I note two things:
The difficulty of getting an English translation of this speech - where I thought it would be/should be very easy.
The tenor of the speech and the demeanour of Mr Lavrov who quickly walked away after his speech and apparently listened to no other speeches.
Together these things mean to me that Russia - at least its top level thinking and caring people - are deeply hurt and disallusioned.
I know. Ridiculous. Such people don’t get hurt and disallusioned. They’re too long in the tooth, too immured, too experienced, too wise in the ways of the world.
Nevertheless that’s the feeling I’ve had increasingly over the last few years watching what little I’ve see of the Russian government’s presentations.
It saddens me. That itself, if it is true and the way it is playing out which is certainly true ( even if prompted by something else).
For they reject and don’t bother arguing with Western governments and global bodies. That’s one thing and very understandable. I feel the same way.
But they reject and don’t bother talking to me, either. They make no effort to propagandise me - probably a good thing - and make little effort to persuade me, perhaps not quite so good but nor do they even put before me easily accessible their thoughts and feelings, reasonings, motivations. And that’s not good.
Not good at all.
Such a trivial thing. For them to make available a well known repository.
Anyway. So I got a transcription and worked over it as best I could and I’m putting it here for anyone interested to look at and/or pass on.
I note how it lacks histrionic and diatribe, abuse, condemnation, hatred, vilification, foul imprecations etc. All the tools of ‘the other side’.
I note how though perhaps a smaller portion in words alone the references to other matters that the world needs to concentrate upon is a very adult and controlled mannerism. Putting their own hurts into the global context.
Perhaps an ‘ordinary’ speech - no Churchillian address - I still think it speaks volumes on the vast difference between the total corruption of the West and the integrity of Russia and, I hope, the ‘rest’ of the world, so far ‘pushed around’ and marginalised by the West in its slavish obedience to increasingly machiavellian USA dictates.
Sergey Lavrov.
Minister for foreign affairs addresses the UN general debate. Sept. 2022
--------------------------------------------
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My edit of machine transcription. I apologise for any inaccuracies or shortcomings:
I now give the floor to his Excellency Sergey lavrov Minister for foreign affairs of the
Russian Federation
Madam Presiden ladies Gentlemen We Are meeting at a difficulty dramatic moment
The crisis are growing and the situation in the area of International Security is deteriorating rapidly
Instead of having an honest dialogue and looking for compromise what we're dealing with is disinformation coarse stagings and provocations.
The Western line here undermines the trust in international institutions as bodies where interests are agreed.
It also undermines trust in international law as a guarantee of fairness and protecting the weak against the strong.
The negative tendencies we're witnessing within the U.N in a concentrated fashion too, at the
U.N which rose from the rubble of German fascism and Japanese militarism and was
created to develop friendly relation amongst its members and to prevent conflict among them.
The future of the world order is being decided today and it is clear to any impartial objective. The question is whether or not this is going to be the kind of order with one hegemon at the
head of it making everyone else living uh following um his notorious rules of benefit to that hegemon only or are we going to have a democratic fair world without blackmail and without setting fear into the unwanted without neonazism and neocolonialism.
We made a firm choice for the latter and together with partners and like-minded people are
calling upon everyone to work for the for its implementation.
What is receding into the past is a unipolar model of world development which serves the
interests of the one golden million and it's overconsumption level came from the resources of Asia Africa and Latin America.
Today we're witnessing sovereign states ready to defend their national interests and this results in the creation of an equal socially oriented and sustainable multi-polar architecture but the objective geopolitical processes are being seen by Washington and fully subjugated to it um the elites of Western countries are considered by them as a threat to their dominating position.
The United States and allies want to stop the march of History so at some point in the past
declaring that they were victorious in the cold war Washington erected themselves into an almost Envoy of God on Earth without any obligations but only the sacred right to act with impunity wherever and wherever they want and this can be done anywhere against any state; Especially if they're somehow displeased their self-proclaimed masters of the world.
We do recall the wars of aggressions very far from American Shores and
Yugoslavia and Iraq and Nivea which claimed many hundreds thousands of peaceful lives
were the truly legitimate interests of the West were impacted in any one of those countries was English banned or any other language of NATO countries banned their mass media culture ?
Were the Anglo-Saxon declared to be subhuman or heavy weaponry was used against them ?
