“We do not need someone else’s land, but we will never give up our own, so it was and so it will be. Our history has proven this more than once. This is the principle on which our state border policy is based,” Medvedev said during the conference.

According to the senior official, security is ensured when the situation “outside the direct perimeter formed by the state border pillars” is stable, he added.

As for Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, he noted that this is a special case, “we are not talking about expanding Russia’s borders by force. Russia’s actions in Ukraine are a forced response to neo-Nazi Russophobic policies in that country and the collective West,” he added.

Medvedev clarified that Russia remains open to a dialogue with responsible leaders and political elites capable of respecting common traditional spiritual and moral values.

The World Youth Festival is being held at the Sirius center in Sochi from March 1 to 7, 2024.

A regional program will be held from March 10 to 17, with participants visiting 30 Russian cities.

According to organizers, 20,000 outstanding young people in the fields of education, science, international cooperation, culture, volunteering and charity, sports, business and the media will participate in the event, among whom 10,000 will be foreigners.

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