러시아 외교부, 2023년 외교정책 결과 발표문
마리아 자하로바 1227 브리핑
Decision by the Republic of Korea to impose new export controls on Russia
On December 26, 2023, the Republic of Korea added 682 products to the list of goods and technology subject to export controls. A special permit will be required to supply them to Russia. This is already Seoul’s third package of anti-Russia economic sanctions, which are expected to come into force (in early 2024 in connection with the second anniversary of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.)
Taken at Washington’s orders, this unfriendly step is not only deeply regrettable, but runs counter to South Korea’s stated commitment to maintaining constructive relations with Russia. Importantly, this undermines the South Korean economy and manufacturing.
These new South Korean restrictions will be a blow to Russia’s practical cooperation with the Republic of Korea, which has already suffered serious damage after Seoul joined the illegal sanctions imposed by the collective West against Russia. Of course, all this will have a negative impact on our bilateral ties in all their aspects.
Russia reserves the right to take reciprocal actions. Moreover, we will make sure that the measures we take are not necessarily symmetrical. So, they should not be surprised later.
Press release on Russia's main foreign policy results in 2023
2656-30-12-2023
Last year, the Russian diplomatic service pursued a foreign policy course determined by President Vladimir Putin in a situation of heightened confrontation with the collective West. The main goals were to provide political and diplomatic support for the special military operation and to expand cooperation with countries and associations that make up the Global Majority.
1. An important milestone in 2023 was the update of the doctrine underlying Russia's foreign policy: on March 31, the President of Russia approved a new version of the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation. The document expressed a commitment to promote the formation of a more just and sustainable international system based on the principles of international law and cooperation between states.
2. Russia made significant efforts to develop relations with neighbouring countries, as well as the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
High-level multilateral events at the UN, BRICS, the G20, the APEC forum, and the East Asia Summits demonstrated these groups' strong interest in pursuing an independent foreign policy and their willingness to take Russia's interests into account.
3. Integration with Belarus has advanced significantly. The partner countries began working on an interstate treaty on security guarantees and the Union State security concept. The Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State in 2024-2026 were agreed upon. The intergovernmental agreement on the mutual recognition of visas was ratified. A major joint achievement was the launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.
4. Amid geopolitical turbulence, Eurasian integration associations that include Russia have successfully demonstrated their resilience.
Under Russia's chairmanship, the Eurasian Economic Union adopted a declaration on the further development of economic processes within the EAEU until 2030 and 2045, titled the Eurasian Economic Path. The EAEU signed a free trade agreement with Iran, as well as a memorandum of cooperation with Myanmar.
The Collective Security Treaty Organisation member states, which share approaches to regional security in Eurasia, the situation in Afghanistan, and the prevention of an arms race in outer space, expressed their positions in joint statements by the countries' foreign ministers. A legal framework was established for the CSTO to participate in UN peacekeeping activities. Under the Belarusian chairmanship, the CSTO began discussing the Eurasian Security Architecture agenda at a high-level international conference in Minsk in October.
Interaction in the Commonwealth of Independent States was highly productive. At the CIS summit in Bishkek in October, the members adopted a statement on international relations in a multipolar world and signed an agreement on free trade in services and on investment activities. The CIS Human Rights Commission and the Commission of Ombudsmen for Children's Rights in the CIS member states commenced their work. The Treaty on the Establishment of the International Organisation for the Russian Language was signed. To expand the Commonwealth’s external relations, observer and partner statuses were established.
5. The progress in relations with the Central Asian states was advanced by the 6th foreign ministers' meeting in the CA5+Russia format in Samarkand in April. In October, the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan launched Russian natural gas deliveries across Kazakhstan to consumers in Uzbekistan.
6. Russia contributed to the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalisation process based on the trilateral agreements of the leaders. Visas were abolished for short-term trips to Russia by Georgian citizens, and direct flights between our countries were resumed. The foreign ministers of the countries participating in the 3+3 Consultative Regional Platform met in Tehran in October. The meeting was a success and provided a promising mechanism for cooperation and maintaining stability in the South Caucasus.
7. Russian-Chinese relations reached an unprecedented level in 2023. After his re-election as President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping made his first foreign visit to Russia in March. President of Russia Vladimir Putin visited China to take part in the third Belt and Road International Forum in October. Bilateral trade again reached a record high of over $230 billion. The share of the rouble and the yuan in mutual transactions reached about 80 percent. The Russia-China tandem played a stabilising role on the world stage, making a significant contribution to the democratisation of the entire system of international relations.
8. Russia maintained an intensive political dialogue with India, including in the context of the country's chairmanship of the SCO and the G20, reinforcing the Russian-Indian special and privileged strategic partnership. The growth of trade, which exceeded $54 billion, revealed the progressive development of Moscow's cooperation with New Delhi.
9. President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Chairman of State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in September brought Russian-North Korean relations to a new level.
10. Important joint steps were taken to expand Russian-Iranian relations. In particular, the parties signed an agreement on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway in May, and the foreign ministers signed a Declaration on the Ways and Means to Counter, Mitigate and Redress the Adverse Impacts of Unilateral Coercive Measures in December.
11. The launch of the mechanism of regular dialogue at the level of foreign ministers (Moscow, December) accelerated cooperation between the Caspian states.