So what is the outcome of the adventurism of the United States in the Middle East? Has a human rights situation improved is a rule of law better this socio-economic situation may
perhaps stabilized or a people's livelihood is better ?
Name a country where Washington interfered by force and where as a result of that life improved ?
Trying to restore a one polar model under the slogan of a rules-based order West is introducing dividing lines everywhere along the lines of a confrontation between blocs.
You are either with us or against us there is no third option for possible there are no
Compromises.
Continuing with the course to spread NATO to the East and bringing the military infrastructure of NATO to the borders of Russia the United States now have the goal of subjugating the Asian areas.
At the June Summit of NATO in Madrid the self-proclaimed defensive Alliance declared the indivisible security of Euro Atlantic and India and Pacific and under the slogan of India Pacific strategies closed formats have been created and they undermine what has been built on the ASEAN for decades. namely an open and inclusive regional architecture.
And in addition to that they're playing with fire around Taiwan um on top of that they're promising Military Support to Taiwan.
Clearly the notorious Monroe Doctrine is becoming Global in scope
Washington is trying to turn the entire world into its own backyard and the way of doing this is through unlawful unilateral sanctions which have been for many years used in violation of the charter and used as a tool of political blackmail.
This cynicism here is obvious because these restrictions hit civilians.
They prevent them from getting access to basic Goods including medication vaccines and food.
An egregious example we have here is the American blockade of Cuba more than 60 years old.
The general assembly has been for a long time and is consistently demanding that be
immediately lifted and this is being done by the absolute majority of voices
the Secretary General whose Duty include helping Implement General Assembly decisions must of course pay special attention to this issue.
The Secretary General has a special role also in mobilizing efforts to overcome food and
energy crises which resulted in the wake of an out of control money emission in the United States and the European Union during the pandemic and as a result of an irresponsible unprofessional acts by the European Union in the hydrocarbon fuel markets.
Despite Common Sense Washington Brussels compounded situation when they announced economic war against Russia.
As a result there is a growing price on food stops fertilizers oil and gas.
We welcome the efforts made by the Secretary General when they helped arrive at the Istanbul agreements on the 24th of June.
But they need to be implemented but so far the ships with the Ukrainian grain go somewhere but not into the poorest countries.
On the one hand on the other hand the impediments by U.S and EU the financial logistical impediments against our grain and fertilizers have not been lifted.
Furthermore for several weeks we have been saying that about 300 000 tons of fertilizer are being held up in European ports and we have been proposing that they be forwarded free of charge to the country to the needy countries in Africa but the European Union is not heeding
this.
The official rosophobia in the west is unprecedented.
Now the scope is grotesque they're not shying away from declaring the intent to inflict the
military defeat on our country but also to destroy and fracture Russia.
In other words what they want to do is to remove from the global map a geopolitical entity which has become all too independent.
So how have Russia in the recent decades been infringing on the interests of our opponents?
Is it that we cannot be forgiven for making possible the military and strategic detente in 1980s and 1990s because of my country's position ?
Or is it that we voluntarily dissolve the Warsaw Treaty Organization and thus removed the reason for NATO's being ?
Is it that we supported the reunification of Germany without any preconditions and
against the position of London in Paris ?
That we withdrew our military from Europe Asia from Latin America ?
That we recognize the independence of former Soviet republics ?
That we believed the promises of Western leaders not to expand not by an inch of NATO in the East but when it started agreed to basically legitimize it through signing a founding act between Russia and NATO ?
Did we infringe on the interest of the West when we warned them there was unacceptable to bring closer a threatening military infrastructure bring it closer to our borders ?
The arrogance of the west over the western American exclusivity have become particularly destructive after the end of the Cold War.
Already in 1991 the deputy chief of Pentagon Paul Wolfowitz in his conversation with the
NATO Commando Europe Wesley Clark stated openly that:
Quote
“After the end of the Cold War we can use our military without any fear of reprisal we have five maybe 10 years so as to clean out the surrogate Soviet regimes such as Iraq and Syria
until such time as there is a new superpower who can challenge us ?”
end of quote
And I am convinced that at some point in someone's Memoirs we will find out how the American strategy was being developed as regards Ukraine but even so Washington's plans in this regard are obvious in any event.
It is possible they are not being forgiven that the request of the United States and European Union we supported the agreement of the Ukrainian president at the time Mr Yanukovych
His agreement with the forces of opposition to resolve crisis in February 2014.
