? Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address at the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue

? Riyadh, September 9, 2024

? Sergey Lavrov: I am glad to have the opportunity to be here on the hospitable Saudi land to hold the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue. As our Chairman said we met in Moscow in 2023.

Riyadh, where the #GCC is headquartered, is hosting our event for the third time. The strategic dialogue at the level of Foreign Ministers was launched 13 years ago.

? The world has changed a great deal since that time. We can state that the centuries-long hegemony of the West, which the United States and its allies are trying to preserve by all means, is going to be a thing of the past. <...> No doubt that the GCC is becoming a major independent centre in the developing multipolar international order.

The role of the Gulf Cooperation Council will be growing also because of the numerous crises still preserved in the Middle East. <...>

At the previous meeting in Moscow, we said that the achievement of genuine stability in the Middle East is impossible without settling the oldest regional problem – the Palestine-Israeli conflict through establishing a Palestinian state in compliance with UN resolutions. <...>

Together with our Arab friends, GCC countries inclusive, we have succeeded in securing, despite US resistance, the adoption of several Security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions demanding a ceasefire. <...>

The confrontation between Israel and Iran has reached a new dangerous level.

⚠️ The Middle East is again on the brink of a big regional war. To prevent it is our common responsibility. We are working on normalising the situation with all sides. We closely coordinate our actions in the United Nations and on other platforms with our friends from the Gulf Cooperation Council.

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? Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov takes part in the ministerial meeting of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue

*?Riyadh, September 9, 2024*

❗️

السفير الروسي لدى السودان في أخطر إفادات عن الحرب والبرهان وحميدتي

بيان وزارة الخارجية الروسية بصدد الهجوم على الأراضي الإسرائيلية

⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement in connection with the attack on Israeli territory

? In the early hours of April 14, a large number of missiles and drones were launched at the territory of Israel.

According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, this attack was undertaken as part of the right to self-defence stipulated in Article 51 of the UN Charter in response to the attacks on Iranian targets in the region, including the strike on the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus on April 1, which our country strongly denounced.

Unfortunately, due to the position adopted by its Western members, the Security Council was unable to provide a proper response to the strike on the Iranian consular mission.

We express our extreme concern at yet another dangerous escalation in the region. We have repeatedly warned that the numerous unresolved crises in the Middle East, primarily in the area of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which are often fueled by irresponsible provocative actions, will exacerbate tensions.

☝️ We call on all parties involved in the conflict to exercise restraint. We expect the regional states to resolve the existing problems through political and diplomatic means. We believe it is important for the constructively-minded international players to contribute to this effort.

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? On April 12, 1961, at 09:07 Moscow time, the Vostok spacecraft with pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on board blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, marking the beginning of the space age in the history of mankind.

Yuri Gagarin spent 108 minutes in space, making a complete orbit around the Earth, and successfully landed near the village of Smelovka in the Saratov Region.

While in orbit, he maintained radio contact with Earth, made observations through a porthole, controlled the operation of the ship's systems, and carried out simple experiments.

? Even his wife did not know about this feat. The news about Yuri's flight came out only 55 minutes after the launch of the Vostok rocket, becoming the most quoted report in the world. Overnight, the Soviet citizen became the most famous man on Earth.

Two days later, many thousands of people with flowers and welcome posters took to the streets of Moscow, honouring the cosmonaut who had arrived in the capital. At the end of April, our compatriot went on a foreign tour, travelling through more than 30 countries in two years, where he was welcomed as a hero.

? Sergey Lavrov: For billions of people around the world, Yuri Gagarin continues to serve as an example of heroism and selflessness, inspiring them to overcome any obstacles in pursuit of the most ambitious and noble goals (Minister's video message on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight).

Gagarin's flight embodied the triumph of Soviet science and technology and was of crucial importance for further development of space exploration and the mankind.

? In 1968, the 61st General Conference of the International Aviation Federation decided to celebrate April 12 as the World Day of Aviation and Astronautics, and in 2011, at the initiative of Russia, the UN General Assembly proclaimed April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight.

#CosmonauticsDay