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Moscow becomes center of international activity over past twelve months — diplomat

"I can't remember as many foreign delegations as we're hosting today in the Foreign Ministry's mansion," Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesperson said
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova
© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

MOSCOW, May 4. /TASS/. Moscow has turned into a center of international activity over the past twelve months and the Russian diplomats are doing the most difficult part of their job here in the Russian capital now, Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesperson said in an interview published by Izvestia daily on Wednesday.

"We make fewer air trips now because most of the counterparts come here to Russia," she said. "I can't remember as many foreign delegations as we're hosting today in the Foreign Ministry's mansion."

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov holds three or so full-format meetings with foreign counterparts that include talks between the two ministers, a working lunch and a news conference, Zakharova said.

"Also, he has up five, seven or sometimes more separate meetings with heads of international organizations, high-rank officials from foreign ministries of other countries or special envoys for one or another issue," she went on. "The people aspiring to the post of the UN Secretary General are a special story these days. In a word, we're doing it by the skin of our teeth."

"Moscow has turned into a center of international activity of this kind over the past year and that's an accomplished fact," Zakharova said. "While previously each of us had a tight schedule of air trips, now we are doing the most tedious part of our work in Moscow.".