MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. Attempts to politicize the work of Interpol contradict its statutory documents, Russian Foreign Ministry Information and Press Department Director Maria Zakharova said at a briefing following Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite's call for expansion of the Interpol’s association against initiatives put forward by Russia and Belarus.
The diplomat drew attention to the fact that the call was circulated by the Western media ahead of the 91st session of the Interpol General Assembly, which will be held next week in Vienna.
"We are talking about the obvious politicization of this platform’s work, and we see that it is imposed by the West and has reached such a level that any proposals put forward within its framework are rejected not on the basis of their content, but purely on the basis of nationality," Zakharova pointed out." "We regard what was said as an obvious bloc pressure on the Interpol member states, undermining the sovereign ability of the countries to independently defend their national interests within the framework of the Interpol General Assembly - the supreme assembly of the Interpol," Zakharova said.
The spokeswoman stressed that "bringing such a Russophobic agenda into professional activities as well as the creation of a political coalition contradict the principles of Interpol, as Article 3 of its charter stipulates that the organization is strictly prohibited from any interference or activities of a political, military, religious or racial nature."
"We can see what immediate political interests lead to if they are put above the obligations within Interpol. By doing this, Western countries are flagrantly violating the inviolable foundations of international cooperation in this area," Zakharova said.