Lavrov Calls for Dialogue Based on Equality on 250th Anniversary of U.S. Independence

Dragon Media News Desk

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has congratulated the American people on the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, calling for candid dialogue between Russia and the United States based on equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.

In a message issued on July 4, Lavrov said the anniversary was being marked at a highly consequential moment for the international order.

He stated that, despite strong resistance from Western countries, a more just and balanced multipolar model of international development was increasingly asserting itself in place of an era of global hegemony.

Lavrov said the United States had travelled, within 250 years, a path of national development and state-building that had taken many other nations several centuries.

According to him, American history has been shaped by profound creative energy and expansion, as well as periods of serious domestic upheaval.

He recalled that Russia had supported the establishment and preservation of American statehood at decisive moments in U.S. history, including during the struggle for independence from the British Crown and throughout the Civil War.

Lavrov also referred to the alliance between the two countries during the Second World War, describing it as evidence of their shared determination to oppose fascism, Nazism and the ideology of national exceptionalism.

He reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to the principles of the United Nations Charter, which Russia, the United States and the other victorious powers placed at the foundation of the post-war system of international relations.

The UN Charter, Lavrov said, continues to serve as a legal and moral point of reference for humanity, and its principles should be applied equally in international affairs.

He expressed confidence that Russia and the United States could achieve substantive results and identify effective solutions to complex global and regional challenges by maintaining open dialogue and giving due consideration to each other’s fundamental national interests.

Lavrov said equality, mutual respect, non-interference and recognition of legitimate national interests should form the essential basis of relations between the two countries.

Concluding his message, he extended congratulations to the American people and wished them peace and prosperity.

He also expressed hope that the principles of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, including the right of every individual to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, would be fully realised.