12. Relations with Türkiye reached a strategic level in the field of peaceful nuclear energy: in particular, Russia began supplying nuclear fuel to the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
13. Russia gained a stronger foothold in the Middle East. Relations with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, primarily the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, acquired a new quality, including with regard to the stabilisation of the global oil market through OPEC+. There was progress in relations with the League of Arab States: Morocco hosted the 6th session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum of foreign ministers in December.
14. The second Russia-Africa Summit held in St Petersburg in July marked the culmination of collaborative efforts to significantly enhance ties in this promising area of Russia's foreign policy. The agreements reached at the highest level set the priorities for long-term cooperation with African countries and associations.
15. The expansion of traditional partnerships with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean was central to the agenda of the successful political dialogue with regional states at the highest and high levels. A significant milestone was the Russia-Latin America International Parliamentary Conference held in Moscow in October.
16. The Joint Statement of the ASEAN and Russian Foreign Ministers on the Occasion of the 5th Anniversary of the ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership reflected Russia's strong ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The first trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, China and Indonesia took place in Jakarta in July.
17. A pivotal moment in the development of BRICS was the decision made at the Johannesburg Summit in August to expand the association from January 1, 2024, by inviting Argentina, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia as new members.
18. The influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on global and Eurasian processes increased in 2023: Iran became a full member of the SCO, and the process for Belarus to become a member was initiated.
19. In its relations with unfriendly states, Russia pursued a principled policy aimed at creating favourable conditions for them to abandon their hostile policy. To achieve this, Russia took steps to debunk the concept of a "rules-based international order" promoted by the United States and the European Union. At the UN, the OSCE and other multilateral platforms, Russia advocated for the peaceful development of all states based on the principles of sovereign equality and indivisible security. Russia effectively thwarted plans for its international isolation while maintaining opportunities for dialogue and pragmatic cooperation with the West on the basis of equality and respect for each other's interests.
In light of the United States' openly anti-Russia policy and inability to negotiate, NATO and the EU's continued eastward expansion, and the creation of new threats to Russia's security, Russia suspended its participation in the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) in February. Russia also terminated its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) in November and withdrew the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in November. Russia withdrew from the Barents Euro-Arctic Council in September in response to the Western countries' actions that effectively paralysed the Council's activities and a lack of confirmation from them that they were ready to transfer the chairmanship to Russia. In July, Russia also suspended its participation in the Black Sea initiative for the export of Ukrainian food products due to a lack of progress in the implementation of the UN-Russia memorandum on the normalisation of exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilisers.
20. An important milestone in the humanitarian sphere was the establishment of the International Russophile Movement, which is united by common sympathy for Russia and interest in Russian culture and language (March).
The Astronomical Observatories at Kazan Federal University were included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In November, Veliky Novgorod joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
The quota for foreign citizens to study at Russian universities with government grants was increased to 30,000 places. Additionally, 206,000 books and textbooks in Russian were donated to educational institutions in 23 countries.
A world conference on traditional values (November), five regional and more than 70 country conferences, and other events were held as part of cooperation with the movement of Russian compatriots.
Russia conducted comprehensive emergency operations to evacuate Russian nationals and citizens of other countries from Sudan in April and from the Gaza Strip in November and December. Furthermore, over 390 tonnes of Russian humanitarian aid were delivered to the Palestinians.
The system for issuing unified electronic visas for citizens of 55 countries to enter Russia was launched in August, and more than 120,000 people have used it in five months.
In July, Russia opened its Consulate General on the island of Phuket, Thailand. The Embassy of the Russian Federation opened in Burkina Faso in December, and the Russian Embassy in Libya reopened in June.
-------------
Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s telephone conversation with Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi
On January 10, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi.
The ministers summed up and spoke positively of the key outcomes of cooperation in 2023, expressing satisfaction with the high tempo of the political dialogue and practical cooperation, which are marked by stability and positive dynamics amid the global geopolitical instability. They focused on the implementation of agreements reached at the top political level and highlighted the importance of Russian-Chinese strategic interaction to create a just multipolar international order and, in particular, to ensure that the foundations of Eurasian security are solid.
They noted that bilateral trade and economic cooperation has successfully overcome external challenges, with Russia-China trade passing the $200 billion mark as of the end of the year, and discussed the importance of expanding cooperation between the EAEU and the Belt and Road project.
The interest of both countries in further building up humanitarian ties in sports, education, science, cultural exchanges, and international performing arts competitions was reaffirmed.
Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi touched on a number of priority items on the international agenda, including (1) the Ukraine crisis, (2)the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, (3)the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula and the Asia-Pacific region in general. They underscored their rejection of the Western bloc’s confrontational policy towards Russia and China, and the attempts to hold back their development using sanctions, deliberate provocations and other illegitimate means. They also noted the purely constructive nature of interaction between Moscow and Beijing within the UN, the SCO, BRICS and other multilateral formats, which is not directed against third countries. The Chinese side expressed support for Russia’s BRICS chairmanship. The ministers exchanged views on ways to facilitate China’s contacts with the CIS.
The conversation once again confirmed the two countries’ broadly consonant approaches to international affairs and their commitment to continue maintaining close coordination in the international arena.
The ministers reviewed the schedule of upcoming high-level and highest-level contacts.