🎙 Remarks by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a joint press conference with the Holy See's Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher (Moscow, August 25, 2026)

Key points:

• We noted with satisfaction that despite the profound changes in the geopolitical landscape, relations between Russia and the Vatican remain trust-based, friendly and pragmatic.

• We informed Archbishop Gallagher that the Russian Side is ready to resume political consultations at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers, as well as targeted expert-level consultations between the two Foreign Ministries on specific issues.

• I would like to express our gratitude to the Holy See for honoring the memory of fallen Soviet soldiers and the enormous sacrifices made by our multinational people in the fight against Nazism. This is particularly important amid increasingly frequent attempts in Europe to revise the outcome of World War II and falsify its history.

• Even as our talks were underway, the Kiev regime continued to demonstrate blatant cruelty by targeting children. Another heinous crime was committed on the night of August 23-24 in the Krasnodar Territory, Adygea and Dagestan, where children were killed as a result of a massive Ukrainian Armed Forces attack on civilian targets.

❗️ We will never forget the terrorist attack carried out by the Zelensky regime in Starobelsk, and we will continue to seek justice.

• We also discussed the treatment in Ukraine of the Russian language, education, media and culture as a whole. It is the only country where a language is banned. There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world.

• We hope that in their contacts with Ukraine, our Vatican colleagues will draw attention to these issues, as well as to the actions of the Kiev regime, which is using legislation to move toward the eradication of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

• We had a fairly detailed discussion on trends in artificial intelligence, including its military applications. Our positions coincide. We agreed to continue substantive expert-level discussions on this issue and coordinate our actions at relevant international forums.

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