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Conflict in Syria

Russian diplomat blasts EU for spreading disinformation on situation in Syria

The diplomat said the EU should "make use of the online broadcasting available on the Russian Defense Ministry’s website to see what the situation in Aleppo is like in real life"

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. EU officials have been consistently spreading disinformation on the situation in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said commenting on the statements made by EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini and European Council President Donald Tusk.

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Russian diplomat castigates EU for distorting facts about humanitarian aid to Syria

"When a week ago Mogherini stated that the EU was the only party supplying humanitarian aid to Syria, I thought that she said it because she wasn’t familiar with the situation. This may happen to anyone. But when Donald Tusk began talking about the need to open humanitarian corridors immediately on behalf of the European Union, I came to understand that this is nothing more than EU officials disseminating systemic disinformation aimed at their constituents," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page.

"Russia has been delivering humanitarian aid to Syria, Aleppo in particular, for several years now. The humanitarian corridors have not only been long open but they have been used for the evacuation of civilians," Zakharova stressed. She pointed out that Russia called on the United Nations to join this effort. "Not only have we been calling on the UN, but we have been encouraging de Mistura’s team to take steps in this direction," she added.

"However, it seems that someone has been strongly discouraging those UN officials. Who could it be? Maybe, those who want Aleppo to remain a ‘moderate’ hotbed of terrorism," Zakahrova noted. She said the EU should "make use of the online broadcasting available on the Russian Defense Ministry’s website to see what the situation in Aleppo is like in real life."

Read also

Russian Defense Ministry says evacuation from Aleppo completed

"In order to help enlighten the EU’s high-ranking officials, the number of web cameras has been increased. If EU propaganda experts stepped away from their mics, they could make a virtual trip to the city they speak about so much about, but in fact know nothing about," the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman emphasized.

On December 7, Mogherini stated that the EU was the only party providing humanitarian aid to Syria and the neighboring territories. On December 15, at the EU summit, Donald Tusk announced that the European Union intended to ensure that humanitarian corridors in Aleppo would be established.

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