Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
I am glad to welcome you again to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the European Union to our reception marking Russia's chairmanship in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2024.
Let us open our meeting with the address by the President of Russia.
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The current geopolitical situation, marked among other things by the West's incessant attempts to slow down the objective development of a multipolar world by all means, including illegitimate ones, has revealed additional opportunities for the gradual strengthening of multifaceted partnerships to form a Greater Eurasia. The CIS, which is the most representative association in terms of both membership and areas of activity, has a huge and at the same time unique potential in this regard.
Russia's chairmanship of the CIS is based on our country's special role in efforts to deepen integration processes in Eurasia. Practical steps to achieve this strategic task are reflected in the Concept approved by the President of Russia, as well as in the relevant priorities.
They include economic cooperation, particularly in the areas of food security, technological and energy security, transport and logistics, the environment, innovation, digitalisation, industrial cooperation, as well as cultural and humanitarian ties and addressing new challenges and threats.
We attach the highest priority to preserving historical memory and working together against the growing attempts in the West to revise the history of the Second World War and to glorify Nazism. This is our common sacred duty. After all, the ancestors of those in this room today, representing the CIS countries, gave Europeans the right to life, liberated them from slavery and freed Europe from the dominance of Nazi ideology.
Russia is also focused on promoting the "external dimension" of the CIS by developing its cooperation with regional and international organisations. We welcome the interest of the states of the Global Majority in building their relations with the CIS and its members in accordance with international law, on the basis of equality, mutual respect of interests and common approaches to solving international and regional problems.
I am confident that the work carried out under the Russian chairmanship to transform the CIS region into an area of peace, cooperation, sustainable development and shared prosperity will contribute to the creation of a fair world order based on the diversity of civilisations, the balance of power and interests of all participants in international relations, guaranteeing the security of all states, the preservation of their cultural and civilisational identity and equal opportunities for comprehensive development.
Thank you for your attention!
