🎙Weekly Briefing on foreign policy issues by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Yekaterinburg, September 15, 2026) #UNGA81 The high-level week of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly opens in New York on September 22. As is customary, the Russian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The centrepiece of his programme will be his address to the General Assembly on Saturday, September 26. Sergey Lavrov will also hold a series of bilateral meetings with representatives of friendly states taking a constructive approach. An extensive programme of multilateral events is also planned. #NATO NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has made yet more belligerent anti-Russia remarks: “Russia wants to divide us – but we are united. Russia wants to stop us helping Ukraine – but we are going to do more for Ukraine. Russia wants to act tough – but we, we are stronger”. ☝️We cannot make them hate one another any more than they already do. Mark Rutte should have told the truth: Within their own community, they are prepared to interfere even in something as sacrosanct as elections. We have seen this in Romania, Hungary and elsewhere – wherever it takes to prevent the democratic expression of the people’s will and preserve a show of “solidarity”. For that alone, they were willing to undermine the democratic process – and that is exactly what they did. #Poland On September 4, a monument of gratitude to Red Army soldiers was demolished in Bytom by decision of the Polish authorities. The memorial stood in a cemetery where Soviet soldiers and officers of the 21st Army of the First Ukrainian Front are buried. They fell in January 1945 during the fighting to liberate this part of Poland. Warsaw takes “credit” for supposedly caring properly for military graves in the country and loudly proclaims its commitment to centuries-old Catholic Christian traditions. In practice, however, its barbaric behaviour demeans itself. In defiance of all moral standards, it continues its campaign against the memory of Poland’s liberation by the Red Army in 1944-1945. #DialogueOnFakes On September 22, the Fourth International “Dialogue on Fakes” Forum, also known as “Dialogue on Fakes 4.0”, will take place at the National Centre RUSSIA in Moscow. 🌐 The will bring together more than 2,000 participants from 80 countries. The event has attracted considerable interest. This reflects the high regard in which the expert community holds the forum, which, since its launch in 2023, has already become one of the leading international platforms for fact-checking. It was at the “Dialogue on Fakes” Forum in 2024 that the Global Fact-Checking Network was established. Today, it is among the leading organisations in this field, bringing together 130 experts from 55 countries. Read in full