matter where and by whom they are committed.

Now that ISIS is showing absolutely disgusting TV reports, our Western colleagues have finally realised that it is no longer possible to sacrifice the interests of the world community for attempts to overthrow this or other regime. I think that this is a positive development in general.

I will just say that, as for cooperation between the West and Russia, apart from ISIS, we are faced with the problem of international terrorism and drug trafficking. It is essential to counter these problems because they are taking a toll on thousands of lives in our countries and helping to fund the terrorism that we are combatting.

There is also the Ebola virus problem and in general the threat of pandemic and other formidable diseases that may inflict damage on entire countries and peoples. There are issues of energy and food security and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It seems that some people in the West (be they in the minority that dictates terms to other states) are ready to sacrifice the solution of these common international problems just to show their discontent with Russia’s conduct. It is impermissible to let fury make one blind to reality and to sacrifice the vital and fundamental interests of all humankind. I hope that common sense will prevail. We are patient. We are confident that restoring cooperation channels is in our common interests and will be ready for this as soon as our Western partners understand.

Question: Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the international coalition’s airstrikes against Islamic State bases are ineffective, and called for a ground operation to be launched, with a no-fly zone to be established over Syria. What is Russia’s reaction to such statements?

Sergey Lavrov: We have already expressed our position regarding the declared coalition against the Islamic State. We believe that any actions taken to fight this and any other terrorist organisation should be based on the solid foundation of international law and proceed, above all, with the consent of the legitimate authorities of the states on whose territory such a terrorist threat exists. It is necessary to combat this threat solely with the consent of the corresponding state. It is certainly unacceptable to use antiterrorism slogans in attempting to undertake regime changes. I hope that nobody is talking about this.

 M. Wassouf