MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay of playing into the hands of the Kiev regime, which results in new murders of Russian journalists.
"The incumbent UNESCO director-general is in essence playing into the hands of the Kiev authorities. Her bias has become her shame," the diplomat said at a briefing.
"The most troubling thing is that her [Azoulay’s] actions directly lead to further killings of journalists," the spokesperson emphasized.
She described Azoulay’s report on the safety of journalists and the problem of impunity for 2022-2023 as "clear evidence of bias," since it overlooked numerous instances of the killing of Russian journalists by the Kiev regime over the period.
According to Zakharova, "Western countries are very much pleased with this approach [by the head of UNESCO]." "Because the non-governmental organizations, which hand over information to Azoulay, primarily serve the interests of this small group of countries and their regimes," she clarified, using the released documents on the activities of the USAID as an example.
"Together with like-minded individuals, we intend to compel the director-general to comply with her mandate, to oppose unsanctioned actions by the secretariat," the Russian diplomat vowed. According to her, "certain hopes for a change in approach to this area are linked to the upcoming change in the UNESCO Secretariat leadership," as the director-general election is scheduled for November. "Perhaps, what Azoulay has led UNESCO into will become a lesson to the candidates, and they will not repeat these criminal mistakes," Zakharova hopes.