The 65th anniversary of the Victory cannot be over-emphasized

[UkrainianOrg]

On April 30, 2010 Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrey Nesterenko briefed journalists on Russia-US adoption talks, events dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the WW2 victory and a series of international issues.

Sergey Lavrov’s attendance at PACE’s spring session

Yesterday, April 29, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov attended the 61st Spring PACE Session as special guest.

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The centerpiece of the Minister’s speech at the session was the significance of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and World War II for the formation of today’s democratic European order. Emphasis was placed upon the decisive contribution of our country to the defeat of fascism and the inadmissibility of falsification of this tragic chapter in the history of the continent was noted. The Minister set out in detail the Russian approaches to shaping a new European architecture in line with President Dmitry Medvedev’s initiative for a European Security Treaty.

He met with Mevlut Cavusoglu, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and Thorbjorn Jagland, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General.

Lavrov and Cavusoglu discussed topical issues of the Russian Federation's participation in CoE activities. They had a thorough exchange of views on how to enhance the role of PACE in eliminating dividing lines on the continent and to promote a unifying agenda of the Assembly more actively.

The conversation with Secretary General Jagland touched on a broad range of issues concerning the work of the Strasbourg body, noting the need to bolster the role of the Council of Europe in pan-European integration efforts, more specifically in the creation of a pan-European human rights and humanitarian space.

During the session, the Minister attended the opening ceremony prepared with the participation of the National Council of Russian Children and Youth Associations for the exhibition “The Young Multiethnic Russia,” which was held at the Palais de l'Europe (CoE headquarters) from April 26 to 29.
The visit to Moscow by a Bolivian government delegation

Following up the agreement reached on April 2 in Caracas during the course of the meeting between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President of the Multinational State of Bolivia Evo Morales, a Bolivian government delegation visited Moscow to hold talks on co-operation in oil and gas, mining and MTC, as well as in transport.

The Bolivian representatives had a number of meetings in the relevant ministries and agencies of our country that ended with the reiteration of the mutual interest and willingness of the two sides to develop many-sided co-operation in the future.

Bolivia is a leader among Latin American countries in terms of its energy and mineral resources, which creates additional opportunities for expanding Russian-Bolivian relations.

The outcome of Russian-US talks on adoption

Russian-US consultations on adoption took place yesterday, April 29, at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The US interagency delegation was comprised of officials from the Department of State and US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Among those attending from the Russian side were MFA representatives, Children’s Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov, Natalia Karpovich, First Deputy Chairwoman of the Duma Women, Children and Family Affairs Committee, and officials from the Ministry of Education and Science, Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice.

In our judgment, the meeting was businesslike and constructive. In the course of the consultations, we set out to the US side our principled stand on adoption and emphasized that the current arrangement does not provide adequate protection of the rights, life and health of Russian children in adoptive American families. The recent tragic events, especially the latest egregious incident of the “return” of a seven-year-old boy to Russia, make it impossible to keep things as they are. The Russian side insists on concluding a bilateral, legally-binding agreement which would clearly regulate the adoption process.

The US delegation was sympathetic to the Russian position and expressed its readiness to co-operate constructively in the spirit of the Reset. Agreement was reached on further steps, including the formation of a joint expert group to work on the draft of a legally binding agreement (prepared by Russia, the draft will be handed over shortly). The first meeting of experts will be held on May 12 in Moscow on the sidelines of Russian-US consultations on consular and legal matters.
About the situation around Denis Khokhryakov

We continue to closely monitor the situation of Diego Sologub (born 1998) who, as we have already reported, was taken by adoptive parents, also Russian citizens, to the Dominican Republic in 2004 (the adoption canceled in 2009).

Currently, the boy is in a temporary Dominican orphanage. According to the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Venezuela, whose staff members visited Santo Domingo a few days ago and repeatedly met and talked with Diego, the child is healthy, feels good and is sociable. But he no longer speaks Russian and does not understand what is said to him in Russian.

According to our honorary consul in the Dominican Republic, a number of Dominican families have already expressed their wish to adopt Diego Sologub, but his unresolved legal status prevents this. For this reason, the boy is still in a temporary, not permanent orphanage, which adversely affects his education. In this regard, our embassy in Caracas has asked the official Dominican authorities to transfer the child as an exception and, pending a final decision on his further fate, to a permanent orphanage.

As regards the question of returning Diego to Russia, in response to our inquiry, the National Council for Children and Adolescents of the Dominican Republic has requested several documents that must be translated into Spanish, and legalized by apostille – this is a consular term. Upon their consideration a Santo Domingo juvenile court will be able to revoke its decision of 2008 to place the child in foster care, which will help to resolve the issue of the return of Diego Sologub to Russia, if such a move is deemed advisable and relevant to his interests.
The outcome of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg

I was asked about how the Foreign Ministry could comment on the outcome of the EU Foreign Affairs Council held in Luxembourg on April 26, including in the context of the discussion of relations with Russia.
We have some information on this matter. The meeting reportedly included EU defense ministers, with the “enlargement” predetermining the discussion of wide-ranging topical problems for the European Union, such as the formation of a Single Foreign Service of the European Union and pursuit of the EU Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP).

In particular, the meeting noted the importance of Russia-EU co-operation in combating piracy off the coast of Somalia. Russian Navy ships have been in the Gulf of Aden since the end of October 2008 on a periodic basis. Today the Pacific Fleet’s large ASW ship Admiral Shaposhnikov is on operational duty there, interacting with forces participating in the EU’s Operation Atalanta.

We also noted the partners’ positive attitude to joint work on a Russia-EU framework agreement for crisis management co-operation.
Victory 65th anniversary commemorations in our overseas agencies

The upcoming 65th anniversary of the Victory and the end of World War II is a major socio-political event whose importance for all countries in the world cannot be over-emphasized.

The celebration of this significant date in Russia and abroad serves to assert historical truth and strengthen Russia’s international standing and prestige. Our overseas agencies contribute significantly to the organization of commemorative events abroad. Russian embassies, consulates general, missions to international organizations, and representative offices of Rossotrudnichestvo in each host country directly participate in the conduct of a series of memorial, information and cultural activities, including meetings with war veterans, laying flowers at military memorials, divine services, conferences, competitions, exhibitions, film festivals and concerts devoted to World War II events. It should be noted that these events attract the attention not only of veterans and our compatriots, but also of the wider local community. More information about these events will be posted today on the Ministry site.
Celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of the meeting on the Elbe

read more at Ukrainian.Org

[bm-21Lemko]

The 65th anniversy parade was a great outreach to show all of the victors of WWII even by giving an outreach to the U.S., France, and England.

YouTube - Moscow - 65th Victory Day Military Parade (3/8) - May 9, 2010

Ukraine is at 9:26

[stepanstas]

Nice website.

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Re: Video

I'm glad they started using the flag with darker tones, I always hated the light blue and light yellow (even thought thats the way the sky is :-))

[IreneLviv]

The c olours have always been the same - they are standard - probably you happened to see only old weather-stained flags before ?
another thing that they have turned the flag upside down - the yellow bit must be above the blue one.

[НазарМ]

Originally Posted by IreneLviv

the yellow bit must be above the blue one.

Nope, that's wrong. The blue stripe is over the yellow one: blue sky over the wheat-rich fields.

[IreneLviv]

Read the history of Ukrainian Flag and learn who turned it upside down
Blue/Yellow flag is said to be a symbol of ruin and decay, whereas Yellow/blue of flourishing and success