Andrei Buravov, Consul General of Russia in Istanbul, made statements on the Ukraine war and global developments.
Stating that the trend of multipolarity is strengthening, Buravov said that they find Trump’s approach to Ukraine positive. Commenting on the telephone conversation between Syrian transitional President Ahmad al-Shara and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Buravov stated that Moscow is ready to cooperate to contribute to Syria’s economic potential. Commenting on the Azerbaijan-Armenia tension in the Caucasus, Buravov said that “there will be hesitations about maintaining calm until the conflict is resolved.”
Andrei Buravov, Consul General of Russia in Istanbul, made statements about the current situation in the Russia-Ukraine war, which has completed its third year. “Another important reason that led to the decision to launch the special military operation was the pumping of Ukraine with weapons from the West as an outpost of the fight against Russia, the active discussion of the issue of its admission to NATO and the deployment of the relevant military infrastructure of the North Atlantic Alliance on the territory of Ukraine,” Buravov said.
“In the 90s and 2000s, at the beginning of the years, we believed that we could cross the dividing lines, build a common space, as they said then, from the Atlantic to Vladivostok, live in peace and mutual understanding. Unfortunately, the West’s desire to make a junior partner out of Russia, to prevent the strengthening of our youth and economic independence has led to today’s events.”
“The geopolitical division today is not between the West and Russia, but between the Western minority and the world majority. An increasing number of large, medium, and small states have gained momentum in the process of the formation of a multipolar world and are pursuing policies of independent national orientation,” Putin said.
Referring to the telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Buravov used the following statements:
“Donald Trump advocated an immediate cessation of military hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Vladimir Putin spoke about the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with the US President that a long-term solution could be reached through peace negotiations. The Russian President supported the American President’s view that the time has come for our countries to work together. During the meeting, the issues of the settlement of the Middle East conflict, the Iranian nuclear program and bilateral Russian-American relations in the economic sphere were also discussed. The Russian president invited the US president to visit Moscow.”
“Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump also agreed to maintain personal contacts, including face-to-face meetings,” Buravov added.
The Russian Consul General also argued that Trump’s position on Ukraine confirms Russian theses:
“We welcome the fact that President Donald Trump recently pointed to Ukraine’s attempts to join NATO as one of the causes of the conflict in Ukraine, which no one in the West has ever done. Russia has been talking about this from the beginning.”
‘Russia supports the territorial integrity of Syria’
Russian Consul General in Istanbul Andrei Buravov also commented on the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian transitional President Ahmad al-Shara:
“During this meeting, Russia emphasized its position in support of the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian state. In this context, the importance of implementing a set of measures to ensure stable normalization in the country and intensify dialogue among Syrians with the participation of leading political forces and ethno-religious population groups was stressed. We have made a significant contribution to the economic potential of Syria since the times of the Soviet Union, and therefore the Russian side expresses its readiness to carry out relevant work in this regard. Of course, within the framework of this dialogue process, various issues will be discussed. The status of these issues will be clearly determined. I believe that the things you mentioned in the last part of your question will find their own solution to the branch within the framework of this process.”
Azerbaijan-Armenia tensions
Commenting on the lack of a final peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Buravov emphasized that Russia is ready to make a constructive contribution. The Russian diplomat said:
“We know that there is also the 3 plus 3 format in which meetings have been held in the recent period. Of course, how effective this format can be in resolving the bilateral issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia depends on the attitude of these two countries. At least within the framework of this format and from the point of view of Russia, we say that we are always ready for well-intentioned initiatives. The more both sides want it, the more our role as a facilitator will be possible. We are ready for this. That is what we always say. But of course, first of all, these two countries have to work in order to ensure a peaceful environment. And this depends on their decisions. There will always be hesitations that the situation there can be calmed down until this conflict is completely resolved. This is the situation.”
