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Russian journalists not allowed at news conference in Paris until Lavrov intervenes

A number of Russian journalists were not included into accreditation lists for the joint news conference of Lavrov and Jean-Yves Le Drian for unknown reasons

PARIS, November 28. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had to intervene after a group of Russian journalists representing several media outlets were not allowed to attend his joint news conference with the French counterpart in Paris.

According to a TASS correspondent, a number of Russian journalists were not included into accreditation lists for the joint news conference of Lavrov and Jean-Yves Le Drian for unknown reasons.

A source in the Russian delegation said that the Russian embassy in Paris compiled the lists and submitted them to the French Foreign Ministry beforehand. As the Russian and French top diplomats were meeting in Paris, Russian diplomats were trying to solve the problem of accreditation until the very last moment. However, the situation changed only after Lavrov interfered directly shortly after the talks.

"The situation changed only when Lavrov said he would not take part in the news conference if Russian media are not allowed to it," the source said.

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