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Russia, unlike West, interested in ending ‘war on journalists’ — top diplomat

Sergey Lavrov emphasized that the obnoxious attitude towards Russian reporters abroad, particularly in the US, the EU and Ukraine had reached such proportions that it cannot be tolerated anymore

MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Russia did not start the "war against journalists" and is interested in ending it but the West cannot stop its aggression against media outlets, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Carlos Faria on Monday.

"We did not launch this war against journalists. We are interested in ending it yet I do not see how the West can stop its excesses since it has gone too far and now it is impossible for it to stop without losing face," the Russian top diplomat stated.

He emphasized that the obnoxious attitude towards Russian reporters abroad, particularly in the US, the EU and Ukraine had reached such proportions that it cannot be tolerated anymore.

"The West stopped paying attention to [international] law, to put it mildly, is violating it left and right making up its own rules. Its rules say that the European Union will decide on its own what constitutes the freedom of information and what is propaganda," the Russian foreign minister noted. In this context, he reiterated that French President Emmanuel Macron in response to a question as to why RT and Sputnik don’t have accreditation at the Elysee Palace, asserted that "these are not media outlets but propaganda tools." "There are numerous examples like this," the top diplomat stressed.

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