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BBC has not asked Russian Foreign Ministry for interview on MH17 crash — Zakharova

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the employees of the Moscow BBC bureau have never asked the Russian Foreign Ministry about the film’s preparation
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Artyom Geodakyan/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
© Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, May 4 /TASS/. Journalists from the BBC Moscow bureau have not asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to give comments for a film on the Malaysian Boeing crash over Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her page in Facebook.

She commented on the words of the film’s author, Mike Rudin, who claims that the Russian Foreign Ministry had refused to give an interview to the BBC.

"We have maintained close working contacts with the employees of the BBC Moscow bureau. We have given interviews to them many times; we have taken part in online conversations; we have met at briefings and visited their bureau," Zakharova went on to say.

"It can be said without exaggeration that we contact the BBC representatives several times a week. Moreover, since last August we have introduced a new format like weekly meetings with representatives of foreign media outlets accredited in Moscow held at the Russian Foreign Ministry press center. BBC journalists are our frequent guests," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

"At the very first meeting, we agreed that all the requests for the interview and commentaries would be sent to foreign journalists via their Moscow journalistic bureaus," the diplomat stressed.

According to Zakharova, the employees of the Moscow BBC bureau have never asked the Russian Foreign Ministry about the film’s preparation.