Moscow calls for ‘International day against Russophobia'
Anti-Russian propaganda spread by Western nations has already led to numerous tragedies, including the Ukraine conflict, the spokeswoman told an International Summer School for young public officials. 'Weapons are being supplied to the terrorist Kiev regime under the hellish banners of Russophobia,' she said.
According to Zakharova, the hatred of everything Russian has become 'yet another extremist, Nazi… neo-Nazi ideology that kills people both literally and figuratively.' It should be combated just like any other racial or religious hatred, the spokeswoman maintained.
Russophobia should have 'no place on Earth,' much less as a state ideology, she said, naming Ukraine as one of the prime examples of nations harboring the ideology and depriving millions of people of their native Russian language.
The government in Kiev has waged a campaign to purge anything linked to Russia for years. The authorities have renamed streets and demolished monuments deemed linked to Russia, including some UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Moscow has cited the protection of the Russian-speaking population of Donbass among the key reasons for the military operation it launched in 2022. The continued repression of the Russian-speaking population by the Ukrainian government has been consistently ignored by the US and the EU since the Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014, according to Russia.
The Baltic states have also ramped up enforcement actions against anyone suspected of having Russian ties. Hundreds of people, primarily ethnic Russians, have reportedly been deported from Latvia for failing a Latvian language exam. Riga has also prohibited entry of Russian citizens who own real estate near strategically important sites, citing security concerns.
In June, top officials from Baltic and Nordic nations called on Brussels to ban all Russians with past or current ties to the military from entering the Schengen Zone.
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As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted after the meeting, the sides are still 'far apart' on the basic memorandums required to facilitate direct talks between the leaders: 'Given the volume of work that lies ahead to align our positions… it is hard to imagine how we could suddenly overcome this gap.' While the Istanbul talks yielded no breakthroughs, Ankara framed them as a meaningful step forward. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the meeting as 'another brick' in building a foundation for peace and reaffirmed Türkiye's commitment to mediation. But behind this diplomatic language lies a broader ambition. President Erdogan sees Türkiye not merely as a neutral host but as a regional power uniquely positioned to engage both Moscow and Kiev. Unlike European intermediaries tied to NATO orthodoxy, Ankara has preserved open communication channels with both sides – and intends to leverage that position. 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And in the long game of regional influence, presence is power.
