Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold his annual press conference on Wednesday to present the results of the Russian diplomatic activities, assessments of the situation in the world and answer journalists' questions.
The last press conference in January 2022 lasted about three hours, the minister managed to answer the questions of about 30 Russian and foreign journalists on various topics: from negotiations with the West on security guarantees and cancel culture in the United States to the events in Kazakhstan early last year and the activities of the CSTO.
This year, for the first time since 2019, the event will be held without restrictions, so all interested media representatives will be able to personally ask the minister a question. In 2021, the press conference was held in a hybrid format, and in 2020 - online because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Turning point for foreign policy
Last December, the Russian foreign ministry called 2022 an eventful year of historic proportions. The ministry noted that the year was "literally a turning point" for Russian foreign policy, marking the formation of a new international reality. The West refused to seriously consider Russian proposals on security guarantees, the country's leadership, due to increasing threats and in order to protect the citizens living in Donbas, launched a special military operation in Ukraine, which was the main event of the year.
At the press conference, the Russian foreign minister will probably also talk about Russia's difficult relations with Western countries, which in 2022 expelled Russian diplomats en masse and terminated cooperation with Moscow in various areas. It is possible that the minister will also touch on the situation around Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh, Taiwan, and Syria.
They also pointed out that despite the pressure, Russia did not give up its principled foreign policy goals and continued to promote a constructive international agenda. Moreover, Russian officials repeatedly stressed that the year 2022 revealed "who is who," and showed who is worth cooperating with and who is not. In this regard, representatives of the Russian MFA drew attention to the fact that Moscow could always refocus on cooperation with friendly and interested in cooperation countries.
The diplomatic mission is working on a new concept of Russia's foreign policy, expected to be adopted in 2023. The ministry noted earlier that the basic outlines of the document are being finalized taking into account the development of the international situation, and its publication is expected early this year. According to Lavrov, the new version of the concept will focus on relations with African countries, among other things, against the background of the waning of the Western direction.
It is worth expecting that journalists will also ask the minister to talk about the priorities of Russian foreign policy in 2023, the work within the framework of regional associations, the strengthening of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the functioning of the CSTO, the situation in Central Asia. However, the busy 2022 agenda may not allow Lavrov to cover all the pressing topics and questions from journalists, but the Russian MFA usually responds in writing to those media representatives who have not had time to voice their questions in person.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS