ST. PETERSBURG, June 22. /TASS/. The Western mass media are reluctant to acknowledge that a nuclear threat stemming from the conflict between Iran and Israel is looming large over the entire world, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"Obviously, this is a threat to the whole of the world," she said, commenting on the escalation between Israel and Iran.
She noted that a year ago Western media were hyping up the topic of nuclear weapons to scare their own population with Russia. "Global media, I mean first of all Western media are speculating on anything - the number of strikes, retaliatory strikes, focusing on anything but the topic they brought to the fore a year ago, absolutely groundlessly then," she said.
In her words, when the problem of a potential nuclear threat was objectively irrelevant it topped the agenda of the Western mass media. "But now, when shells are exploding in millimeters, in meters, when missile are flying, they seen to lose any interest in this topic," she said.
She pointed to the threats coming from Israeli strikes on facilities holding nuclear materials. "These strikes target relevant facilities, in the exact vicinity of them," she noted (the interview was taken before US strikes on Iran - TASS).
"On the other hand, we have a perfect example, a so-called perfect example, of how the Kiev regime has been attacking the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, an operating nuclear plant, for several years. And IAEA experts don’t see where the projectiles are flying from while the Security Council members don’t know hoe to react to this. Probably, these are the links within a single logic," she added.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) took place on June 18-21. This year, the event was held under the theme "Shared Values: The Foundation of Growth in a Multipolar World." The program included the SME Forum, the Creative Industries Forum, the Day of the Future International Youth Economic Forum, the Drug Security Forum, and the Roscongress Urban Hub discussion platform. The Roscongress Foundation was the organizer of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. TASS was its information partner.