By Sergey Lavrov

Our meetings have become a traditional gathering to discuss the processes unfolding around the world as a result of the hybrid war waged against the Russian Federation by the hands of the Ukrainian regime, but which was plotted and unleashed by the West.

In January, we discussed the militarisation of the Kiev regime, which is an obvious development and everyone can see it. At the request of our delegation, the UN Security Council has addressed this matter on several occasions. Today, we would like to review humanitarian and legal (including human rights) aspects of the Ukraine crisis.

Ten years ago, Nazis – it is now abundantly clear – carried out an unconstitutional coup and grabbed power in Kiev. They immediately abolished the status of the Russian language as a regional language, thus revealing their true intentions with regard to respecting human rights and the rights of ethnic minorities.

They sent gunmen to Crimea, because the people of Crimea, just like the people of Donbass, refused to recognise the unlawful regime that had come to power by spilling blood. This necessitated holding a referendum in Crimea. Following its results, the peninsula returned to the Russian Federation, its homeland.

April 14 marks the 10th anniversary of the Nazis that came to power in Ukraine declaring an “anti-terrorist operation” against the people of Donbass. They designated them as terrorists who must be destroyed.

All defenders of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics were designated terrorists only because they refused to recognise the coup. Hostilities were launched against them. We have all of this documented in the timeline: residential neighbourhoods in Donetsk, Lugansk and other towns and villages were bombed by artillery and aircraft.

In addition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, regular volunteer battalion members who openly identified themselves as followers of Nazism, such as the Right Sector, Azov, and Aidar, to name a few, took part in the “anti-terrorist operation.”

Long before the beginning of the special military operation, when, in violation of the Minsk agreements, Ukraine was waging war against its own people in Donbass, the US Congress banned military aid to the Azov Battalion, among others. Many Western countries complied. However, later they “turned a blind eye to that.”

Providing weapons to open Nazis and more broadly the Ukrainian regime has become the routine practice for the Westerners.

Plans are in place to make voluntary military aid to Ukraine mandatory under the umbrella of NATO, and to force all NATO members – using heavy-handed discipline – to sign up and to provide funding and weapons to the Kiev regime, as long as it continues to fight against the Russian Federation.

The crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces and volunteer battalions have not yet been investigated, including the horrific incident when 48 people were burned alive in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa. To date, no investigation has been conducted.

The Council of Europe’s attempt (which quickly tarnished its reputation) to take control of this investigation also failed. No one was willing to assist it with anything, and the Council was powerless.

In 2015, the war waged by Kiev against its own people came to a halt with the signing of the Minsk agreements, which were subsequently approved by the UN Security Council. They envisaged a special status for a small part of Donbass, granting its residents the right to speak their own language, establish their own law enforcement agencies, and hold consultations when prosecutors and judges were appointed there.

It is similar to the recent promises made by President of France Emmanuel Macron to Corsica. However, Paris’s promises regarding the Minsk agreements turned out to be completely false. Let us observe how the situation unfolds in other parts of Europe.

In essence, many national minorities in various countries want exactly the same rights as the people of Donbass: the right to speak their native language, educate their children in it, preserve and cherish their history, traditions, and religion, and live in accordance with the principles that have been taking root in these lands for centuries.

The Minsk agreements did not deter Petr Poroshenko, who was president at the time. He violated the demands for a ceasefire and direct dialogue between Kiev and Donbass, and announced a “joint forces operation” in 2018 which replaced the earlier anti-terrorist operation.

It was an all-out military operation that unleashed a war in Donbass. It is worth noting that back in May 2014, Poroshenko was elected under the slogan of being the “president of peace.” In 2019, Vladimir Zelensky was elected president with the same promise. He said that he would immediately stop the war and implement the Minsk agreements. You can judge for yourself what it came to.

Throughout these years, we knew and said publicly that the accusations of terrorism against Donbass were baseless. Now (assuming everyone has seen the documents) it was confirmed by the UN International Court of Justice in its decision dated January 31, 2024, regarding the claim filed by Kiev and its masters against the Russian Federation.

