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Russia’s Lavrov to address UN General Assembly

In his speech, minister will focus on enhancing the UN central role in global affairs

UNITED NATIONS, September 28. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will wrap up his participation in the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level week on Friday.

The key part of the program will be the top Russian diplomat’s address at the UN tribune. Lavrov is scheduled to give a news conference in the afternoon and hold a number of bilateral meetings, including with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

In his speech, Lavrov will focus on enhancing the UN central role in global affairs. The Foreign Ministry earlier said that the UN remains a unique platform for an equal dialogue aimed at developing decisions taking into account all viewpoints. Moscow stresses that any attempts to shatter the UN authority and legitimacy and erode or substitute its prerogatives are dangerous and could dismantle the entire system of international relations.

Lavrov is expected to outline Russia’s stance on supporting the efforts on reforming the UN and peacekeeping efforts, and emphasize that the glorification of Nazism and rewriting history, most notably the outcome of World War II, is unacceptable.

Russia’s top diplomat will also speak about the situation in Syria, the Korean Peninsula and non-proliferation.

Over the past four days, Lavrov has held more than 20 meetings with heads of state and government and foreign ministers from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Lavrov met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

Lavrov also took part in a ministerial meeting of participants of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, and addressed conferences on peacekeeping efforts and the UN Security Council’s meetings devoted to countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the North Korean issue.