MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. An interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by Rete 4 TV channel was the initiative of Italian journalists and not of the Russian Foreign Ministry, its official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday, commenting on remarks by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi who criticized the interview with the Russian top diplomat as political campaigning.
"I want Italian citizens to know the truth. Since Italian politicians misinform their public," she wrote on her Telegram channel. "Campaigning is something that is published on the initiative of the speaker. Like an advertisement," she added.
That said, the diplomat noted that the initiative for the interview with Lavrov came from the Italian reporters and not from the Russian Foreign Ministry. "We have hundreds of requests for an interview with Sergey Lavrov, with the representatives of the ministry and embassies. The Italian journalists were persistent, saying that it is important to show all points of view. Weren’t they right?" she added.
The spokeswoman emphasized that the Russian side did not introduce any corrections to the final version of the interview. "The questions asked by the host were his own. We did not alter neither the questions, nor the final version of the interview," the diplomat said.
On May 1, in an interview with Rete 4 of Italy’s Mediaset broadcaster, Lavrov talked about Russia’s main stance on the events in Ukraine, pointing out that the Ukrainian side with the US support does not want to continue negotiations as well as noted false information disseminated by Western media outlets and explained some decisions of Russia’s leadership. He was particularly criticized for his remarks that "it was strange" for him to see how Rome "was among the first of those who do not simply introduce anti-Russian sanctions but also come up with various initiatives" as well as for his comments on the Jewish roots of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Adolph Hitler and on antisemitism. Many Italian politicians made negative remarks about the privately owned Mediaset TV company.