Transcript

Interview of Russian Foreign Minister S.V. Lavrov on the 15th Anniversary of the Gorchakov Foundation

2025-12-30 RU · EN (house translation, pending review) Source Digest Readout

English includes full house translations. Review is pending; untranslated passages and selected digest glosses remain labelled.

Русский	English
1 The Founding Idea and Mission of the Gorchakov Foundation
Вопрос: Вы являетесь председателем Попечительского совета со дня основания Фонда поддержки публичной дипломатии им. А.М.Горчакова. Хотели бы у Вас узнать, в чем была его основная идея, миссия? И что Вам больше всего запомнилось за годы деятельности Фонда? С.В.Лавров: Мне довелось стоять у истоков создания Фонда поддержки публичной дипломатии им. А.М.Горчакова вместе с рядом других моих коллег, которые сейчас продолжают поддерживать эту структуру. Идею сразу же одобрил Президент Российской Федерации.	Full house translation — pending review Question: You have been Chairman of the Board of Trustees since the A. M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund was established. We would like to ask you: what was its main idea, its mission? And what has been most memorable to you over the years of the Fund's work? S. V. Lavrov: I had the opportunity to be involved in founding the A. M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund together with a number of other colleagues of mine who continue to support this organization today. The President of the Russian Federation immediately approved the idea.
2 Competition in Public Diplomacy and the Closure of USAID
В ней мы видели не попытку взять под государственный контроль народную дипломатию, а как раз наоборот, предоставить ей средства, ресурсы, которые помогут ей реализовывать свои идеи, начинания максимально эффективно. Тем более, что конкуренция на рынке общественной дипломатии серьезная. Вы знаете, что на Западе много структур, таких как, например, Агентство США по международному развитию, которое решила закрыть администрация Президента США Д.Трампа.	Full house translation — pending review We saw it as an effort not to bring people-to-people diplomacy under state control, but quite the opposite: to give it funds and resources that would help it carry out its ideas and initiatives as effectively as possible. All the more so because competition in the field of public diplomacy is intense. You know that there are many organizations in the West, such as, for example, the United States Agency for International Development, which US President D. Trump's administration decided to close.
3 A Modest Budget and Enthusiast-Driven Work
Эта структура тоже касалась народной дипломатии в американском понимании, в понимании демократических администраций США. У неё был бюджет побольше, чем у многих государств мира. Бюджет Фонда поддержки публичной дипломатии им. А.М.Горчакова скромный, но собравшиеся в нем энтузиасты во главе с Исполнительным директором Фонда Л.В.Драчевским, считаю, делают большое дело, в том числе продвигая интересы, которыми живет наш народ.	Full house translation — pending review This organization also dealt with people-to-people diplomacy as the Americans understand it, as US Democratic administrations understand it. Its budget was larger than those of many countries in the world. The budget of the A. M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund is modest, but I believe the enthusiasts who have come together there, led by the Fund's Executive Director L. V. Drachevsky, are doing important work, including promoting the interests that animate our people.
4 Russian Diplomatic Tradition — Negotiation, Respect, the "World Majority"
Традиции, умение всегда договариваться, уважать партнера – все это Фонд через свои проекты продвигает в контактах с коллегами из стран Мирового большинства. Но не только это. Есть ряд структур на Западе, которые сотрудничают с Фондом. Это вызывает недовольство в Брюсселе. Но они там сейчас всем недовольны. Европейская комиссия каждодневно превышает свои полномочия, принимая не санкционированные странами-членами решения в грубейшее нарушение уставных документов Евросоюза.	Full house translation — pending review Traditions, the ability always to reach agreements, respect for one's partner—all of this is promoted by the Fund through its projects in its contacts with colleagues from countries of the World Majority. But that is not all. There are a number of organizations in the West that cooperate with the Fund. This causes displeasure in Brussels. But they are displeased with everything there these days. The European Commission exceeds its authority every day, taking decisions that have not been authorized by the member states, in flagrant violation of the European Union's founding documents.
