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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.

The road safety has been and remains one of the most pressing issues of modern society. Deaths and injuries resulting from road traffic accidents have a negative impact on the socio-economic progress and sustainable development of states.

Excellences,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me first express my sincere gratitude to H.E. Ambassador Atageldi Haljanov, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UNOG, for his invitation to participate in this important event dedicated to the very pertinent issue of intermodal connectivity. I would also like to congratulate my fellow panelists on their interesting presentations and useful insights.

Dear Colleagues,
I would like to thank the distinguished representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) for convening this important event on the margins of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development.

The key task of the 23rd UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn is to harmonise specific parameters for the implementation of the Paris Agreement (PA) that will determine the climate regime for the period after 2020.
One of the goals is to draft guidelines for the preparation, presentation and implementation of nationally determined contributions by the PA parties. The Russian Federation suggests that this work should be based on the principles of precision, transparency, completeness, uniformity and comparability of information that are already functioning in the UNFCCC. These guidelines should be uniform for all parties to the Paris Agreement.

I announce with great satisfaction that we have found solutions to all the remaining major issues related to the preparation of this document. The text of the Convention is actually ready. In the near future, it will be edited and finalised, and translated into the national languages of the signatories, and each of the countries will perform the domestic procedure preparing it for signing at the top level. The Convention will be signed at the Fifth Caspian Summit, which will be held in Kazakhstan in the first half of next year. The final decision on the summit timeframe will be made by the leadership of Kazakhstan once it makes sure that all the technical and legal aspects of work on the Convention’s text have been cleared.
The participants have stated their high opinion of the progress made on other aspects of the contractual framework for cooperation between the littoral states in the most important areas.