Russia's Global Policy Position

Does Putin have his finger on the vodka pulse of our Nuclear armageddon?

When we’re told by the Media that Russia’s the devil, we’ve no clue what Russia’s stated intentions and beliefs are. The saying is that the devil’s in the details but that’s an understatement when we only hear American curses instead of facts.

Do you remember when we were told that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction? If half a million dead Iraqis aren’t able to teach us a moral lesson, we probably don’t want to learn, and thus find propaganda attractive.

Then it’s easy to believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked; that Russian-speaking Ukrainians weren’t being persecuted; that the civil war never started in 2014; and that Putin has his finger on the vodka pulse of our Nuclear armageddon.

You’d then make the big mistake in thinking that Russia’s policy position at the 78th session of the United Nation’s General Assembly sounds boring.

Consequently, I’m sharing extracts, and liberally rearranging the order for effect, to show you that it’s both serious and fascinating.

The much longer but important document is found on Karl Sanchez’s substack. Patient readers can jump there instead of reading further here.

Over the past year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has fully manifested its puppet and corrupt nature. The activities of this body, which has nothing to do with the UN, no longer allow us to characterize this structure as an institution of international criminal justice…

We strictly abide by our obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). We are in favour of its entry into force as soon as possible. We call on the eight countries on which the launch of the treaty depends to sign and/or ratify the CTBT without delay. We believe that the position of the United States, which has become the only state that has officially refused to ratify it, is a key destructive factor for the Treaty. Washington is taking consistent steps to resume nuclear testing, including increasing the readiness of the nuclear test site in Nevada and allocating significant allocations for its maintenance. We encourage Washington to reconsider its approach to the CTBT…

We categorically reject the distortion of history and the revision of the results of World War II. We attach particular importance to the annual draft resolution of the UN General Assembly "Combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance." We emphasise the relevance of this document, taking into account the tragic consequences of the Kiev authorities' policy of encouraging Nazi ideology in Ukraine and indulging it on the part of their Western curators… We focus the attention of the international community on the dangerous growth of right-wing extremist threats, especially manifestations of aggressive nationalism and neo-Nazism. We emphasize the mendacity and double standards of the collective West, when, against the backdrop of indiscriminate accusations of Russia's "aggression", it prefers not to notice the facts of open state support for terrorism by the neo-Nazi Kiev regime it created, which turned Ukraine into a new international terrorist cell. The United States and its allies are actively using the terrorist Ukrainian government as a springboard and an instrument of armed struggle against Russia.

The Kiev regime's eight-year ongoing war against the population of Donbass and Ukraine's deliberate sabotage of the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements forced Russia to take measures to protect civilians in the region…  The weapons of NATO countries are used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strike at civilian infrastructure and civilians in Donbass. Thus, the West actually becomes an accomplice in hostilities and is responsible for the crimes of the Kyiv regime.

The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions became part of Russia as a result of the free expression of the will of their population in September 2022 in accordance with the UN Charter and the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States.

One of the main priorities in the Middle East region is the settlement in Syria. Achieving lasting and long-term stabilization and security in the country is possible only through the full restoration of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Damascus over the national territory… We call on responsible members of the international community to stop politicising purely humanitarian issues and to provide assistance to all Syrians in need without discrimination and preconditions... We are in favour of promoting a Syrian-led settlement process with the assistance of the UN, as provided for by UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

We resolutely suppress insinuations about the possible resumption of nuclear tests by our country. Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement of February 21, 2023 clearly states that Russia will not be the first to conduct a nuclear test. We will take this step only in response to a similar action on the part of the United States.

We are in favour of restarting direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on all final status issues on a universally recognised international legal basis, including the two-state formula.

We note the positive dynamics of the situation in Yemen against the backdrop of regional normalization... We oppose the broad interpretation of the UN Security Council sanctions resolutions on Yemen. Restrictive measures should be used to promote a peaceful settlement, not to fan political turbulence in the region.

We consistently pursue a policy of promoting national reconciliation and settlement in Afghanistan, as well as maintaining stability and turning it into a state free of terrorism and drugs. We are seriously concerned about the growing influence of ISIS and the threat of its terrorist activity spilling over into Central Asia... We believe that the United States and its allies, who are responsible for the critical situation in Afghanistan after their 20-year presence, should bear the main costs of the country's post-conflict reconstruction.

The priority in the efforts for the comprehensive normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations is the implementation of the trilateral statements at the highest level of November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, including the unblocking of trade, economic and transport links in the region, the delimitation/demarcation of the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as assisting the parties in agreeing on a peace treaty.

We are seriously concerned about the destructive consequences of attempts by the United States and its allies to increase pressure on the DPRK, including through large-scale military exercises. We reject the desire to further tighten the UN Security Council sanctions regime. We consider this idea not only erroneous, but also inhuman from the point of view of negative humanitarian consequences for ordinary North Koreans. Condemning the provocative military activity in the region, to which Pyongyang is forced to respond, we call for breaking the vicious circle of escalating tensions. The only effective way out of the impasse is to resume political and diplomatic dialogue.

We believe that Africans themselves should play a leading role in preventing crises and resolving conflicts in Africa, with the support of the international community. We are in favour of strengthening the UN's partnership with the African Union and the continent's sub-regional organisations. We intend to continue to actively contribute to the political settlement of crises in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Mali and the Sahara-Sahel region as a whole, as well as in other hot spots in Africa. We oppose attempts to denigrate our cooperation with African countries... We consider unacceptable the attempts of a number of countries to promote neo-colonial approaches on the African continent.

The goal of the reform of the UN Security Council is to increase the representation of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America in the Security Council without compromising its effectiveness and efficiency. We consider Brazil and India to be natural candidates for permanent seats on the Council in the event of a decision to expand it in both categories of membership.

Header image credit to Alexa at Pixabay.