Mr. Aleksei Novikov is the appointed ambassador of Embassy of the Russian Federation in Nepal . He was Born on 13 August 1960 in Russia . Graduated from the Moscow State Institute for International Relations in 1987. He Speaks Russian, English, Hi ndi, Urdu and Serbian. Joined the diplomatic service in 1987. 
Worked in the Embassy of the USSR in Nepal (1987-1992) and the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in New York (1994-1999, 2002-2007) . Excerpts of an interview with the ambassador By Journalist Rajendra Acharya .
Your Excellency, we are meeting at a time when the eyes of the people of South Asia and the whole world are turned to the events taking place around Taiwan. Could you tell us about the Russian position on this issue.
The Russian position on this issue remains principled and constant: there is only one China, and the PRC government is the only legitimate government representing all of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.
As for the visit of Nancy Pelosi itself, this is an blatant provocation and interference in China’s internal affairs. Against the background of foreign policy failures and domestic socio-economic problems, the US Democratic Party needed to provoke a reaction from China in order to portray it as an aggressor and intimidate its voters with the image of an enemy before the November elections to the Senate.
for the majority our readers, Ukraine is even further away and less understandable than Taiwan, and most of the information about Ukrainian events in the Nepalese press comes from Western media. Could you tell us what caused the conflict between Russia and Ukraine?
Unfortunately, Ukraine has fallen into the trap of the West’s anti-Russian project. The NATO countries, having violated their own promise not to expand to the East, were preparing to use this country as a springboard for actions against Russia. Therefore, they ignored the growth of neo-Nazi sentiment and the systematic genocide of the Russian-speaking population by the Kiev authorities. Russia was forced to launch a special military operation to protect itself from the threat from the West, and the residents of Donbass from genocide. From the very beginning, Russia had an understanding of the antihuman nature of the Zelensky regime. I think that after the appearance of horrific footage how Ukrainian soldiers tortured of Russian prisoners of war, the placement of military equipment in residential areas, kindergartens, schools and hospitals and mass deliberate shelling of peaceful cities and villages by the Ukrainian side, statements by the Kyiv leadership about their readiness to continue the war “until the last Ukrainian” this understanding comes to your readers as well.
From the very beginning, the Western media have been accusing Russia of war crimes. Could you comment on this?
Such fabricated accusations have one simple purpose – to denigrate Russia in the eyes of the whole world. Unfortunately, this has been done by the West more than once and not only in relation to Russia. The poorly concealed racist sentiments of the Western elites make it possible to treat other people with disdain and commit crimes against them without remorse. This is perfectly illustrated by a recent report by Amnesty International, according to which Ukrainian army units deployed military bases in residential areas, schools, and hospitals, thereby endangering Russian-speaking civilians. Having heard the truth about the actions of the Kyiv regime, the American and European public preferred to bury their heads in the sand and invent a ridiculous excuse in the form of a connection between this Western human rights organization and Russia.
and what about the death of members of the Nazi organization Azov in the penal colony in the town of Yelenovka after a shelling, isn’t that a crime?
This is a crime, no doubt about it. The only thing – it was committed not by Russia. It was established that the strike on the colony was inflicted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the HIMARS supplied to the Ukrainian by the United States, and their targeting has been controlled by American instructors. This is a high precision weapon, so we can talk about deliberate shelling with one cynical goal – to kill witnesses of Nazi crimes who had already begun to testify. The United States in its turn is well aware of whom they are transferring weapons to, so it can be considered accomplices. And let me remind all those who doubt that in order to conduct an objective investigation, Russia invited experts from the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, who will draw objective conclusions on the situation.
another high-profile event of recent days is the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. What could you say about this?
First of all, let’s note that the shelling was carried out by Ukrainian troops. This fact is somehow obscured in the Western media. The very fact of a strike on such an object testifies to the final transition of the Kyiv regime to the tactics of intimidation. But if earlier the object of terror was their own Russian-speaking citizens, now it is the world community, and first of all, today’s Europe. By its actions, Ukraine is trying to create global pressure on Russia and force it to abandon the achievement of the goals of the Special Military Operation, which in any case will be finished only after Russian troops complete all their tasks. Such irresponsibility of Kyiv can provoke a catastrophe comparable in scale to Chernobyl. Therefore, Russia renders all possible assistance for the IAEA experts and management to visit the station. Only this can stop Zelensky from giving suicidal orders.
we often hear that Russia’s actions provoked an increase in fuel prices around the world. Do you agree with this?
Not at all. Energy prices have risen consistently over the past year and a half, which Western leaders purposefully keep silent about. This was the result of the thoughtless policy of the central banks of the United States, Great Britain, EU states to print unsecured funds. An increase in the money supply naturally caused inflation. Price hikes were also triggered by disruptions in supply chains due to coronavirus lockdowns in various parts of the world. The surge in fuel prices was provoked by the attempts of the West to unleash a trade and sanctions war against Russia. Europe has created a deficit in the market with its own hands, stopping the purchase of Russian oil and gas, as well as seriously complicating their transportation to third countries. Replacing Russian fuel, the Old World began to buy it from the markets of Asia and Africa, thereby giving impetus to prices. Thus, the rise in fuel prices is in no way caused by Russia’s actions. Moreover, Russia tried to contribute to the normalization of the market situation by supplying oil to friendly countries at a 20-30% discount.
is, from your point of view, Russia’s fault in creating a threat to food security?
Absolutely not. Let me remind you that Russia made concessions and agreed to sign the well-known agreements in Istanbul, which will allow exporting 20-25 million tons of grain from Ukrainian ports. Considering the fact that the Russian fleet completely controls the situation at sea, the deal itself does not give Russia anything and is only a gesture of goodwill towards the world community. In addition, this is Europe that provokes a shortage of fertilizers, which will inevitably hit, first of all, the countries of Asia and Africa. Russian fertilizer producers note the negative effect of sanctions – there is a refusal to provide vessels for the transportation of goods of Russian origin, even if the goods themselves and cargo owners are not under sanctions; denial of insurance for transportation from Russia; there are restrictions on ship calls to Russian ports; there are difficulties with financial support of transactions. Finally, one of the key components of fertilizer production is gas, so by inflating gas prices, Europe is also inflating fertilizer prices. In this regard, we support Nepal’s achievement of independence in the production of fertilizers, as well as assistance from third countries in this. The Russian side either has also repeatedly raised the issue of building a fertilizer plant directly in Nepal.
Not so long ago, there was news about the calls of European politicians to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians. What do you think about this?
I consider statements that “visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right” to be a manifestation of outright stupidity and everyday racism. Unfortunately, residents of other countries in the eyes of some European politicians remain second-class citizens. Unlike these politicians, Russians do not suffer from blind nationalism. Russia is open to everyone who travels there with peaceful and friendly intentions. And our tourists will be happy to go to other countries, including Nepal, where they are loved and expected.
In continuation of your answer, do you think the Special Military Operation in Ukraine and the confrontation between Russia and the West will affect the perception of Russia in Nepal?
I am very grateful to the Nepalese for the fact that despite the constant streams of disinformation coming from the Western media, they remain clear-headed and friendly towards Russia. I am pleased to read the local press, especially in Nepali, and see that the authors strive to come to an objective understanding of the situation, and not rely on memorized and untrue clichés from Western news agencies. Therefore, I am sure that the long-term relations between our countries will stay warm, as they always have been, and Russia will continue to be perceived as Nepal’s reliable partner.