The International Court rejected the classification of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics as terrorist organisations, as well as the claim that the Russian Federation is a sponsor of terrorism.

This decision undermines Kiev’s main argument used to justify the war it unleashed against the civilian population, which was based on the assertion that Donbass was being controlled by terrorists and sponsored by the Russian Federation.

The International Court of Justice has effectively confirmed that Kiev’s aggressive actions against Donetsk and Lugansk were initially based on lies. Furthermore, the Court dismissed claims by Ukraine and the United States implicating Russia in the crash of Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight, the shelling of Mariupol, Kramatorsk, Avdeyevka and much more.

Similarly, Kiev’s allegations of racial discrimination in Crimea were rebuffed, with the Court refusing to recognise materials submitted by Western-funded NGOs and a number of international secretariats.

The extracts from the materials submitted by the Russian side to the International Court of Justice in the summer of 2023, which were recognised by the Court as valid and formed the basis of its decisions, are before you. I trust that you will be able to study them.

These materials show the development of Crimea, including new schools, social facilities, a rich cultural life, and the restoration of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar cultural monuments. Meanwhile, Russian monuments, monuments to Russian political figures and military leaders are being demolished in the territories where the Russian Empire built cities, roads, ports, and developed the economy.

Today, Ukraine, if we return to its arguments about terrorism as justification for its actions, has clearly become a terrorist state. Over the past 10 years it has been terrorising citizens in its own country and beyond.

I would like to express my gratitude to everyone here for your solidarity with the Russian people in light of the barbaric terrorist attack on March 22 at Crocus City Hall. We have received condolences from all the countries present here.

We know that almost all of you or your employees participated in the mourning ceremony on the ninth day following the tragic loss of innocent lives. This once again symbolises our unity and determination to fight terrorism in all its forms without compromise or double standards, recognising that terrorism has no nationality or religion. It is an absolute global evil.

As you know, the Investigative Committee, the Prosecutor General’s Office and other competent authorities are investigating this terrorist attack. It is already evident (as stated in the reports on the progress of the investigation) that the Ukrainian connection cannot be ignored.

Especially since Ukraine’s involvement in many other terrorist attacks on Russian territory is beyond doubt. These include the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of journalists Darya Dugina and Maxim Fomin (Vladlen Tatarsky), injured writer Zakhar Prilepin and caused the death of his driver Alexander Shubin, the deaths of civilians in the bombing of the Crimean Bridge, the injury of 42 people in an explosion in a St Petersburg cafe, and many others.

The Foreign Ministry has recently issued official demands to the Ukrainian authorities, urging them to promptly cease any support for terrorist activities, extradite those responsible, and provide compensation for damages incurred.

These actions align with the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (ICBT) and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (ICFT), which entail relevant obligations. In our message to the Ukrainian side, we urge Kiev to carry out its obligations.

We expect all nations to heed the said conclusions of the UN International Court of Justice when assessing the notorious initiatives proposed by Kiev and its masters to UN bodies and the European regional mechanisms.

Let me remind you that the International Court of Justice has conclusively demonstrated the baselessness of accusations against Russia as regards its involvement in terrorism. And yet, these accusations served as the foundation for a series of UN General Assembly resolutions that are clearly anti-Russian in nature.

Adopted by the general vote, these resolutions reflect the lack of consensus. Given the ruling of the supreme United Nations judicial body, it will no longer be possible to use the UN General Assembly to endorse anti-Russian resolutions based on unfounded allegations of terrorism.

Alongside the appeal made through the Foreign Ministry, the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office has dispatched relevant documents to the United States and several other Western countries, documents based on appeals from citizens and parliamentarians and detailing the actions we expect from them in connection with the newly-discovered evidence exposing the support for the Ukrainian regime’s terrorist activities and preparations from its patrons.

During the hearings in the International Court of Justice, Ukraine was posing as a “fighter against the discrimination” targeting the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar ethnic groups. It is worth recalling that throughout the years when Crimea was regarded as part of Ukraine, the Kiev regime did not recognise the Crimean Tatar language.

Not a single mosque was built in Crimea during that time. It was only after the peninsula rejoined Russia in March 2014 and the Russian Federation declared Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean Tatar to be the state languages of the Republic of Crimea that Ukraine acknowledged the existence of that language.

For the first time in history, a cathedral mosque is under construction in Crimea, with plans to open it soon. There was nothing like that under the Ukrainian rule.  

Speaking about the effectiveness of the self-styled Ukrainian “fighters against discrimination,” it will be recalled that Ukraine has outlawed the media, education, and cultural events in Russian. Moreover, attacks on churches belonging to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church are not only condoned but legally permitted. Open displays of Nazism are widespread.

Allow me to remind you that since 2005, the Russian Federation has been presenting a resolution to the UN General Assembly condemning the glorification of Nazism. Over the past two years, Ukraine has consistently voted against this resolution, alleging that Russia proposed it as an additional pretext to justify the special military operation.

I would like to reiterate that we have presented this resolution since 2005. Ukraine has never supported this crucial document, despite the overwhelming support it receives from the majority of nations worldwide, including those present here today. In 2005, Ukraine’s refusal to vote for a resolution against the glorification of Nazism against which the Ukrainian people fought as part of the Soviet Union, speaks volumes.

I see this as a confirmation of the fact that the task of combatting the glorification of Nazism had been rejected by the Kiev regime long before the special military operation. It is evident that even then, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries of the collective West were influencing the Ukrainian leadership.

There is a culture of impunity. We observe how the blatant human rights violations committed by Kiev (I have outlined them) are overlooked by Western non-government organisations and numerous international bodies.

To our great disappointment, the West openly and without hesitation influences both the UN Secretariat (at least many of its divisions) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to grant leniency to Kiev. They manipulate the UN Human Rights Council and its procedures. This situation is regrettable as it severely tarnishes the reputation of the UN system.

Since 2008, at the behest of the United States, the UN has been conducting global monitoring of the implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through the Universal Periodic Review within the framework of the Human Rights Council.

According to the rules, each member state of the United Nations is subject to this review regularly, on a rotational basis. Until recently, no country has evaded such a universal periodic review. However, now the principle of global coverage has been discredited by Kiev.

Under pressure from the West, the Human Rights Council made an unprecedented decision to exempt Ukraine from reporting on its implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2023, as required. The Council postponed this report to 2027, citing the special military operation as a pretext.

However, this does not hinder Ukraine from continuously making anti-Russia speeches, hurling insults, and demanding repercussions against our country at every opportunity during any UN meeting. Yet, they refuse to report on how the Ukrainians uphold human rights, especially since they presented themselves, as have already mentioned, as committed fighters against discrimination.

This is because they are aware that they have nothing substantial to report, except for a candid acknowledgment of the colossal problems linked to both legislative and law enforcement neo-Nazism, without any exaggeration.

In February 2022, when the special military operation began, the Kiev regime declared itself free of virtually all human rights obligations. The special procedures of the Human Rights Council have supported this stance.

For example, last year the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards (Australia), stated in her report on her inspection of Ukraine that the situation with torture in Ukraine is not a cause for concern, and the efforts of the Kiev authorities in this area are impressive.

I remember that at that time numerous images of atrocities committed by the Ukrainian military, including on the battlefield, had already been broadcast around the world. Let’s recall how, live on television, Ukrainian Nazis in the uniform of the Ukrainian armed forces executed captured Russian soldiers with their hands and feet bound and bags placed over their heads.

All of this was filmed and posted online with obvious pleasure. This is an undeniable fact known to the entire world. However, no one is going to demand that Ukraine investigate this crime and prove that they understand and at least partially respect their obligations under international law.

Ukrainians will not be compelled to investigate, just as they neglected to investigate the tragedy in Odessa on May 2, 2014, which I mentioned earlier, where dozens of people were burned alive. In the same way, no one will investigate the staged crimes in Bucha, when Russia was accused of killing civilians.

Two years have passed since that moment. I know that some countries, including those present here, have expressed condolences to the Ukrainian leadership on the second anniversary of this tragedy.

