Today is the second day of the Primakov Readings think tank summit in Moscow. This year, the international forum is attended by experts and politicians from 22 countries. This morning, Sergey Lavrov addressed the gathering. What issues did the minister touch upon?
Alexey Konopko is now live from the World Trade Center.
- Hello, Alexey. What did the minister speak about? What's the forum's agenda for today?
- Good morning. It's day 2 of the Primakov Readings. Like the first one, it was almost fully dedicated to international security. Only one panel discussion is called "Society Changing Tech", while the rest are devoted either to bilateral and multilateral dialogues or the world's hot spots. Although, it isn't a typical subject-matter for the Primakov Readings which focus both on politics and economy. But the global situation makes security play center stage.
Today's meeting started with Sergey Lavrov's address, which dealt with the international credibility gap, degradation of diplomacy and rhetoric, and the media space as a whole as accusations, primarily against Russia, are snowing in without any proof. He meant the Skripal case, the Boeing over Donbass, and the murder of journalist Babchenko, which is on the list despite the fact that the news about it came only yesterday night.
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of foreign affairs: "Yesterday Kiev saw another tragedy. Arkady Babchenko was shot dead in his home. The Ukrainian PM has already claimed that it was done by Russian special services. Though the investigation hasn't been launched yet".
The Ukrainian crisis was on yesterday's agenda as a separate item. On June 1st, Sergey Lavrov is to meet with his counterparts, heads of the foreign ministries of the Normandy format states to renew discussions of the Ukrainian crisis settlement. But the Minsk action plan can serve as a roadmap even without any amendments, it isn't necessary to alter it, it's sufficient to comply with it, says Sergey Lavrov, adding that many options have been suggested to Kiev, but the Ukrainian authorities mostly deny them.
Here's an example. It was agreed to separate troops at the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska in case of at least a week-long ceasefire. The OSCE has detected more than 20 of such cases. But Kiev never drew off its troops. Lavrov says that, of course, both sides are responsible for the conflict, though the proportions of their guilt differ, which is confirmed by statistics.
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of foreign affairs: "If you read the reports by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, which we actually do, you'll see that now they contain many important things that weren't there before. We drafted a memo which the OSCE sends to all the member states. It says that from January, 1st to May, 19, I guess... Well, never mind, from January to mid-May the Ukrainian government forces shelled the Donbass civilian properties five or six times more frequently".
The US unilateral withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal may entail a global crisis, says Sergey Lavrov. And, of course, the crisis on the Korean peninsula has no other solution but negotiations. We hope that the talks that have been announced and reconfirmed recently won't result in ultimatums because the issue of the denuclearization of the entire Korean peninsula can hardly be solved at once. Instead, it will require step-by-step, consistent actions and patience.
Sergey Lavrov has finished his address, but almost 1,000 experts from 22 countries now continue to discuss all the mentioned issues. In addition, tonight we'll see a special panel on the Russian economy. The speaker will be Alexey Kudrin, new Chairman of the Accounts Chamber.
- Thank you, Alexey. Alexey Konopko is following the international forum "Primakov Readings", today is its second day.
