ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has demonstrated the ridiculousness of the West’s attempts to isolate Russia and the groundlessness of some countries’ leadership ambitions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Wednesday.

"This forum has demonstrated the ridiculousness of attempts to contain Russia, to isolate Russia, and to use the issue of human rights as a stick - the invariable weapon of choice - against our country. Also, it demonstrated the groundlessness of some countries’ leadership ambitions and, I should say, the analytical depth of our own approach - reliance on international law and the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, such as interaction and cooperation, the resolution of disputes through talks, the development of regional movements, the guidance and pairing of integration platforms, forums and trends and mutual assistance," she said.

Zakharova said the world had lived through a very complicated year. Russia walked that road in its own way, and at the same time was the first country in the world to have registered a vaccine against the coronavirus.

"With the emergence of the vaccine Russia did not launch a competition, or, as our French partners said, a vaccine war. It did not monopolize this space, nor did it put forward any preconditions for interaction and cooperation. It said outright that it had a vaccine. It urged all countries around the world to cooperate in its production, in exchanging information, in its dissemination and research, and in all other aspects. This is a colossal illustration of our genuine approach to the international agenda," Zakharova said.

She recalled the massive campaign for the evacuation of Russians from other countries after travel restrictions were imposed. That campaign was described in a special book published in cooperation with TASS.

"In the meantime, far from all countries managed to do that. Take Australia, which still does not let in its own citizens. This answers the question about what this forum really demonstrates. Strength, truth and law, which we rely on to resist aggression, sanctions and endless political intrigues. It shows the stakes made and the gains achieved," Zakharova concluded.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, organized by Roscongress Foundation, is being held on June 2-5. This year’s theme is Together again - Economy of New Reality.

The forum’s business program includes discussions on small and medium business, healthy life, drug security and a special youth section SPIEF Junior. The forum is being held online with all epidemiological precautions observed. TASS is the information partner and the official photo hosting agency of the forum.