In this regard, I would like to remind you that we have been demanding an unbiased, open investigation since the moment when suddenly, unexpectedly, British television showed corpses lying in the middle of the main street in Bucha, three days after Russian troops had withdrawn from the town.

No one is going to carry out an investigation. After these bodies were shown on TV, the European Union, along with the Americans and the British, promptly introduced new packages of sanctions against Russia, as if waiting for an excuse. No one remembers about the investigation any more.

At numerous United Nations Security Council meetings, we have repeatedly called on the Kiev regime to provide at least the names of the individuals whose bodies were allegedly shown in Bucha.

I directly appealed to the UN Secretary-General to use his authority to compel Kiev and its masters to provide such a list. However, no action has been taken. This is yet another indication that the regime in Kiev is allowed to do as it pleases. It uses this a lot with the indulgence of its patrons.

I do not even need to mention the numerous arrests of Ukrainian citizens who oppose neo-Nazi tendencies in the modern Ukrainian state and society, the persecution of Ukrainian citizens for political reasons, and the killings of journalists and public figures. For several years now, we have been documenting human rights violations in our annual reports on human rights situation in various countries.

Recently, we have been publishing the Ukraine section as a separate report. You can read it. I hope that you will find all you need to know to be able to decide on what is happening around Ukraine.

We all know that Kiev is not independent, but is following instructions from its bosses and handlers implementing their anti-Russia project. They are not hiding it. If you listen to what the leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, NATO, or the European Union say in their speeches, you will see that their priority is to defeat Russia.

This is the goal they have set for the Kiev regime. After the 2014 coup, the West got busy preparing Kiev for this mission.

Let me remind you that Ukraine is enjoying impunity. Neo-Nazism, which is our great concern, had been common there long before the special military operation. Regular annual torchlight processions in honour of the Nazi criminal Stepan Bandera had been legalised there about three or four years before it began, fully replicating the torchlight processions that were held in Nazi Germany.

The birthdays of Stepan Bandera and another criminal, Roman Shukhevych, convicted by the Nuremberg Tribunal, are celebrated as state holidays now, as well as the date of the creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, UPA, which was responsible for murdering Russians, Jews, Poles, Ukrainians and many others.

The titles of Heroes of Ukraine have been conferred on former members of the Waffen-SS, who killed civilians while serving in the ranks of the Nazis – some of them are still alive. President Vladimir Zelensky keeps this under personal review.

I have already said that all things Russian are banned there, including education. Books are being removed from libraries. Only they are not burned, as in Nazi Germany. Ukrainians are more pragmatic and tight-fisted. They make money by using Russian authors’ works as waste paper.

Recently, Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klichko adopted a resolution prohibiting any cultural or educational events in Russian from being held in Kiev. Even in everyday life, if anyone speaks Russian at school during breaks, or address a shop assistant in Russian, they can face administrative charges. At the same time, the vast majority of Ukrainians still speak Russian.

They find it convenient. Many traditionally use Russian in the family. Even if you listen to radio intercepts on the battlefield, on the line of contact of the special military operation, many Ukrainian soldiers seem to be more comfortable speaking Russian. But the entire nation is being intimidated into forgetting this language.

It would be unthinkable to ban French, Italian or German in Switzerland, which is about to host a peace conference on Ukraine, or for Ireland or Scotland to ban English. No one can even imagine this. But our Western “friends” have no place for Russian in their principles. The Russian language is being openly discriminated against.

This discrimination is reflected in Ukrainian laws that enshrined the state status of the Ukrainian language. When those laws were adopted, they also mentioned every other language that had at least some status. But that list was gradually shortened.

The European Union began to quietly negotiate with Ukraine to have its languages exempted from restrictions on their use in education and everyday life. And they were granted exceptions. Now, unlike the Russian language, almost all the EU languages have a good standing in Ukrainian society.

We have talked to our European colleagues and pointed out that this was wrong, but they prioritise their own interests, and Russian is none of their concern. This is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and numerous conventions on the rights of national minorities and regional languages, which prohibit discrimination.

But the European Union seems to find this convenient. Europeans have no use for the Russian language, for Russia or the very possibility of its equal co-existence. They say so themselves. They say that if Russia wins, it will undermine the US and NATO’s global leadership. They need to maintain their dominance, and they cannot tolerate equal relations.