5 Western Partners, Brussels' Displeasure and EU Institutional Overreach
За свои прегрешения, с точки зрения брюссельских бюрократов, Фонд еще в 2022 г., вскоре после начала специальной военной операции , был внесен в санкционный список. Но это нисколько не мешает ему работать. И главное – нисколько не мешает партнерам за рубежом искать контакты с Фондом и организовывать совместные проекты. Мне кажется, что Фонд поддержки публичной дипломатии им. А.М.Горчакова встречает своё 15-летие в хорошей форме.	Full house translation — pending review For its transgressions, from the Brussels bureaucrats' point of view, the Fund was placed on the sanctions list back in 2022, shortly after the start of the special military operation. But this does not hamper its work in the slightest. And most importantly, it does not in the slightest prevent partners abroad from seeking contacts with the Fund and organizing joint projects. It seems to me that the A. M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund is marking its 15th anniversary in good shape.
6 The 2022 EU Sanctions Against the Foundation
Не сомневаюсь, что проекты, которыми он сейчас занимается, принесут пользу даже не столько российской внешней политике, сколько созданию нормальной обстановки в международных делах. Вклад, может быть, не самый крупный, но он заметен. Его ценят партнёры. Их число растет. Вопрос: Что бы Вы могли пожелать Фонду в год празднования его 15-летия? С.В.Лавров: Желаю продолжать в том же духе. Искать новые сферы приложения усилий.	Full house translation — pending review I have no doubt that the projects it is currently working on will benefit not so much Russian foreign policy as the creation of a normal atmosphere in international affairs. Its contribution may not be the largest, but it is noticeable. Partners appreciate it. Their number is growing. Question: What would you wish the Foundation in the year of its 15th anniversary? S.V. Lavrov: I wish it to carry on in the same spirit. To seek new areas in which to apply its efforts.
7 Assessment at 15 — "Good Form" and Contribution to International Normalcy
Стимулировать наши общественные организации, интересующиеся внешними делами, международными проблемами, к участию в международных форумах. Фонд изначально создавался, прежде всего, чтобы помочь нашему общественному сектору выйти на внешнюю арену, в том числе и чисто финансово. В этой сфере были проблемы, но, к чести Фонда, помимо того, что он выполнил упомянутую мной функцию, он активнейшим образом сам создает, как говорят сейчас профессионалы, свои продукты в сфере народной дипломатии.	Full house translation — pending review To encourage our civic organizations interested in foreign affairs and international issues to participate in international forums. The Foundation was originally created primarily to help our civic sector enter the international arena, including in purely financial terms. There were problems in this area, but to the Foundation’s credit, besides fulfilling the function I mentioned, it is itself very actively creating its own products in the field of people-to-people diplomacy, as professionals now call them.
10 Focus on Youth
Особое внимание уделяет молодежи. Проводятся встречи. Я их посещал. Интересно общаться с молодыми людьми, которых Фонд организует, привозит в Москву из разных концов нашей Родины. Интересные ребята. У них горят глаза, настолько им хочется познавать мир, вступать в диалог со своими ровесниками, сверстниками. Как-то Президент Российской Федерации В.В.Путин сказал, что самая главная проблема на международной аренде – это отсутствие доверия. У нас как раз в генетическом, культурном коде доверие всегда присутствует.	Full house translation — pending review It pays particular attention to young people. Meetings are held. I have attended them. It is interesting to talk with the young people whom the Foundation brings together and brings to Moscow from different parts of our Motherland. They are interesting young people. Their eyes light up, so eager are they to learn about the world and enter into dialogue with people their own age, their peers. Russian President V.V. Putin once said that the biggest problem in international “rental” [word as written in the source] is the lack of trust. In our case, trust has always been present in our genetic, cultural code.
У американцев есть фраза, дескать, доверяй, но проверяй. Мы, наверное, больше доверяем, чем проверяем. Не раз даже Президент Российской Федерации В.В.Путин говорил, что до последнего верил, что Запад все-таки выполнит свои обещания. Но окончательно разочарование пришло, когда тот отверг все наши предложения о честном, равноправном сотрудничестве и напоминания о том, что он же сам нам обещал многие вещи, которые могли бы предотвратить ряд событий на международной арене, прежде всего, обещание не расширять НАТО.	Full house translation — pending review The Americans have a saying: trust, but verify. We probably trust more than we verify. Even Russian President V.V. Putin has said more than once that until the very last he believed that the West would, after all, fulfill its promises. But the final disillusionment came when it rejected all our proposals for honest, equal cooperation and our reminders that it had itself promised us many things that could have prevented a number of events on the international stage, above all the promise not to expand NATO.
