Russia has accused western ambassadors in Moscow of interfering in internal affairs. Moscow calls the presence of ambassadors at the funeral of the late anti-Putin leader Alexei Navalny an interference. The Russian authorities termed their behavior suspicious and claimed that the ambassadors’ status in Russia was questionable. British news agency Reuters reported this news.
The country’s relations with the West are at a low point after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, relations have never reached such lows. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that sending troops to Ukraine by the West risks provoking a nuclear war.
On March 4, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he wanted to meet with EU ambassadors ahead of the March 15-17 presidential election. But the envoys rejected the proposal.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said about the rejection of the ambassadors, questions are being raised from all sides: what are they doing if they do not fulfill their most important duty, how can they explain their behavior.
He made these comments in an interview with Vladimir Solovyov, host of a program on Russian state broadcaster. The moderator noted that EU ambassadors attended Navalny’s funeral on March 1. Solovyov referred to ambassadors as agents of nations.
Zakharova then said that Western envoys’ refusal to meet with Lavrov proved they were interfering in Moscow’s internal affairs. They are asserting themselves by excluding diplomatic work.
Hosted by Solovyov, the program was titled, Should EU Ambassadors Be Expelled?
Reuters photos showed that Navalny’s funeral was attended by the ambassadors of France, Germany and the United States.
#Russia #accuses #Western #ambassadors #interference
