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Russian Becomes an Official Language at CITES Samarkand Session

The change is intended to ease work with conference documents for Russian-speaking participants, reinforcing Moscow’s effort to rally like‑minded states.

Overview

  • Rosprirodnadzor chief Svetlana Radionova said Russia will receive full language support at the 2025 meetings on equal terms with other official languages.
  • Radionova called it the first time since CITES was established in 1973 that Russian has official standing at the convention.
  • The CITES gathering runs in Samarkand from November 24 to December 5, with high‑level dialogue slated to include Russian.
  • Radionova argued that using Russian improves intersessional work and understanding of adopted texts for specialists and institutions.
  • She urged representation of all six UN languages at CITES and noted strong interest in engagement with Russia from a range of countries, including Japan and South Korea.