IN BRIEF: Russian MFA statements on FAZ reporter’s provocation, UN criticism

IN BRIEF: Russian MFA statements on FAZ reporter’s provocation, UN criticism The Foreign Ministry calls on the citizens living abroad to be vigilant and not to give in to provocations ahead of the State Duma elections© Sergey Bulkin/TASSMOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. The comment by Michael Martens, a correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), were a deliberate provocation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing. She said that IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, by claiming that the UN is slowly dying, is trying to follow "the trend and earn extra points;" she said that Moscow is calling on Tokyo to stop retouching the WWII history and to acknowledge its outcomes. She added that the regime of Moldovan President Maia Sandu is condoning Romania’s annexation of the country. TASS has compiled the key statements by the Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman. Foreign Minister’s schedule Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold talks in Moscow on August 25 with Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for international affairs. Elections to the State Duma The Foreign Ministry calls on the citizens living abroad to be vigilant and not to give in to provocations ahead of the State Duma elections: "We call on all Russian citizens, including those living abroad, especially during this electoral campaign, to be vigilant and not to give in to provocations." "There remains a high probability" that Russia’s enemies abroad will carry out extremist and protest actions to discredit the elections. The ministry launched a thematic section of the website "Elections to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation 2026". Representatives of 55 countries confirmed their readiness to come to Russia to observe the elections: "This year, invitations to the September elections were sent to 12 international organizations and more than 100 countries." As of August 20, representatives of 55 of them have already confirmed their readiness to come to Russia. Among them are Russia’s traditional partners from the CIS, the SCO, BRICS, ASEAN, and countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Provocations by a FAZ journalist The words of Michael Martens, a correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), about how Europe could "help kill more Russians" were a deliberate provocation: "The wording he used was deliberate. It was a deliberate provocation, obviously." The paper that Martens works for could be correctly called "Frankfurter Alzheimer Zeitung" due to the absurdity of its attitude towards Russians, according to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson. The journalist did not issue any public apology: "We also haven’t seen any attempts to disavow what was said." Ukrainian settlement No one except Russia can be the guarantor of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity: "The only guarantor of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity has been and can only be Russia. This has been repeatedly emphasized by Russian President Vladimir Putin." With the new rules of mobilization, the Kiev regime is driving Ukrainians into bondage, forcing them to go to the front "literally no longer for a ration of bread, but just for a sip of life." Moscow expects to receive an answer from Washington and Ankara about a possible transfer of American weapons to Ukraine through Turkey: "We expect to receive it, including due to the obvious projection of this issue on the dynamics and prospects of sustainable solutions on the Ukrainian track of the Ukrainian settlement." Finnish weapons, when crossing the Ukrainian border, become a legitimate target for Russia; "no hostile act by Helsinki will go unanswered." Grossi’s criticism of the UN By criticizing the UN, Grossi seeks to expand the base of support for his own candidacy for the post of secretary·general of the organization: "We consider his statement -- in particular, about the allegedly slow death of the UN -- to be greatly exaggerated and primarily aimed at attracting the attention of the global community to expand the base of support for his own candidacy." Grossi tried to follow the "fashion and earn extra points," because "criticizing the world organization is in vogue now, but the fashion is no longer entirely relevant," so his attempts cannot be called successful. Japan’s retouching of history Moscow calls on Tokyo to "stop trying to retouch" the WWII history and to acknowledge its outcomes: "I will remind you of what is well known in China: Japan, being one of the main aggressors in WWII, has for decades refused to acknowledge its outcomes and has been diligently portraying itself as almost an innocent victim of an attack by Western powers." Instead of openly acknowledging its responsibility for unleashing aggression in Asia and the Pacific, Japan "is increasingly sliding down a dangerous path -- the path of whitewashing its own wartime crimes." Moldova’s policy regarding its own identity The regime of Moldovan President Maia Sandu is "self·indulging in the annexation" of the country by Romania: "The current Moldovan leadership under Sandu is pursuing integration not into the ‘big European family,’ but into Romania. This is ‘self·indulgence in annexation.’ Perhaps nothing like this has ever happened in the world before. But the Sandu regime has come up with it and is implementing it." The Moldovan minister’s statements that the republic has lost more than 30 years "by pursuing a balanced foreign policy, and now has determined its strategic course" are addressed to the Western curators who finance it. The West’s complicity in Ukrainian terrorism The European Union’s transfer of income from Russia’s frozen assets to Ukraine is "nothing other than complicity in organizing terrorist attacks: Europeans participating in the plundering of the interest from the reinvestment of the Bank of Russia’s assets fully fall into this category." Such actions by the West "will not go unpunished." Western sponsors of the Kiev regime are acting as accomplices of terrorists who are threatening the physical nuclear safety of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant: "The strike on the facility near the plant is yet another attempt to threaten the physical nuclear safety of the power plant. The silence regarding the crimes of the Kiev junta by those who support the regime of [Vladimir] Zelensky makes them, in fact, his accomplices, accomplices of terrorists who bear full responsibility for the acts they commit." Military activity of the West Poland seeks to "flaunt their accelerated remilitarization" at the international level. Only the United States can fully comment on the motives behind the White House’s decision to reduce joint military exercises with Seoul, but any steps aimed at "reducing the risk of a security·related setback can only be welcomed". Preparations for the Russia-Africa summit At the third Russia-Africa summit, "a substantial package of interstate documents and commercial contracts will be signed. We note with satisfaction the significant interest shown by our partners in the upcoming event." Many African capitals have already confirmed their participation in the summit and are stating their intention to send delegations to Moscow, including from government agencies and business leaders. 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for economic growth in Russia, the head of state saidRead more