These agreements were guaranteed by Germany Poland and France but the next morning they were trampled under foot by the leaders of the bloody coup who thus humiliated the European mediators.
The West simply shrugged and watched in silence how members of the coup started bombing the Eastern of Ukraine where people refused to accept the results of the coup.
Watched as the organizers made into the rank of national heroes the accomplices of Nazis.
Are we expected to acquiesce in the Kiev intent to ban the Russian language, education, our mass media and culture with their insistence on chasing Russians out of Crimea on waging war against Donbas whose citizens were proclaimed by the then authorities and now authorities in Kiev, proclaimed to be not people but ‘specimens’ ?
Is it that we violated the interest of the West because we played a role in stopping the
forceful actions by the Kiev neo-nazis in the east of Ukraine and then demanded that the Minsk package of measures be implemented?
Something that was unanimously approved by the security Council but in late load (?) by Kiev with the participation of US and EU.
For many years we have been proposing to have Security in Europe with the basis on equal and indivisible security enshrined at the highest level in OSC documents.
According to this principle no one is to strengthen their own security at the expense of others and the very last proposal to make these agreements legally binding something that we introduced in December 2021 and the reaction was an arrogant rejection of that.
The incapacity of Western countries to negotiate and the continued War by the Kiev regime against their own people left us with no choice but to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and the lugan's people's republics and start a special military operation to protect
the Russian and other people on donbass and so as to remove the threats against our security which NATO had been consistently creating in Ukraine at our borders.
The operation is conducted in pursuance of agreements on friendship cooperation Mutual assistance between us and that Republic and on the basis of article 51 of the U.N Charter.
I'm convinced that any sovereign self-respecting state would do the same in our state.
A state which understands its responsibility to his own people.
The West is now throwing a fit because of the referenda which are being conducted in the Lugansk, Donetsk and Zaporiznye oblasts but people living there are basically only reacting to what was said to them by the head of the Kiev regime Mr Zelenski in August 2021.
At the time he said anyone who feels themselves to be Russian for the benefit of their
children and grandchildren to get out and to go to Russia and that's what the inhabitants of those regions are doing.
They are taking they are land with them where their ancestors had been living for hundreds of years.
Any unbiased Observer can see very clearly the Anglo-Saxons who fully subjugated Europe
for them Ukraine is just an expendable material as they are fighting against Russia.
NATO declared that our country is an immediate threat to on their way to total domination and a long-term threat will be the PRC.
At the same time Collective West headed by Washington is sending frightening signals to other countries saying anyone who disobeys can be next.
One of the consequences of the Crusade by the West against the objectionables is the growing decline of multilateral Institutions.
They have been turned by the United States and allies into tools to implement their own
selfish interests.
This is something that is being pursued in the U.N Human Rights Council UNESCO and other multilateral institutions.
The organizational prohibition of chemical weapons has basically been privatized.
Serious attempts are being made to prevent creating within the convention on biological and toxin weapons overt mechanisms which would ensure transparency for hundreds of military biological programs of the Pentagon has around the world including on the perimeter of our country and throughout Eurasia and these programs are far from harmless.
This is irrefutable according to the fact that we came to in Ukraine.
There is an assertive line to privatize the U.S Secretariat to introducing it into its work at neoliberal narrative which ignores the cultural and civilizational multifaceted nature of the world.
We can call upon making sure that we follow the charter and ensure a fair geographical representation of member states making sure that there is no one single country dominant in the Secretariat.
An impossible situation was created by Washington having to do with the obligation of the host country of a headquarters agreement to ensure that normal conditions for the participation of all member states in U.N work
The obligations under this host country agreement are also placed on the Secretary General and inactivity is unacceptable.
We're also concerned by the efforts made by countries who are undermining the prerogatives of Security Council and of course the council in U.N have to be Allied to contemporary realities.
We see the prospect of making the security Council more democratic exclusively exclusively through broadening the representation of the countries from Africa Asia and Latin America.
We know to India and Brazil in particular as key International actors and worthy candidates for permanent membership within the council whilst at the same time unilaterally and mandatorily raising the profile of Africa.
It is very important today to make sure that all member states unequivocally without reservations reaffirm their commitment to the purposes and principles of the charter as a first and necessary step to restore collective responsibility for the fate of humankind and that was the reason why in July 2021 a group of friends to support the charter was created and
co-sponsor of the group was Russia and it now counts to 20 countries.
