Russian Embassy in Bangladesh in a statement issued on December 20, 2022 said, “Russia is invariably committed to its principled stance on non-interfering in domestic affairs of third countries. 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 the similar approach. We fully support the aspiration of these countries to independently determine the ways of their further development and constitute a system not subject to neo-colonial methods”.
Highlighting the US Declaration of the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and Protection of Their Independence and Sovereignty dated 1965, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bangladesh said: 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”.
Unfortunately, in recent years (especially, after the Cold War’s end), the problem of violating the principle of non-interference has become particularly relevant, as many believe that they can infringe on the said principle for the sake of their own interests. The hegemonic ambitions are most vividly displayed by the countries, which identify themselves as developed democracies. Not only they indulge in intervening in internal affairs of sovereign UN member states, but also resort to blatant blackmailing, illegal restrictions, etc. Hence, the sovereignty of many countries in the world is exposed to the unprecedented risk.
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, use of media and social networks to shape public opinion, inciting protests and meddling in federal or regional elections.
There are other instruments, which come in handy to counter the countries maintaining strategic independence and sovereign vision of a fair world order. Under the pretext of protecting the “democratic values”, the work is underway to interfere in the internal affairs of those who are out of favor with the states, which consider themselves the rulers of the world. Such policy evidently results in undermining sustainability of the world order, brings chaos and havoc. The incomplete list includes Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan.
Russia is invariably committed to its principled stance on non-interfering in domestic affairs of third countries. 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 the similar approach. We fully support the aspiration of these countries to independently determine the ways of their further development and constitute a system not subject to neo-colonial methods.
