PARIS, March 24. /TASS/. Russia’s new permanent envoy to UNESCO Rinat Alyautdinov plans to focus on continuing Moscow’s policy in the organization and promote new projects and initiatives to further develop cooperation.
"I believe my key task is to ensure the continuation of Russia’s line in UNESCO, to maintain consistent efforts to nail down serious achievements in our cooperation in the organization, to promote new projects and initiatives in education, culture, science, communication and information," he said in an interview with TASS.
The diplomat also stressed a pressing need to de-politicize the organization and return to traditional program activities, adding that he discussed the issue at a meeting with UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay. "This is the main signal that I sent to [UNESCO] Director General Audrey Azoulay during our meeting," he said.
Alyautdinov noted an in-depth dialogue with the head of the international organization, during which the Director General devoted him much more time than envisioned by the protocol. The conversation focused on a wide range of issues, including quite a lot of those on which the Russian delegation "expects the organization’s response as soon as possible," he said.
De-politization of work
"The situation in UNESCO is not so simple, with the West’s rampant anti-Russia campaign due to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine shining through," the Russian envoy said. Western delegations keep attempting to make things difficult for Russian diplomats at UNESCO, isolate Russia, and politicize many issues of program activities, he said, adding that they also put pressure on representatives of developing countries and the management of the UNESCO secretariat, "which partially succumb to them."
"However, despite the attempts by Western countries and the Ukrainian regime to block our cooperation with UNESCO, they have failed. The majority of the 193 member states of UNESCO do not share the destructive line of the West, supporting a de-politicized dialogue and equal cooperation. The exhaustion of the pro-Ukrainian agenda of the organization, as well as the wish to take care of business that is part of the UNESCO mandate are becoming more evident," Alyautdinov pointed out.