8 Lavrov's Wishes — New Directions and Mobilizing Civil Society
Доверие между народами и странами, между гражданским обществом в разных частях мира – это «визитная карточка» Фонда. Желаю высоко держать эту «марку» и не прекращать искать новые направления для приложения своих творческих усилий.	Full house translation — pending review Trust between peoples and countries, between civil society in different parts of the world, is the Foundation’s “calling card.” I wish it to uphold this “standard” and never stop seeking new directions in which to apply its creative efforts.
9 The Foundation's Original Purpose — Financing Civil Society's Entry to the World Stage
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified Question: You have chaired the Board of Trustees since the inception of the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund. Please share with us its core idea and mission. What stands out most in your memory from the years of the Fund’s existence? Sergey Lavrov: Several of my colleagues, who continue to support this organisation to this day, and I had the opportunity to stand at the origins of the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund. The idea was instantly approved by President of the Russian Federation.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified We did not see it as an attempt to place people-to-people diplomacy under state control, but, on the contrary, as a way of providing it with the means and resources that would help it implement its ideas and initiatives as effectively as possible, especially since competition in public diplomacy is strong.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified As you are aware, the Trump administration closed the United States Agency for International Development, which was one of multiple Western agencies engaging in people-to-people diplomacy the way it is understood in the United States by Democratic administrations. Its budget dwarfed national budgets of many countries around the world.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified The Alexander Gorchakov Fund operates on a modest budget, but the enthusiastic staff led by Executive Director Leonid Drachevsky is, in my view, doing important work as it promotes our people’s interests and values. In its contacts and projects with its counterparts from the World Majority countries, the Fund relies on traditions and its ability to always come to mutually acceptable outcomes and to show respect for its partners. But there is more to it.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified There are quite a few entities in the West that cooperate with the Fund which fact makes Brussels frown. Truth be told, they frown at everything that comes their way these days. Acting in flagrant violation of the EU founding documents, the European Commission exceeds its powers daily as it adopts decisions that have not been approved by the member states. For what Brussels bureaucrats tend to cast as transgressions, the Fund was sanctioned back in 2022 shortly after the special military operation had started.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified However, this does not in the slightest prevent it from being effective. Most importantly, it does not in the slightest prevent its international partners from seeking contacts with it and holding joint projects. I think the Fund is marking its 15th anniversary in great shape. I have no doubt that its ongoing projects will benefit not so much Russian foreign policy as advance the creation of a normal atmosphere in international affairs. The contribution may not be the largest, but it is significant.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified Its partners value it, and their number is on the rise. Question: What would you like to wish the Fund on its 15th anniversary? Sergey Lavrov: I wish it to stay the course, to look for new areas to apply its efforts, and to encourage our civil society organisations that take interest in foreign affairs and international issues to participate in international forums. The Fund was originally created to help our civil society sector access the international arena, including in purely financial terms.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified There were issues in this regard, but to the Fund’s credit, in addition to fulfilling the function I just mentioned, it is deeply involved in creating its own people-to-people diplomacy initiatives, as professionals in the field would put it. It focuses on young people and holds meetings that I have attended. Talking with young people whom the Fund brings to Moscow from different parts of our country is an engaging experience. They are interesting people.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified Their eyes are shining, and they are eager to get to know the world and to engage in dialogue with their peers. On one occasion, President Putin said that the lack of trust was the most serious challenge plaguing the international arena. We have trust in our genetic and cultural code.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified The Americans have a saying that goes, “trust, but verify.” I think we tend to place more emphasis on “trust” than on “verify.” More than once, even President Putin said that he believed until the very end that the West would honour its promises.
Matching Russian passage has not been identified	Cached English source — passage alignment not verified But total disappointment came when it rejected all our proposals for honest and equal cooperation and ignored our reminders that it itself had promised us many things that could have prevented a number of developments in the international arena, above all the promise not to expand NATO. Maintaining trust among peoples and countries and among civil societies across the world is the Fund’s hallmark. I wish it to hold this standard high and not to stop looking for new areas to apply its creative efforts.