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Diplomat: Russian candidate for UN position victim of "smearing campaign"

Russia’s first deputy envoy to UN said the situation is "direct interference in the process of candidate selection which contradicts common practice"

UNITED NATIONS, February 19. /TASS/. Russia is concerned with the smearing campaign against Russian diplomat Sergey Ryabokon who is a frontrunner for the post of Director of NGO Branch of UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Russia’s first deputy envoy to UN Pyotr Ilychev told reporters on Friday.

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Commenting on an article in Foreign Policy magazine, Ilychev said: "Russia is concerned with the smearing campaign against the Russian candidate for the post of Director of NGO Branch of UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs." "We consider this as direct interference in the process of candidate selection which contradicts common practice and Article 100 of UN Charter," he added noting that he hopes the UN will "be guided exclusively by criteria of professionalism and effectiveness" when choosing candidates.

On February 15 Foreign Policy magazine published an article saying that Ryabokon is "accused by the United States of playing a role in President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on foreign human rights and pro-democracy activists."

Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that information about Ryabokon is presented in the article "in a very negative light, not objectively, and with a bias." "It is pure nonsense, not even a fraud, but nonsense and foolishness," she said.

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