Russian Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva in response to a TASS request to comment on media reports regarding the termination of cooperation between Russia and CERN (March 19, 2024)

From February 26 to March 1, in Havana, Cuba, joint educational courses were conducted by MGIMO University and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) for Cuban government officials and master's students from Cuba's Higher Institute of International Relations Raúl Roa García.

Russia will assist CIS countries in development of sustainable housing and smart cities

The Government of the Russian Federation has decided to allocate a new voluntary contribution of 2 million to the budget of the UN Road Safety Fund.

We have decided to focus today’s discussion on what unites all countries, contrary to the modern discourse based on the assumption that each State must copy a number of so-called “old”, “leading” or “real” democracies or other definitions used by those who identify themselves as a model for the rest of the world. Building a real democracy is impossible without cultivating respect for human rights and freedoms in society and establishing an effective system for their promotion and protection. By upholding the fundamental principles of liberty, equality and fraternity, democracy creates an enabling environment for individuals to live freely and autonomously. It institutionally guarantees that the policies and laws created by governments take into account the best interests of people who have entrusted their leaders to govern their States. It is a classical form of the social contract which was first described in Greek and Roman philosophy and then transformed by Rousseau and other famous thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment.

The Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation strongly condemns the actions of global U.S. Internet companies, which for political reasons, without legal grounds and contrary to the norms of international law, restrict freedom of expression in social networks of the information and telecommunications network "Internet". Developments after the presidential election in the United States of America have shown that the American Internet giants have embarked on a path of widespread use of censorship, contrary to the principles of democracy and the generally recognized right of citizens to seek, receive and disseminate information, as well as illegal blocking of alternative platforms.

First of all, I would like to once again thank Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis and his staff for inviting me here for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Geneva International Conference on Afghanistan. We discussed in detail our relations, which have always been constructive and pragmatic and based on mutual respect and consideration for each other’s interests. We are enjoying steady growth in trade. We welcome the consistent build-up of Swiss investment in Russia and Russian investment in Switzerland. Today, we confirmed our course of encouraging the business community to continue increasing cooperation between Russian and Swiss businesspeople. New solutions in trade and economic cooperation are being drafted for the next meeting of the Mixed Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation to be held in Bern on December 4.

Digital transformation is the new reality, where an important role is given to digital data. Data in digital form become a factor in production. Implementing big data takes companies, industries and countries as a whole to a new competitive level. With the rapid development of information technologies the International Telecommunication Union should remain the leading UN platform to coordinate the collective approaches to solving the pressing problems in the field of ICT development, including the Internet. The Union should preserve its key role of ramping up international cooperation for safe and rational use of all types of telecommunications.

With regard to the article by Mr. Sylvian Besson published in “Le Temps” on the 7th of October 2018 over the situation in the International Civil Defense Organization (ICDO), the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva would like to state the following.

On the 23rd of August Russia delivered the 80th humanitarian convoy for the population of Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine.