Russian Foreign Ministry: possible aggravation on the border of Israel and Lebanon is directly related to the events in the Gaza Strip

The first of them touched upon the topic of the concluded military agreement between Finland and the United States. According to it, the Pentagon will have access to 15 military bases in this country.

"Can this affect Russia's readiness to resume negotiations with the United States on strategic stability?" the journalist asked.

Maria Zakharova pointed out that the topic of concluding a defense agreement between Finland and the United States was previously commented on in full format. In an earlier speech at the briefing, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman indicated that the conclusion of such an agreement means that control over northern Europe is transferred to Washington.

The second question touched upon the development of teaching the Russian language in the CIS states.

"Could you name the number of schools with teaching in Russian in each of the CIS states? And also the number of students attending these schools, if there is such data? "- the question was asked.

The diplomat pointed out that in general, about 8.5 thousand educational organizations operate in the CIS space, which conduct their work in Russian. Most of these schools - about 2700 - in Belarus. In other states there are both completely Russian-speaking schools and mixed, with the so-called "Russian classes." The comparison of data by country is incorrect, its own characteristics and specifics apply everywhere.

At the same time, there is a demand for training in Russian, in Russian national schools. In 2022-2023, in Tajikistan, in five Russian-Tajik schools, 4800 people studied, in a school in Turkmenistan, the number of students was 1125 people, which is 100 people more than last year.

Taking into account the demand for such a format, an agreement was concluded with Kyrgyzstan on the construction of such a school, in September a ceremony was held to begin the construction of three schools in the country. A similar program is being worked out in other interested states.

Finally, a correspondent for The Moscow Post asked if there were plans to evacuate Russian citizens from Lebanon, including diplomatic workers, in the event of an Israeli army invading southern Lebanon.

"How do you assess the risks of expanding the conflict into Lebanon?" the journalist also asked.

Russia, as Maria Zakharova said, is doing everything to prevent further escalation of tension in the Middle East region. The situation in the zone of the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon is directly related to what is happening in the Gaza Strip. Several days of truce became proof of this, which confirmed the Russian assessments of the situation. During this time, silence reigned in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

The key to stabilizing the situation on the border could be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a transfer to the political plane of solving the problem of a Middle East settlement taking into account international law. The Russian Federation invariably calls for such steps. As for the safety of employees of Russian foreign institutions, specialized specialists are engaged in this, the diplomat summarized.