Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on the demarche by the G7 foreign ministers and the High Representative of the European Union

We have taken note of the January 26 statement by the G7 foreign ministers and the High Representative of the European Union regarding some aspects of the sociopolitical situation in Russia, in which, without any grounds whatsoever, they accuse Moscow of violating its international legal obligations.

We regard the publication of that statement as a flagrant intervention in our internal affairs and an openly unfriendly move. On the other hand, there is nothing fundamentally new in the document: the assessments put forth in it do not differ from the previous statements made by Western officials.

The deterioration of a once respected organisation, whose decisions used to influence global economic and political discussions, evokes nothing but regret. The G7, which has irretrievably lost its former prestige in international affairs, has attempted to pose, without any grounds, as a judge of others’ compliance with democratic norms and human rights.

We urge the G7 countries and the European Union, which has aligned itself with them in this case, to strictly comply with the universally recognised principles and norms of international law, to stop distorting facts and refrain from using other information war techniques, and to pay more attention to the current problems of their own citizens.

We highly recommend that each G7 country and the EU as a whole carefully analyse all the possible consequences of their involvement in such anti-Russia manoeuvres for the future of bilateral relations with Russia.