Some false articles on the version of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia

[unseen]

The latest anti-Russian campaign in Western media

14 February 2018 - 16:58

Spoiler!

We have noted a number of articles published by Western media in the latest campaign to denigrate Russia’s role in fighting terrorism in Syria. Here are just a few of the many examples: “Syria’s Idlib province pounded by Russian airstrikes, activists say” (The Washington Post, February 5); “Russia bombs Syria rebel strongholds after jet is shot down” (Newsweek, February 5); “Biggest airstrikes in a year hit Syria after rebels shoot down Russian jet” (The Guardian, February 6); “Devastating Russian airstrikes of retribution in Syria” (Deutsche Welle, February 5); “Russia launches an offensive after the jet is downed” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 5). These articles are obviously carbon-copies – their style and reasoning are strikingly similar.

The misinformation comes down to allegations that the Russian Aerospace Forces are striking rebel strongholds in Idlib, killing civilians and damaging civilian infrastructure, including medical institutions. The Syrian Army is being groundlessly accused of using chemical weapons.

These journalists describe as “rebels” Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that claimed responsibility for downing on February 3 the Russian Su-25 assault aircraft piloted by Major Roman Filippov. He was monitoring compliance with the ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham emerged as an offshoot of the terrorist organisation Jabhat al-Nusra in 2017, which took under its operational control a number of other units of the anti-government armed opposition. Jabhat al-Nusra, which severed ties with al-Qaeda at one point, and its spawn Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are blacklisted by the international community as terrorist organisations despite the assurances of al-Nusra leaders that they have split with al-Qaeda. Nobody takes such statements seriously. The attempts of the Western media to disavow Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s links with al-Qaeda on this basis are unfounded and only designed to mislead the public in the West about the nature of the targets attacked by the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Army.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has emphasised many times that terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra continue to be able to offer resistance because they have external support, including from the media. The elimination of this terrorist group, no matter what name it assumes, is one of the key goals of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria.

It is telling that representatives of the White Helmets are quoted in these articles. This organisation has discredited itself to the point that its mere mention as a source gives cause to doubt the authenticity of a story. Social media is littered with videos showing “rescuers” from the White Helmets putting makeup on “victims of the Syrian Government’s brutality” or alleged bombing by the Russian Aerospace Forces. They are closely cooperating with terrorist organisations and are often seen with weapons in hand on the side of terrorists during combat operations. The video showing White Helmets “helping” already dead children caused a stir.

The authors of some articles are making new attempts to hold Russia and the lawful Syrian Government responsible for the use of toxic agents in Idlib. To the contrary, Russia has consistently advocated the complete elimination of chemical arms in Syria. Owing to Moscow’s peacemaking initiative, an agreement was reached on the liquidation of Syria’s chemical arsenal. In the middle of 2014 precursors of chemical arms were removed from Syria with Moscow and Washington’s cooperation.

Moreover, in October 2017 the US Department of State reported the use of toxic agents by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib, thereby admitting that terrorists have chemical weapons. Nonetheless, this high-profile statement did not garner the attention of world media.

These bogus stories are being published against the background of Russian diplomatic efforts, including the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in Sochi on January 29-30. An anti-Russia campaign was also launched by the Western media simultaneously with the successful liberation of Aleppo by the Syrian government troops and the Russian Aerospace Forces, which suggests some parallels.

These attempts of the Western media to discredit Russia’s role in the struggle against terrorists are regrettable. We see them as part of the double game played by some of our Western partners that divide terrorists into good and bad in the pursuit of their myopic geopolitical interests.


The Washington Post, February 5: “Syria’s Idlib province pounded by Russian airstrikes, activists say” (By Erin Cunningham and Louisa Loveluck)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.7ac13133eee9


The Guardian, February 6: “Biggest airstrikes in a year hit Syria after rebels shoot down Russian jet.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...st-syria-idlib


Newsweek, February 5: “Russia bombs Syria rebel strongholds after jet is shot down.”

http://www.newsweek.com/russian-forc...ot-down-799308


Deutsche Welle , February 5: “Devastating Russian airstrikes of retribution in Syria.”

http://www.dw.com/de/verheerende-rus...ien/a-42458136


Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 5: “Russia launches an offensive after the jet is downed.”

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/a...-15433154.html



The source of information

Article published by Africa24.info

20 February 2018 - 16:31

Spoiler!

We have taken note of an item published by the website Africa24.info on February 11 with the alarmist headline, “Urgent: Russia demands that France stop using CFA franc*” (Urgent: La Russie donne un ultimatum à la France de mettre fin au FCFA).

Citing anonymous Russian sources, Africa24.info reports that during talks with his French counterpart, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov allegedly called on Paris to end the CFA franc zone for 14 West African and Central African countries. The Russian minister is claimed to have said that France had six months to do so or else Russia would ban French imports.

The piece includes the following statement attributed to the Russian minister: “We cannot look on silently at the disadvantage and poverty of African states due to the use of a currency that has been forced on them. The colonial period is over. It is time African states gained full independence and assumed control of everything.”

It appears that Africa24.info carefully chose when to post this article. Publication coincided with the latest flare-up of protests in the former French colonies in West and Central Africa. Presented against this backdrop, the fake “Russian ultimatum” has sparked a massive outcry among the French-speaking media. However, the Senegalese online outlet Téranga News has asked Africa24.info to confirm that these were indeed words spoken by the Russian official.

As expected, Africa24.info journalists were not available for comment. Our readers will find it interesting that the central office of Africa24.info is in California, which is very far away from Africa. It appears that the United States is the best place for collecting the most reliable information about Russia’s policy in Europe and Africa.

Following the lead of the Russian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, we call out the scurrilous and absurd nature of the item published by Africa24.info. We caution serious publications, including in Africa, against trying to turn anonymous speculation about Russia’s foreign policy into an international sensation.


* The CFA franc is the name of two currencies (the West African CFA franc and the Central African CFA franc) used in 14 African countries which are guaranteed by the French treasury.

http://africa24.info/2018/02/10/pout...e-fin-au-fcfa/

http://teranganews.sn/2018/02/fact-c...ion-franc-cfa/



The source of information

Update on reports about the joint operation by Russia and Argentina to intercept a drug shipment to Russia

27 February 2018 - 21:56

Spoiler!

Ambiguous and outright false publications continue to spread in a number of media outlets and on social media despite the official statements released by the Foreign Ministry, the Federal Security Service and the Russian Embassy to Argentina on the successful operation by the law enforcement agencies of Russia and Argentina to intercept a drug shipment organised with the involvement of a former maintenance worker of the Russian Embassy to Argentina. Most of these publications can be clearly referred to as fake news.

These publications abound with unverified information and conspiracy theories, coming from both “independent bloggers and Telegram channels,” as well as professional journalists. One can only guess why Deutsche Welle, an agency financed from Germany’s federal budget, published articles of this kind, including those authored by Konstantin von Eggert.

The information conveyed by these so-called insiders and couch conspirologists has nothing to do with reality.

Here are some fake assertions that have resonated the most:

1) “Narcotic drugs that were supposed to be shipped to the European markets were discovered by Argentina, after which the Russian Embassy joined the investigation.” The Foreign Ministry stresses yet again that it was the other way around. The Russian Embassy staff discovered the drugs, as both Russia and our Argentinian partners have said on multiple occasions.

2) “Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev was urgently dispatched to Argentina to deal with the situation.” Under the international protocol practice, high-level visits of this kind are carefully planned and coordinated well in advance, which takes even longer if a conversation with the country’s leadership is on the agenda. Nikolai Patrushev’s visit was no exception: it was prepared in advance, taking into account the prospect of a meeting with President of Argentina Mauricio Macri.

3) “Drugs were to be delivered to Moscow by diplomatic pouch.” Once again, the shipment could not have been sent by diplomatic channels. Presenting the matter this way is indicative of the complete ignorance of the mechanism and procedure of sending diplomatic mail, the content of which is certainly not determined by the mission’s maintenance workers.

4) Unfortunately, even those who already left this world have not been spared by this informational onslaught. “The links between a former member of the Foreign Ministry’s Latin America Department, the late Petr Poshikov, with drug cartel” was mentioned in publications. He lost his life in a tragic accident that was not related to his professional activity.

5) The newspaper Kommersant in its February 27, 2018 edition published an article “Suitcases used as bait to catch drug dealers,” claiming that “another person, formerly employed as a maintenance staff member by diplomatic missions in Germany, Andrey Kovalchuk, avoided arrest by hiding in this country.” The Foreign Ministry renews its call on the journalists to verify the “sensational” information, since Andrey Kovalchuk was never employed as a member of the maintenance staff by Russia’s diplomatic missions in Germany, and in general never worked for the Foreign Ministry.

6) In an article “Five arrested in Argentinian cocaine case. Tracks lead to Germany” that appeared in Rossiyskaya Gazeta journalists point to the fact that the Foreign Ministry and the Federal Security Service provided different numbers on the weight of the confiscated cocaine shipment. “The Federal Security Service reported about 362 kilograms of confiscated cocaine, while the Foreign Ministry mentioned 389 kilograms. The police discovered the drugs in a schooling and residential facility of the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires.” The Foreign Ministry has never communicated on the specific weight of the confiscated drug shipment.

