PARIS, May 30. /TASS/. Western countries’ aggressive rhetoric against Russia and one-sided information appearing in the western media about the country distorts the world’s picture, correspondingly influencing the new generations’ views, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday in her address to the French-Russian Dialogue association in Paris.
"They often say that the world’s problem is a lack of trust, but there is no trust if there is misunderstanding. When I read European media outlets, I cannot believe that I live in that country they are talking about - in Russia. It is a story about a never country," she said.
According to Zakharova, "an abnormal phase in these Russia-West relations has lasted for five years."
"Due to our experience, we are aware that relations between countries come through different times, but the youth do not know that. For five years, they have been listening to aggressive statements about Russia," she said.
In her position, Zakharova "frequently has to do work for EU ambassadors in Moscow."
"I reiterate that aggressive rhetoric is a passing [fashion]. That is not what ordinary people think in the West. In our country, a lot has been done in the recent 25 years so that Europe, the western [countries] have not been perceived as a threat. However, we are observing a U-turn since a generation with new thinking is being shaped amid the West’s current statements and we are not pleased with this," the diplomat said.
"We have invested much in our relationship and now we are having a borderline moment," she said.
During Zakharova’s visit to Paris, a first session of the French-Russian parliamentary cigar club, which participants pursue the cigar diplomacy, was held. A cigar named "Maria Zakharova" was presented at the session.