Western countries tried to expel Russia from the executive and subsidiary bodies of UNESCO, using the "most unscrupulous methods," up to and including financial blackmail of the countries of the Global East and the Global South, causing Russia not to be re-elected to the UNESCO executive board, despite the support of more than half of the organization's members, Lavrov said at a general meeting of the Russian Federation Commission for UNESCO.
"However, the attempts to cancel Russia in UNESCO have failed. As President Putin noted this November during the St. Petersburg Cultural Forum, we are carrying out very serious projects within the framework of the organization, which arouse wide interest in the world," the top Russian diplomat said.
Russia is not closing itself off from anyone, Lavrov emphasized. On the contrary, it is determined to promote a unifying agenda, including in UNESCO and other international organizations, he added.
Lavrov also rejected UNESCO's claims that Russian troops had damaged cultural sites in Ukraine as he accused the UN culture agency of closing its eyes to Ukrainian attacks on Russian historical landmarks.
"These double standards underlie its anti-Russia decisions, which are peddled by the West … Decisions that lie outside of UNESCO’s mandate. This includes attempts to blame Russia for alleged destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, although no one can provide any evidence to this effect," he undersored.
Speaking at a Russian commission for UNESCO, the diplomat said that the UN agency’s agenda had been politicized and biased toward Ukraine from the start of the Russian military operation. He said the West was "twisting the arm of developing countries" in votes, while ignoring Ukrainian transgressions.
In January UNESCO voted to add the historic center of Odessa to the World Heritage List and the List of Cultural Monuments in Danger of Extinction, in a move that the Russian ministry said was orchestrated by the West. At the same time, Lavrov emphasized that UNESCO chose to ignore the Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow Kremlin, which is listed as a World Heritage Site.