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Russian diplomat: Euronews discredited by its English language service

"This is not even propaganda, this is disinformation," the diplomat said in comments on a screenshot of Russian foreign minister’s nonexistent Twitter account

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. The English language service of Euronews is discrediting the entire news television channel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Facebook account on Monday in comments on a screenshot of Russian foreign minister’s nonexistent Twitter account.

"As an official Russian reaction to a resolution adopted by the regional council of the Italian region of Veneto, urging to recognize the de-facto status of Crimea and lift anti-Russian sanctions, the English language website of the TV channel posted ‘a screenshot of Sergey Lavrov’s Twitter account’," Zakharova wrote. "All is fine except for one thing - Sergey Lavrov has no Twitter account. The Russian language website, as you see, did not post the fake," she went on.

"This is not even propaganda, this is disinformation," the diplomat said. "The possible aim was to promote a fake resource," she added.

"One cannot reproach us of giving no reaction on the Veneto subject. I made a comment to this respect," Zakharovs said. "It is difficult to accuse the Foreign Ministry of non-transparent work in social networking systems. Probably, we are one of the few agencies giving a full list of the official accounts of its foreign missions and the leadership on our website," she said.

"I used to think that such policy of the television channel’s English language service was aimed against the Russian side, but no there is no doubt that it is a blow to Euronews from inside, discrediting activity of this media outlet," she said. "What else should the English language service of the TV channel’s website do to get attention of its leadership?" she asked.

Last Wednesday, the regional council of Veneto approved by a majority of votes a resolution calling on the national government of Italy to recognize the status of Crimea and push for cancelation of sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.

Crimea’s reunification with Russia

The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russians, refused to recognize the legitimacy of authorities brought to power amid riots during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.

Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification deals March 18, 2014.

For incorporation of Crimea after the coup, Russia came under sanctions on the part of the United States and many European countries.