MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. TASS General Director and President of the Organization of Asia·Pacific News Agencies (OANA) Andrey Kondrashov called on all members of the organization to jointly protect the truth.

"The signing of the memorandum between OANA and the Global Fact-Checking Network [GFCN] is one of the landmark events in the history of our organization. It marks the transition to a new level - to the joint protection of the truth," Kondrashov said at a plenary session of the media forum dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the OANA.

The Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation was signed between OANA and the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN). The document formalizes a partnership aimed at establishing a global infrastructure of trust and developing unified standards to combat disinformation.

Kondrashov pointed out that OANA should be not simply serving as a platform for exchanging news, but turn into a full-fledged community of professionals who work together in order to develop standards and jointly counter threats.

"It [the OANA] must serve as a platform for working out such standards that are not imposed from the outside but stemmed from the dialogue of equals - you and us - equals to each other, developing our common approaches," he noted.

The OANA Media Forum in Moscow is taking place in the year marking the 65th anniversary of the organization, which brings together 41 news agencies from 33 countries. The forum is organized by TASS, which will chair OANA until 2028. TASS General Director Andrey Kondrashov heads the organization, while TASS Deputy Director General Marat Abulkhatin is OANA’s secretary general.