The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry also expressed hope that they would bring a particle of Russian love back to their own countries and peoples.
The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, expressed her gratitude to the foreign citizens who came to Russia despite external threats.
“Thank you to all of you who have come to our country now, in these winter days, having changed your usual climate, having changed your usual schedule. Thank you to those who came despite the threats, curses, and blackmail that many of you are subjected to. Thank you for this sincere, honest love coming from the heart. We will repay you in kind, as we have always done”, she said during the “Public Dialogue” session at the Catherine Forum.
Addressing the foreign citizens, the diplomat also expressed hope that they would take a particle of Russian love back to their countries and peoples. “Right now, you are here not only receiving information or knowledge and the opportunity to communicate; you are the bridge through which our love can be carried to your countries, to your continents”, Zakharova emphasised.
In this context, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out the large number of requests that Russian embassies, consulates, and representations to international organisations “receive from people who say they would like to come to our country so that their children can have the opportunity to preserve their identity”. The diplomat concluded: “Today, Russia also provides this opportunity—the opportunity to preserve one’s identity”.
The First International Catherine Forum 2023 is taking place in Moscow. The forum is organised by the All-Russian Public-State Organisation “Assembly of the Peoples of Russia” and the Federal National-Cultural Autonomy of Russian Germans, with the support of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, and the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. TASS is the information partner.