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Russia gradually phases out 'unfriendly countries' expression, says Lavrov

"We don’t have unfriendly countries, there are countries which have governments with unfriendly policies toward the Russian Federation," the foreign minister commented

MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. The Russian side is gradually moving away from using the term "unfriendly countries," arguing that there are unfriendly governments, not states, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference, focused on preparations for the Intervision song contest.

Journalists noted that one representative from the US and one from Europe participate in the contest and asked the top Russian diplomat to specify what performers from "unfriendly countries" must do in the future in order to qualify for Intervision.

"We are gradually abandoning the term 'unfriendly countries,' even though it remains in legislation, but, as president [Vladimir Putin] emphasized recently, speaking at one of the events in Vladivostok, we don’t have unfriendly countries, there are countries which have governments with unfriendly policies toward the Russian Federation," Lavrov commented.

"I wouldn’t want to list now those people who were not allowed to visit by their governments, to be honest, because, first of all, this is their personal situation and we don’t want to cause any difficulties for them. But those who wanted to come, they know we would have been glad to see them," the minister added.

About Intervision

The Intervision song contest, originally organized by the International Radio and Television Organization (OIRT) which existed from 1946 to 1993. In the 1960s-1980s, it was held in a format very similar to the Eurovision contest organized by the European Broadcasting Union, which split from the OIRT. Along with socialist countries close to the former Soviet Union, Intervision participants included singers from Austria, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal and Finland.

The revived Intervision singing competition will be held in Moscow on September 20, 2025, and will be broadcast live by Channel One. Russia will be represented by Yaroslav Dronov, known under his stage name Shaman.

TASS is the contest’s information partner.

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