Today is the last day when the exiled reps of the US diplomatic mission must leave the country. The State Department hasn't officially confirmed that the diplomats and their families have left yet. But cars and buses kept pulling up to the Embassy all night long, people with luggage would get in, and around 6.30 AM, the vehicles left Nоvinsky Blvd. The Embassy employees saw the column off. I remind you, as a countermeasure to the expulsion of Russian diplomats, the MFA has ordered 60 reps of the US diplomatic mission to leave Russia.
The Skripals case is an open mockery of international law. This is what the Head of Russia's MFA, Sergey Lavrov said at the International Safety Conference that takes place in Moscow. Today is the forum's last day.
Right now, our correspondent, Darya Kozlova is live in our studio.
- Dasha, hello. What else did Lavrov talk about? What do they plan to discuss today?
- Hello. The Russian Foreign Minister started by discussing international safety issues. He said that since the last, 6th, Moscow Safety Conference the global situation has gotten significantly more complicated. The main reason for this, according to Sergey Lavrov, is the US's destructive actions. They lead to an imbalance of the global governance.
Sergey Lavrov said that Washington hasn't drawn out a lesson from the tragedies in Syria, Libya, Iraq, and Yugoslavia. Right now, we can clearly observe the tendency to disrespect the international law, along with a weakening influence of international organizations. Besides, US's negotiability is generating doubts. One administration signs an international agreement, then an election occurs, the following president's administration in Washington refuses to comply with this agreement or openly announces their exit from international agreements.
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister: "The US's negotiability is generating more and more doubts, especially in light of their attempts tо break large-scale international agreements, such as a joint universal plan of action on Iran's nuclear program, UN's decision about regulations in the Middle East, the declaration of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, and basic principles of the WTO. We can clearly see their tendency to revise international affairs".
Also, Sergey Lavrov spoke about the impossibility of the Minsk Treaty renegotiation. He also mentioned the issue of European safety, expressed his concerns about the installation of mission shield systems not far from the US border, but close to the Russian border. He also said that, right now, NATO is increasing military activity in the region right next to the Russian border. Another covered topic was the situation in Syria. The Head Russian Foreign Minister has urged our Western partners to stop playing games with the terrorists and classify them as 'bad' and 'not so bad'.
Sergey Lavrov: "We're under a lingering impression that the US tries to preserve a controlled chaos state on this enormous geopolitical territory to use it to justify open-ended US military presence in the region for the promotion of their unilateral order of business. In the interest of its strategic stability, Washington's political agenda is to prioritize ensuring their military advantage and to demolish the power balance".
The Skripals' case was another topic in Lavrov's speech. The Head Foreign Minister has called this expulsion of Russian diplomats from several countries a political provocation, an open mockery of international law. He said it was unacceptable to first bring ungrounded accusations and then begin an unbiased investigation. He compared this situation to a Lewis Carroll's book plot.
“It reminds me of a book by Lewis Carroll, where the Queen demands to sentence the defendant, and then listen to the jurors' verdict, guilty or not. However, Lewis Carroll was a satirical writer, using the fairy tale genre. Yesterday's discussion in Hague has shown us that mature, self-respecting people don't believe in fairy tales. We once again urge all our colleagues to consider all issues on an international law scale, with honesty and with all evidence provided".
Sergey Lavrov has reminded that Russia has already fulfilled its duties to neutralize chemical weapons that were left over since the USSR times, and called upon the US to do the same and fulfill their obligations.
Sergey Zakharkin, the Deputy Director of the Federal National Guard Troops Service has finished his speech, where he noted that, in the last year alone, over 80,000 law offenses have been suppressed. The Federal National Guard Troops Service pays extra attention to terrorism. He's assured everyone that safety will be ensured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the Federal National Guard Troops Service will be a part of it especially since their soldiers have plenty of experience in this industry.
The first plenary session is about to begin. It will be dedicated to the situation in Asia. They'll discuss the Korean peninsula situation and reinforcing the military force factor in the region.
That was our correspondent, Darya Kozlova live in our studio.
