Russia withdrew from the memorandum on cooperation with the USA in the field of culture. What was this document about?

Russia terminated the agreement with the United States on the recommendation of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Relevant government order published on the official site of legal information.

The government ordered to “accept the proposal of the State Department”, agreed with “interested federal executive authorities”. terminated memorandum “On mutual understanding between the government of the Russian Federation and the government of the United States on the principles of cooperation in the field of culture, humanities and social sciences, education and media.”

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs should notify the American side that the memorandum has been terminated.

What was said in the memorandum

Russia and the USA signed this memorandum in Moscow in 1998. The document was concluded with a “desire to deepen mutual understanding and strengthen friendly relations between the peoples of the United States and Russia.”

Cooperation “on the basis of equality and mutual benefit” was supposed to help countries achieve these goals.

US and Russian officials stated in the memorandum that they want to promote ties between US and Russian non-governmental organizations in various fields, including culture, science, education and media. He also talks about the exchange of students and teachers, the cooperation of women and youth non-governmental organizations.

“The participants aim to foster the development of cultural exchanges to promote a better understanding of each other’s culture. <...> The participants aim to help the study of English and Russian languages ​​in the Russian Federation and the United States, respectively, ”said the participant.

How did cultural cooperation between Russia and the United States collapse?

The day before, on May 30, the Russian authorities I want to break Scientific and educational agreements between the Russian Federation and the USA. The government reported that the Ministry of Education and Science, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, analyzed the regulatory framework of Russian-American agreements in the field of scientific and educational cooperation “with the aim of ending or suspending”.

The 1998 Memorandum “On Mutual Agreement between the Governments of the Russian Federation and the United States of America” ​​refers to the legal framework of Russian-American agreements. In total, the list includes five documents. One of the scientific and technical cooperation agreements has not actually worked since 2014.

Earlier, two days after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ceased cooperation with the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech). MIT described Russia’s military action as “unacceptable”.

“This movement expresses our opposition to the actions of the Russian government in Ukraine. We take this decision with deep regret and deep appreciation for the great respect we have for the Russian people and the contributions of many distinguished Russian colleagues with whom we work. While we must end the relationship, we are proud of MIT’s work with Skoltech and the research done over the past decade. We reaffirm our unwavering belief in our colleagues at Skoltech: these are scientists who are committed to the spirit of openness and have invested their experience and knowledge in building a unique and innovative academic center in Russia.”

On March 21, the Russian Foreign Ministry handed a note of protest to the American ambassador in Moscow. He said that the US aid to Ukraine in the war brought US-Russia relations to the brink of breaking.

“We regret this, but it does not have any bearing on our determination to achieve the goals of the special military operation and to comply with the conditions associated with US sanctions and sanctions on the recommendations of the European satellites of the United States, “- said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.