Ladies and gentlemen,

Colleagues,

I am honoured to be invited once again to address the Moscow Conference on International Security, which is organised by the Defence Ministry of Russia. We are pleased that participants from many states and multilateral organisation are attending it despite the pandemic. I regard this as a shared interest in combining our efforts to improve the international situation and find the best possible solutions to numerous challenges of our time. I am sure that the high level of representation at this event will promote the achievement of these goals.

Eighty years ago today, on June 22, 1941, our homeland was attacked by Nazi Germany, which had occupied nearly all of Europe by that time. The tragedy of World War II is a vivid reminder of what a betrayal of the principle of equal and indivisible security and a feeling of superiority can lead to.

It was through enormous sacrifice and huge losses, above all of the Soviet peoples, that Nazism was defeated and our civilisation was saved. During the terrible war years, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition demonstrated exceptional teamwork, wisdom, acumen and solidarity, quickly joining forces in the name of routing the aggressor.