MOSCOW, January 30. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has become a tool of Western propaganda by denying the right to self-determination to the Donbas and Crimea, said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, at a briefing. She also stated that Moldovan Russophobia is driving the country "nowhere" and is costing it too much.

TASS has compiled her key statements.

Meetings on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi: "The Ukrainian army has intensified its deliberate attacks" on civilians. Following trilateral talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on January 23 and 24, 99 people were affected by Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks, resulting in 15 deaths and 84 injuries, including four children. The Russian Foreign Ministry will not comment on the upcoming meeting in Abu Dhabi. "I would prefer to refrain from commenting on the upcoming meeting at this time. We will do so later."

Guterres' statements on the Donbas

The statements by UN Secretary-General António Guterres that the right to self-determination does not apply to the Donbas are "a surprising and bizarre statement." The UN chief "has become a tool of Western propaganda" by denying the Donbas the right to self-determination. Russia will take "all measures at its disposal" if legal norms regarding its ships are violated. There is no connection between the tanker Grinch, which was detained by the French Navy, and Russia: "Regarding the aforementioned tanker, data from open sources indicate that there is no connection with our country."

The crisis in Ukraine

Vladimir Zelensky prefers to conceal the fact that he and his "gang" are the reason for the "current deplorable situation in Ukraine, including the energy crisis." Zelensky initially stated that he would not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, showing solidarity with his compatriots who are facing difficult times, "but as soon as the opportunity arose to meet with the American president, Zelensky immediately forgot about the suffering of millions of his compatriots who have to live without electricity, water, and heating. And on January 22, he rushed headlong to Switzerland."

Zelensky's speech

Zelensky's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos can be seen as "the babbling of an aggressive madman." "Remember how they recently were boasting that Russia supposedly doesn't want peace. For some reason, no one wants to call things by their real names – that Zelensky is the one who doesn't want peace." The European Union is beginning to see the "terrorist nature" of the Kyiv regime and the "barbaric methods" that Zelensky employs in international relations "with the blessing of his Western sponsors." Some European countries are beginning to see the actions of the Kyiv regime for what they are, "and realistic voices are beginning to be heard."

Western Russophobia

Russia demands that Germany allow "immediate consular access" to a Russian citizen who was detained for obtaining humanitarian aid for the Donbas. Russia strongly condemns the arrest of scientist Alexander Gaponenko, who was convicted in Latvia after his speech at a scientific conference, as a "politically motivated verdict based on false and fabricated charges." The flourishing Russophobia in Moldova is driving the country "nowhere" at a high price: "Russophobia is expensive and meaningless."

The accusations leveled by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture against dancers Natalia Macak and Sergei Krivokon of the National Opera for performing Swan Lake abroad are an example of "Neanderthal derusification." Russia criticizes the initiative of the Latvian Olympic Committee to ban any communication with Russian and Belarusian athletes, calling it an elevation of nationalism to the extreme level of neo-Nazism: "It is truly neo-Nazism when people are forbidden to communicate based on their nationality."

Investigation into the Nord Stream Pipeline

Russia hopes that Warsaw will "fulfill its obligations under the treaty" and will not provide safe haven to the man suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline: "We have noticed how quickly Italy extradited the suspect in the terrorist attack to Germany. Poland, on the other hand, is trying to hinder the search for the truth by providing refuge to another suspected criminal, Vladimir Zhuravlev from Ukraine." Moscow rejects the theory that "only Ukrainians" were responsible for the explosions in the Nord Stream pipeline. "The theory that Western intelligence agencies were involved requires a proper investigation." If the European Union fails to fulfill its obligations under long-term gas supply agreements, Russia will "use all the tools at its disposal" to protect the rights of exporters. "Russia has been successfully redirecting its gas supplies to new centers of global economic growth, primarily in Asia, for quite some time."

The Situation Regarding Iran

Russia hopes that Western countries will reconsider their "doomed policy" of sanctions against the Iranian people and will stop using "human rights issues to mask their desire for regime change." Russia hopes that, amid numerous predictions of an inevitable new attack on Iran, "common sense will prevail." Russia's position on Iran "has not changed," and the situation in this country is given great attention in bilateral contacts. TASS/gnews.cz-jav