Russia against interfering in domestic affairs of Bangladesh: Embassy

Russia has said it is invariably committed to its principle of not interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries, including Bangladesh.

"States like Bangladesh, which shape their foreign and internal policy to serve their own national interests instead of following the lead of external powers, take a similar approach," the Russian Embassy in Dhaka said in a statement today.

According to the UN Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and the Protection of their Independence and Sovereignty, dated 1965: "No State has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other state. "

The sovereignty of many countries is exposed to unprecedented risk, the Russian embassy said, adding "There are various ways of interfering in domestic affairs, as evidenced by the Ad Hoc Commission on Protecting State Sovereignty of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in its 2017 report."

Such measures are manifold and include establishing or supporting controlled non-commercial organizations, working with educational institutions, using media and social networks to shape public opinion, inciting protests and meddling in federal or regional elections, according to the statement.

Under the pretext of protecting "democratic values", work is underway to interfere in the internal affairs of those who are out of favour with the states that consider themselves "rulers of the world," said the Russian Embassy.

"Such policy evidently results in undermining the sustainability of the world order, brings chaos and havoc. The incomplete list includes Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan," the statement reads.