Let me say, without going into detail, that Ukraine is notorious for widespread black transplantology, corruption (which is being openly discussed by Western governments), and sweeping reprisals against human rights activists. All of this has been detailed in reports issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry. I invite you to familiarise yourselves with these documents.

It is not that I am forcing you to read them, but I know what our Western colleagues narrate to you, including when they try to inveigle you by fair means or foul into attending various forums, such as those held in the “Copenhagen format.” The Swiss are now planning to convene a peace conference, their sole objective being to ensure a decent attendance at an event based on the peremptory “Zelensky peace formula.”

This ultimatum implies no compromises or alternatives and totally disregards the most benevolent initiatives that came from China, South Africa, Brazil, and the Arab League. These are given a hearing but are never taken into consideration. Neither will they be considered in the future.  Some cosmetic adjustments are possible, of course, but essentially this “formula” remains what it is – an ultimatum.

Switzerland has volunteered to organise a conference since it regards itself as a neutral country. It claims it has traditions of this sort. This sounds odd. In fact, that country had such traditions. Its neutrality, like that of Austria, enabled them to be impartial and neutral venues, where countries of the West, East, North and South always convened, knowing that they would be given everything they needed for work without any outside interference or pressure.    

Today, Switzerland has joined all anti-Russia sanctions. More than that, it is spearheading these sanctions or acting as their most zealous implementer in a number of areas.    

I met with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in January of this year in New York, where we attended UN Security Council functions. I told him that we could no longer regard Switzerland as a neutral venue for international negotiations on most different issues.

We also explained to him our position on the “Zelensky formula.” We know that in order to promote it, the Western strategists advise the Kiev regime to use various tricks as it invites countries, including some that are present here.

For example, they are told that if they do not like all the ten items of the “Zelensky formula,” they can choose just one that seems innocuous, such as food or energy security, and subscribe to it. This is a clear case of swindling.    

I read recommendations on holding such conferences in a document shown to me by one of my EU friends. It says that the goal is to bring together as many countries as possible – the current target is 140 – and somehow convince them that the organisers do not insist on their subscribing to this “formula” as a whole. They can choose just one item or simply come to attend and perhaps voice their criticisms.

The recommendations for Ukrainian negotiators say that they must not urge attendees to approve final documents, since 140 countries are unlikely to subscribe to what Kiev needs. The task is to bring them together and hold discussions.

The main thing is to make them all pose for a photo. Allegedly, so many people will in itself be a motivation to support the “Zelensky formula.”  I am not joking. Grown-up people playing games of this sort.

I want to say in conclusion that we are always ready for an honest discussion on all these matters. We have nothing to hide. The aims and causes of the special military operation are well known.  After the coup in Kiev, we warned that a clash with the West was inevitable, if it continued to make an “anti-Russia” out of Ukraine, pour arms into that country, plan the establishment of its military bases there, and encourage the Kiev regime to do away with all things Russian.

All these trends were obvious. We honestly told the Westerners that they were pushing Ukraine towards a disaster. No one wanted to listen. We have nothing to hide. I don’t know what arguments the West is using to exonerate itself. Possibly they are claiming that Russia is going to conquer all of Europe. There is no logic in this.

The Western ideologues urged NATO to grant its membership to Ukraine even before the start of the special military operation. According to their logic, Russia would not dare to attack a NATO country. Today, they make different statements. They say that Ukraine is nearing defeat, which they cannot allow, because in that case Russia will “attack” NATO. Where is the logic?

At first, they proceeded from the premise that Moscow would never afford an attack on NATO. Today, they are convincing everyone that this is exactly what President Vladimir Putin and the Russian leadership are going to do. Our president has repeatedly commented on this by using the words “delirium” and “nonsense.” Moreover, NATO officials, who make these statements, are well aware of that themselves.

We are talking to you openly on purpose. Unlike the Ukrainians and Westerners, we do not practice behind-the-scenes whispering.  We are ready to discuss what is of interest to you openly and in public.