The goal here is to make sure that there is stricter abiding to the universal Norms of international law to counter balance unilateral approaches and we call upon everyone to join in and in this context a great potential is possessed by such organizations as the non-aligned movement BRICS and ASEAN.
The Western colleagues are very aggressive at imposing their understanding of democracy as a way of organizing life to all countries.
Categorically do not want to be guided by Democratic Norms in international Affairs and very good example the situation in Ukraine again.
It would seem to be that Russia justified its position and has been justifying it for years and the west said they disagree.
Okay well let other members of the International Community decide for themselves what their position would be on the side of one on the side of others or neutral.
That's what happens in democracies when politicians opposing each other defend their viewpoints and try to convey to others but the United States and allies do not give the freedom of choice to anyone.
They threaten to twist the arms of anyone who dares think for themselves and demand by threats that countries join in with anti-russian sanctions.
That doesn't work very well but it is very clear that these acts by United States and its satellites is not democracy.
It's pure unadulterated dictatorship or an attempt to impose it.
We're left with a strong impression that the Washington and subjugated Europe are trying to keep their disappearing hegemony using prohibited means.
Diplomacy constantly is being replaced by illegal sanctions against competitors in economics, sports, information area, culture and generally in contacts with people.
Let's uh turn to the to the problem with visas for delegates for international meetings in New York Geneva Vienna and Paris.
There also we see the desire to remove competition make sure that alternative viewpoints do not come into multilateral discussions.
I am convinced that we need to protect the U.N and scrape everything that confrontational and superficial from there and give it back its reputation and an honest platform to a seek for
balance for all member states and this is the approach that we're guided up when we put forward our national initiatives.
It is of principal importance to make sure that we have a comprehensive ban on the deployment of weapons in space and this is a reason for the russia-china draft International treaty considered by the conference on disarmament.
It's particularly important to protect our cyberspace within the open-ended working group of the general assembly on the agreements on how to protect International Security and to use a special committee for universal convention on how to counter the use of ICT for criminal purposes.
We continue supporting office on counter terrorism and either anti-terrorist entities within the U.N and we go to continue develop relationships between the UNSTO a European Eurasian economic Union CIS so as to pull our efforts in a greater Eurasia.
.We call for an enhanced work on overcoming Regional conflicts.
.We think that the priority here is to overcome the impasse in creating an independent Palestinian State.
.Restoring the state of Iraq and Libya destroyed by NATO aggression.
.Neutralize the threats to Syria.
.Having a sustainable process of national conciliation in Yemen.
.Overcoming the heavy burden of NATO presence in Afghanistan and we are working on restoring the original JCPOA on Iran a nuclear program.
.Ensuring the comprehensive settlement on the Korean Peninsula.
.Many complex situations in Africa require that we reject the temptation to play a zero-sum game that outside players consolidate on around the initiatives by the African Union.
.We are concerned by the situation and cost of a Bosnia Herzegovina where the United States and EU are stubbornly leading to the destruction of the international legal basis uh as we currently have it in resolution 12 to 44 and the date and peaceful agreement.
Madam president at times unlike these it's natural to seek wisdom from our predecessors so in the pithy expression of the former Secretary General Doug hamashold who remembered the horrors of world war he said and I quote
“The U.N wasn't created to take mankind to Paradise but rather to save Humanity from Hell “
These are very topical words they call upon us to understand our individual collective responsibility for creating conditions for a peaceful and harmonious development for our future generations and everyone need to show political will for that.
When we're ready for such honest work and we are convinced that the stability of the world order can be ensured it is exclusively through returning to the origins of the U.N diplomacy basing ourselves on the key principle of true democracy: the respect for The Sovereign equality of States.
I thank you I thank the minister for foreign affairs of the Russian Federation
I have linked this transcript to my post today. Many thanks for your efforts.
I am not at all surprised that the Russians have limited their contact with the Anglo-Saxons.
The behaviour of NATO member countries at the UNSC and the UNGA has been horrific, judgemental and loaded with ignorance, insult and barefaced lies.
Thank you for the transcribing Arthur.
Negative moral high ground from the West.
Not surprised that Russia can't be bothered listening to them. And that's the opinion of the Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, a diplomat who should be better able to tolerate double speak and lies.
But he's had enough.