MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. Moscow expects foreign journalists to cover events related to Russia objectively and comprehensively, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with representatives of leading foreign media outlets accredited in Moscow on Monday.
He noted that the Russian side has no intentions of imposing its point of view on others. "In turn, we hope that you will cover every angle of the events in an objective way too," the top diplomat emphasized.
He pointed out that Moscow is always ready for a discussion. "Yet, of course, we cannot take as a given (moreover, to agree with) the current wave of what is called fakes, the wave of labeling using the old Cold War ideological cliches," he stated, adding that turning the information field into an arena of confrontation does not facilitate the creation of an environment demanded by the present situation.
Sergey Lavrov has described the attempts to use the issue of vaccination against the novel coronavirus for geopolitical insinuations as regrettable and stated that Moscow was prepared to promote impartial media coverage of this subject.
"The coronavirus pandemic has shown it is an imperative of our time to stop using any occasion for fueling confrontation and hostility. Even when it comes to the vaccination issue, we can see that sometimes the wish prevails to try to use this theme, which is crucial to the whole of humanity first and foremost from the standpoint of ensuring each person’s right to life, for the sake of geopolitical insinuations. This is regrettable."
Nevertheless, Lavrov said, an overwhelming majority of foreign journalists valued their reputation. "We read much of what your editors publish. I see your striving to analyze and understand and to delve into the essence of events. In doing this you can always count on us as your sincere and active assistants," Lavrov said.