7) An article by 812’ONLINE of February 26, 2018, titled “Heart attacks suffered by Russian diplomats could be related to the cocaine case,” is not only misleading but also insulting and even outrageous. By making these groundless accusations, those who is responsinle for writing this piece have clearly failed to think about the relatives of the diplomats who are no longer with us.

8) The report “From control to a cartel. Who controls the Russian drug market and how” released by Nastoyaschee Vremya (Present Time) television channel on its website on February 26, 2018 is misleading. Its authors went as far as to claim that “Russia’s domestic market for narcotic drugs has long been controlled by the Foreign Ministry and the relevant law enforcement agencies.”

These are just a few of the examples of intentional misrepresentations. There are hundreds of publications of this kind.

The Foreign Ministry reiterates that the investigation of this case has yet to be completed. The investigative procedures are underway, and the details on the operations of the criminal group are being clarified in order to hold the person behind this criminal activity to account. Under Russian law, the investigative authorities are in charge of investigating criminal cases, so their comments are the only credible source of information on this matter.

Russia’s Ambassador to Argentina, Viktor Koronelli, provided clarifications on this case in a number of interviews with the Russian media.


Interview with the Russian Ambassador to Argentina Viktor Koronelli:

https://www.rbc.ru/society/26/02/201...79471767a0d139

https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/355922...BB%D0%BB%D0%B8

https://ria.ru/incidents/20180227/1515367486.html


Comment by the Russian Embassy in Argentina on the February 25, 2018 post at mmironov.livejournal.com “About Argentinian cocaine or why the Foreign Ministry is lying?”

https://argentina.mid.ru/-/kommentar...kij-kokain-ili



The source of information

Bloomberg article, “Cocaine Bust Is the Latest Sign of Putin’s Weakness”

1 March 2018 - 19:12

Spoiler!

In the Bloomberg article, “Cocaine Bust Is the Latest Sign of Putin’s Weakness”, published on February 28, 2018, the author, Leonid Bershidsky passes along distortions and conjecture around the joint drug interdiction operation of Russian and Argentine law enforcement agencies that have been repeatedly refuted. Here are a few specific examples.

For example, the author writes that “someone found bags filled with almost 400 kilogrammes of cocaine stored in the embassy school building.”

We reiterate that the drugs were discovered by employees of the Russian Embassy. This was repeatedly stated both by the Russian side and by our Argentine partners. At the same time, we would like to note once again that the Russian Foreign Ministry has never indicated the exact weight of the consignment, as that is for the investigative authorities to share.

The insinuations of “Russian economist Maxim Mironov, who lives in Buenos Aires and whose children attend the school” have already been thoroughly refuted in a statement from the Russian Embassy in Argentina, which is available on the official website of the diplomatic mission.

Andrey Kovalchuk, who is mentioned in the article, had never worked as a technical employee of Russian diplomatic missions in Germany (the Russian Embassy in Berlin published a statement to this effect), and he did not work either in the Central Office or in the Ministry's Security Department.

These are just some examples of the fake news contained in the article. Again, the investigation of the case is not yet complete.


We recommend that Mr Bershidsky acquaint himself with the relevant statements on the official websites of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Federal Security Service, as well as with a number of recent interviews of Russian Ambassador to Argentina Viktor Koronelli.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/artic...ng-a-mob-state


Interview with the Russian Ambassador to Argentina

https://www.rbc.ru/society/26/02/201...79471767a0d139

https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/355922...BB%D0%BB%D0%B8

https://ria.ru/incidents/20180227/1515367486.html

http://www.ng.ru/world/2018-02-27/6_7181_posol.html


Comment by the Russian Embassy in Argentina

https://argentina.mid.ru/-/kommentar...kij-kokain-ili


Comment by the Russian Embassy in Germany

https://www.facebook.com/denis.miker...08733651098047


Comment by the Russian Security Service

http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/press/message/...sbMessage.html


Comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry

http://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/...ent/id/3090796

http://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/...ent/id/3101243



The source of information

More fake news on the joint Russian-Argentine operation to disrupt drug trafficking

5 March 2018 - 19:19

Spoiler!

Conspiracy theorists continue to obsess over efforts to shut down a drug trafficking channel from Argentina to Russia. The latest fuel on the fire is the article “The Foreign Ministry, Cocaine and Hyena Dances,” published by the website Voyennoye Obozreniye (Military Review) on March 3, 2018.

In the first paragraph, it is stated that a request for comment was submitted to the “relevant department,” but “as expected,” none was forthcoming. We do not know exactly which department they are talking about, but neither the Information and Press Department, nor the Latin American Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry received any requests from Voyennoye Obozreniye.

But the outlet “managed to interview” a “department employee” Ruslan Arefyev, who agreed to talk with the Voyennoye Obozreniye “correspondent.” Note, there is no person named Ruslan Arefyev on the staff of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The whole interview is falsehood after falsehood.

False: “The security adviser to the Ambassador to Turkey, who worked in Ankara during the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, was transferred after those events to Argentina to live in exile." Truth: The current security adviser to the Russian Ambassador to Argentina has never worked or even been there.

False: “The protection of the embassy is handled by the Zaslon group, which provides special border forces.” Truth: Guarding the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires is the job of duty commandants. All of them are members of the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia. The Zaslon detachment has nothing to do with this. In addition, the security of Russian diplomatic missions and citizens abroad is regulated by Russian law and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, according to which responsibility for the security of foreign diplomatic missions rests with the host country.

False: “Argentine law enforcement agencies requested ‘orders be issued to inspect’ the embassy school. Truth: Drugs were found in the basement of the school and residential building of the Embassy by the new director of economic issues. In December 2016, Russian Ambassador to Argentina Viktor Koronelli informed the Argentine authorities about this after receiving instructions from the Centre. After that, a carefully planned joint Russian-Argentine operation was launched to shut down the drug trafficking channel, which was conducted by the secret services of the two countries – the Ministry of Security of Argentina and the Russian Federal Security Service. This topic was emphasised by Viktor Koronelli in his interviews with the Russian and Argentine media (RIA Novosti, RBC, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Kommersant – the texts are also posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website).

False: “Formally, a company with the interesting name ‘Inpredkadry’ is engaged in the selection of personnel for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” Truth: Inpredkadry is a structural subdivision of the Main Directorate for Servicing the Diplomatic Corps. The Federal State Unitary Enterprise The Main Production and Commercial Directorate for Servicing the Diplomatic Corps of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia deals with issues related to the placement and servicing of diplomatic missions and consular offices of foreign countries, missions of international organisations and mass media, as well as with performing work and providing services related to the maintenance of functioning of diplomatic missions and consular establishments in Russia.

Inpredkadry, a branch of the Main Directorate for Servicing the Diplomatic Corps, provides recruitment services for missions of foreign countries in Russia (!). Issues related to employment in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia are under the jurisdiction of the Human Resources Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

False: “Police in Argentina are called ‘Uncle Sideburns.’ Truth: What on earth are you talking about, “Ruslan”?

And these are just some examples of the nonsense contained in the article. We hope it’s clear that the interview of this “Ruslan Arefyev” is a fake, perhaps even made-to-order.

https://topwar.ru/137130-mid-kokain-i-tancy-gien.html



The source of information

[unseen]

New York Times article ‘Will Russia Meddle in Italy's Election? It May Not Have To’

7 March 2018 - 19:41

Spoiler!

We took note of the article “Will Russia Meddle in Italy's Election? It May Not Have To,” which appeared in the US publication The New York Times on March 1.

Long before the start of the election campaign, Russia was accused of interference in the internal affairs of Italy, in particular in its parliamentary elections. On the eve of the vote in Italy, prominent stories have appeared in the Western media explaining "the techniques of Russian interference" and how the Russians allegedly use them in practice, with the parliamentary elections in Italy offered as an example.

The target of the current information attacks on Russia is clear – the people of Italy. The goal was to frighten the Italian people and set them against Russia in order to sway the elections.

Russia, in turn, consistently declares that electoral processes, elections – whether in Italy or any other country – are an inalienable element of democracy, as they represent the free expression of the public will. We invariably emphasise that we will respect the legitimate choice of voters in any country in the world. The same applies to Italy. We look forward to working together with the future Italian government, regardless of its party affiliation. With open minds and respect for the choice of the Italian people, we are ready to promote in every possible way the positive continuity of Russian-Italian relations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/w...on-russia.html



The source of information

The Foreign Ministry knew: Another round of campaign to discredit 2018 FIFA World Cup

12 March 2018 - 21:31

Spoiler!

We have repeatedly warned that before the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the Western media will launch a large-scale campaign to discredit Russia and to undermine trust in the country as a host of this sports event. Thus, it was said during the weekly briefings on May 25, 2017 and January 12, 2018.

As we expected, the English are especially active. They cannot forgive Russia for winning the right to host the tournament in a fair contest. British media are urging people to boycott the World Cup. Not only journalists suggest doing so, but also officials such as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson and Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the House of Commons. The pretext was the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, the investigation of which has not yet come to a close, and in fact, has not yet really begun. However, this did not stop British politicians from coming to conclusions about Russia’s involvement in the case. So a boycott of the World Cup would punish the country. At the same time, it seems they have not decided yet on who was supposed to boycott the event: the Royal family and officials or the English national team itself. We want to emphasise once again that such provocative false stories, which stir up anti-Russian hysteria, only complicate the relationship between our countries and harm global sports.

A similar order is being implemented in Germany. Its largest tabloid, Bild, decided to “ask” their national team whether they want to go to Russia. The poll was accompanied with a photo of a girl who was allegedly wounded during the airstrike of the Russian Aerospace Forces in eastern Ghouta on March 8. Unfortunately, Bild again uses young victims in their speculations and forgets about argumentation and any proof. It is not for the first time that Bild uses large sports events to discredit Russia: back in 2014 the newspaper was one of the main sources of scandalous gossip about the preparations and hosting of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Bild Editor-in-Chief Julian Reichelt developed his propaganda narrative in the British Daily Mail and likened the 2018 World Cup to the “notorious” 1936 Olympics which took place in Berlin. Well, your guides are outdated. Propagandists compared the Sochi Olympics with the Berlin Olympics, too.

To the credit of the participants in the poll – footballers, sponsors of the national team and officials did not take the bait.

We would like to again say that sports in general and football in particular are aimed at uniting people of various religions and nationalities and at giving positive emotions and joy. And the attempts to politicise it and involve athletes as well as coaches in it simply shows the professional incompetence of journalists who chase sensations and page views.

https://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/w...8760.bild.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...up-Russia.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ish-Putin.html



The source of information

Who is really interfering?

20 March 2018 - 20:40

Spoiler!

We are used to our Western partners staging a dramatic show in the press before every election. We said it would be the same this time and we were asked to cite examples. So here are just a few and they are real eye-openers.

As it often happens, the tone was set by the ruling elite in a number of states that tried to present the Russian election as not honest, transparent, fair or legitimate. At the behest of politicians, the media – so-called independent observers and other “Russia experts” – amplified the message.

Thus, on March 16 of this year official spokesman for the US Department of State Heather Nauert said that the decision of the Russian Central Election Commission to deny independent media the status of observers shows that the Kremlin is afraid of transparency in the presidential election. Let’s recall that video cameras were installed at 43,271 voting stations so that all those interested could watch the course of voting live. The election was monitored by 1,513 foreign observers from 115 countries and covered by over 15,000 journalists from 3,000 media outlets, including 99 foreign ones. The decisions were explained at the 149th session of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation on March 16 of this year.

Combining their own speculation with that of all manner of “inside sources” that flooded the Russian media on the eve of the election, a number of Western media conducted a systemic policy aimed at discrediting the election.

On March 15, the Danish newspaper Politiken published the article “Russians threatened and lured into polling stations.” According to the article, voter turnout was controlled with cutting-edge technology – from mobile applications to social media at all levels – from companies to universities and cultural centres.

On March 14, the American magazine The Nation published the opinion piece, “In Russia, everyone is tired of national politics.” Its author argues that everyone in Russia – from the President to voters – is tired of the existing situation and can only wait for “Russia’s new renaissance,” but not without making a number of factual errors, like the claim that the Sleeping-2 series was shown on the television channel NTV, not Channel One.

As for political fatigue, with 99.84 percent of votes counted, the Central Election Commission announced that 73.37 million people voted, including about 400,000 who voted abroad, putting turnout at 67.47 percent.

On the eve of the vote, on March 17, the German tabloid Bild published a piece under the big headline “Bild congratulates President Putin on his election win,” in which it answers in its usual brief, detail-free way “the most important questions about the fourth term of Vladimir Putin.” Apparently, the author expected the readers to come away absolutely convinced that his thesis is correct: “Russia is holding an election and the winner is unknown – unthinkable in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.”

On March 13, the French news website published an interview with Cyril Bre, an expert on Russia, under the title “Putin’s reelection: Are Russians masochists or are we missing something?” The expert claimed that in Russian elections the ability of governors to boost turnout is more important than the result itself. The BBC’s Russian service also expressed concern over turnout by publishing a series of reports of Russians being “coerced” into voting. A piece published on March 18 explored why Russians went to vote early in the morning. The authors were trying to figure out why the share of those voting in the morning had grown so much. They quoted the opinion of political strategist Valentin Bianki who described the high morning turnout as a “consequence of administrative mobilisation.”

On March 14, British newspaper The Guardian published a cartoon on the poisoning of Sergey Skripal. The image shows the Russian President as a blood red spider with a red star on its forehead crawling over the globe. It seems that the image was inspired by old propaganda guidelines taken by the British intelligence from the Third Reich. After all, the cartoon faithfully reproduces a poster made for a 1936 anti-Bolshevik exhibition under the title Der Bolschewismus.

It is clear that the US-financed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty could not stay out of this campaign. On March 20, 2018 it published an article “Russian researcher says Putin may have received 10 million fraudulent votes,” based on an interview with Sergey Shpilkin, who is presented as an expert “renowned for his studies of Russian elections.” This so-called expert Shpilkin claims that the winning candidate received several million falsified votes. Our advice for both the author and this would-be expert will be to file a complaint to this effect with the Central Election Commission, if they have any real evidence. Otherwise, all these conclusions can be viewed as outright propaganda. What this article and other publications by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have in common is their propaganda drive and the intent to instil in the Russian public a feeling that the popular vote was unfair.

One article stands out, however. It presents a cynical and sophisticated way of interfering in Russia’s election space. On March 12, Deutsche Welle’s Russian desk published an article “Five strategies of protest behaviour at Russian presidential election.” Demonstrating a total lack of respect for the Russian law, Deutsche Welle published nothing short of a guideline on ways to express disagreement with the current system of government, including election procedures. The Foreign Ministry views these articles as an outrageous violation of journalist ethics and the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs. We would like to note in this regard that Deutsche Welle received EUR 325 million from Germany’s federal budget in 2017 to finance its radio, television and online programming, as indicated on the website of the German federal government. I will leave it to you to draw the conclusions.

We cited just a few articles with misleading information about the elections in Russia. Western propaganda agencies did all they could to undermine trust in the Russian elections by skilfully juggling facts, searching for the most incredible ideas on Russian social media and giving them credit. In doing so, they demonstrated a system-wide disdain for the Russian democracy and Russian voters, denying them the ability to make a conscious choice. They also appropriated the right to designate legitimate opposition candidates. They can indulge in wishful thinking as much as their hearts desire, but on March 18, 2018 the Russian people made it quite clear that they care about the future of their country, while all the attempts to influence the situation, including those coming from abroad, are doomed to failure.



The source of information

The Times article “Irish government denies visas to Russian embassy builders”

6 June 2018 - 10:45

Spoiler!

The “Irish government denies visas to Russian embassy builders” published by the British newspaper The Times on May 13 has attracted our attention.

Despite official explanations given by a spokesperson of the Russian Embassy in Dublin, the article insists that the Russian diplomatic mission in Ireland is hiring builders to develop a ramified system of underground bunkers for covert operations. The writer affirms that the planned development will be used by the Russian special services for illegal intelligence activity in Ireland such as espionage or transmission of encrypted data on high technology, security, pharmaceuticals and the banking sector.

Once again, we have caught the British press, namely The Times, lying and attempting to incite anti-Russian hysteria. Paranoid fantasies about the Russian threat shall remain on the conscience of the journalist who submitted the material for publication. We hope to see a retraction published by the editors of The Times.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i...ders-l8xh22hhw



The source of information

Article in the UK’s The Observer

16 July 2018 - 12:40

Spoiler!

The Foreign Ministry took note of a July 8, 2018 article in The Observer, the Sunday newspaper of the Guardian media group, titled “Revealed: Leave.EU campaign met Russian officials as many as 11 times.”

Meetings between Russian diplomats and British businesses, what would otherwise be seen as routine work for a diplomatic mission, became a conspiracy under the pen of British journalists. In the article, the authors tried to count the contacts that Russian diplomats had, making them sound sensational and emphasising some kind of a covert link between the Russian Embassy in London and Leave.EU, an organisation founded by Arron Banks.

This was not the first would-be sensational article by these authors, who are now trying to find a link between the leave campaign financed by Arron Banks and his meetings with Russian diplomats.

The reality, as always, has nothing to do with the fake stories appearing in the British press. Any diplomat routinely communicates with political, economic, cultural and scientific elites in the country of stay. The authors can ask the staff of the UK Embassy in Moscow, who regularly meet with Russian politicians and business people. Moreover, diplomats contact representatives from the ruling party, as well as opposition leaders. Let us emphasise that this is an absolute norm for any professional diplomat.

Let us reiterate that Russia views all interactions related to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU as a domestic affair for Great Britain and something the British will have to take care of by themselves. Attempts to draw Russia or Russian missions abroad into decision-making related to the withdrawal from the EU are totally absurd. We strongly believe that the British people are able to determine their future on their own.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...ny-as-11-times



The source of information

[unseen]

Greek newspaper Kontra News’ article on Moscow’s alleged role in planning riots in Thessaloniki

8 August 2018 - 17:23

Spoiler!

On July 23, the Greek newspaper Kontra News published an article entitled “Plot to disrupt the international fair in Thessaloniki: Riots planned by black front nationalists and forces linked with Moscow; illegal quasi-government structures are being mobilised.”

Citing an anonymous source in the Greek intelligence community, the newspaper claims that Greek street gangs “financed from Putin’s slush funds” (!!!) are planning protests during the annual Thessaloniki International Fair in September of this year. Apparently, the author of the article has a vivid imagination.

The article goes on to state that, in close cooperation with local radical groups and professional militants, Greece's National Front is planning major incidents during visits to the fair by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, prime ministers of Balkan countries and the US Vice President. Needless to say, “protests in Thessaloniki are being organised with funding from Russian agents of influence in Greece apart from ‘Putin’s slush funds’.”

But this is not all. Apparently the plan to disrupt the fair with a view to discrediting the Tsipras-Zaev agreement on Macedonia's name change is supported by some metropolitans of the Orthodox Church of Greece and business people “who have become agents on behalf of Moscow’s interests.” So, now Russia is also being accused of sinister plans to subvert the fair.

There is not a shred of truth in the Kontra News article. Greek pseudo-journalists should focus on the important news stories in bilateral relations that actually exist.

For example, this year will mark 25 years since the signing of the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between Russia and Greece. This is a fundamental document defining key areas of bilateral cooperation. Reflecting the close friendly ties between our countries and peoples, the treaty ensures their continuity and immunity from opportunistic considerations and their orientation to the future. It reaffirms the striving of the two states to actively and consistently promote mutual confidence and develop relations in all areas on the basis of the principles of respect for political independence, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, and mutual benefit. We are guided by these principles in our efforts to further enhance and expand our cooperation.

This year we will also celebrate the 190th anniversary of Russia-Greece diplomatic relations. Our countries are tied by centuries-long links and common values, inter-religious cooperation and a common history. Importantly, Russia has never encroached on the sovereignty, public order or national security of Greece. Why would our country plan to disrupt events in Greece?

Such hostile and frankly stupid anti-Russian insinuations are a stain on Greek journalism. The allegations of Kontra News are absurd given our warm feelings and respect for Athens as an equal partner. We will add this article to the list of tabloid fakes about Russia.

https://www.kontranews.gr/sites/defa...20sel%2001.jpg



The source of information

Australia’s Channel 7 "Dirty Money" Sunday show

9 August 2018 - 17:37

Spoiler!

Australian "Channel 7" aired its "Dirty Money" show on July 29 featuring William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, who was charged with tax evasion, failure to comply with the duties of a tax agent and deliberate bankruptcy by Russia’s investigative authorities. Once again, Mr Browder, without citing specific facts and just referring to alleged evidence, accused Russia’s leadership of involvement in money laundering. Matt Doran, the show’s host, instead of trying to sort out this complicated matter, built his “investigative report” solely on supporting Browder's accusations. The programme left the impression of a propaganda-based thriller, where Russians speak with an accent, and the source of so-called revelatory videos is unknown. Of course, Mr Browder was portrayed as “Vladimir Putin’s victim.” This story was further aggravated by the now traditional speculations in the Western media around the cases of Litvinenko, Skripal, Magnitsky and Perepelichny. As always, without trial or investigation, without facts or evidence, Russia and Vladimir Putin personally are to blame for everything.

The Australian television programme didn’t mention it, but we would like to fill the gap and remind everyone that Mr Browder stole over $1.5 billion from Russia and was convicted twice in 2013 and 2017. In February 2018, another criminal case was opened against him by the Russian investigative authorities, which, among other things, focuses on his attempted perjury in a US court during the US versus Prevezon hearings. Browder's activities were commented upon in detail by Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Artyom Kozhin at a briefing on July 26.

http://www.mid.ru/en/press_service/s...:Err,58:17:EZF

In general, this Australian TV show is another example of biased anti-Russia propaganda where the result of a “journalistic investigation” was predetermined, the word was given primarily to one side, the “accuser” (the arguments provided by political scientist Alexander Nekrasov were deliberately ridiculed by the journalist, and Nekrasov was given almost no airtime), while a frightening image of Russia was created through footage manipulation, among other things.

Dirty Money is a vivid example of the professional degradation of Australian television, which willingly gave the floor to William Browder, a businessman with a stained reputation.



The source of information

Euronews’ article 'Russia will help Syrian refugees return from Lebanon'


21 August 2018 - 15:08

Spoiler!

We took note of an article published by Euronews’ Russian desk titled “Russia will help Syrian refugees return from Lebanon,” released following the August 20 talks between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of the Lebanese Republic Gebran Bassil.

The article says that “the Russian minister was critical of the actions by the West and UN agencies, including the UN Security Council and UNHCR, who do everything they can to prevent Syrians from coming to the territories controlled by Bashar al-Assad’s government.” It is telling that Euronews even provided a link to the transcript of Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a relevant news conference on the Foreign Ministry’s website. However, it seems that the reporters did not bother to read this transcript carefully. Otherwise, they would have noticed that Sergey Lavrov did not criticise the UN Security Council, let alone accuse the UN Security Council of attempting to prevent Syrians from returning to the territories controlled by the legitimate Syrian government.

Here is what Sergey Lavrov said: “Of course, we are drawing the attention of the UN Security Council to this situation (meaning the artificial attempts to delay the return of refugees by refusing to contribute to the restoration of Syria’s infrastructure) that does not meet any requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 2254. Considering this absolutely destructive US position, the UN Security Council will hardly be able to make any positive decisions on this issue at this time. We will continue working with the countries who understand the urgency of the measures on returning the refugees and the creation of conditions for this. These are countries that have accepted refugees from Syria (mostly, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey) and the European states that are also coming to realise the need for specific steps to this end. This was confirmed by the recent joint Russian-French humanitarian act on the delivery of cargo to Eastern Ghouta by a Russian aircraft from France and the talks between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Mesenberg the day before yesterday. They discussed Syria and, in particular, the refugee issue.”

As for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, here is what he said at the news conference: “We stated our view that there are other donors besides Western ones, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees should not look like a ‘branch’ of a group of Western countries.”

In this connection, we ask Euronews reporters to keep strictly in line with what was said and avoid interpretations that can be misleading for readers when writing articles on the Foreign Ministry official position. We have sent a number of inquiries to Euronews with a view to stressing the need to verify the accuracy of published materials in a more thorough manner.

http://ru.euronews.com/2018/08/20/ru...ticising-unhcr



The source of information

Article in the Dutch newspaper Trouw on alleged Russian mercenaries abroad

23 August 2018 - 09:18

Spoiler!

On August 2, 2018, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an article by its international news desk head Marno de Boer, saying that journalists risk their lives if they try to dig too deep into Russia’s questionable affairs.

The author says that Russia is playing an unfair foreign policy game in the Middle East as well as on the African continent.

We state that Marno de Boer’s innuendos are groundless. He distorts public information about official Russian military staff and civil instructors abroad; the Foreign Ministry regularly informs the public about them. There is detailed material about Russia’s cooperation with the states mentioned in the article (the Central African Republic, Syria, Sudan, etc), including in foreign languages.

Taking into account the position of the author, it is hard to suspect him of incompetence and a lack of understanding. We believe that the Trouw international news desk head is doing the political and commercial bidding and is involved in nothing else but in producing low-quality fakes.

https://www.trouw.nl/home/huurlingen...rika~accb43bd/



The source of information

Comment on the article “Revealed: Russia’s secret plan to help Julian Assange escape from UK” in The Guardian

21 September 2018 - 19:36

Spoiler!

On September 21, the British newspaper The Guardian published an article entitled, “Revealed: Russia’s secret plan to help Julian Assange escape from UK.” Quoting unnamed sources, the newspaper claims that Russian diplomats held secret talks with Assange’s representatives in London to find out whether they could help him escape from the UK. The article contains many similar Russophobic insinuations.

We would like to emphasise that Russian diplomats have not contacted either the officials at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London or Assange’s representatives with a view to helping him leave Britain. Let’s make a note that attempts to present meetings with Ecuadoran diplomats in the Russian Embassy as part of some conspiracy are beyond criticism. The Russian Embassy in London maintains a broad range of contacts and conducts numerous regular meetings with representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in the UK, which is normal diplomatic practice in any country.

We would also like to quote Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks about the situation involving Assange during the annual news conference on the performance of Russian diplomacy on January 15 of this year: “I fully agree that this problem should definitely be solved in one way or another. We accept the actions taken by the Ecuadorian authorities with understanding. I hope that all other participants, too, will be guided by common sense, including our British and Swedish colleagues, who seem to be ready to display goodwill and finally resolve this problem.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...e_iOSApp_Other



The source of information

[unseen]

The Sun alleges Russia interferes in Libya

22 October 2018 - 14:26

Spoiler!

On October 9, The Sun, a British tabloid, published an article titled “Russia is moving troops and missiles into Libya in a bid to enforce a new stranglehold on the West.” The article purports that Russia is openly carrying out military and political interference in Libya’s domestic affairs, seeking “to make the war-torn North African country ’its new Syria’.” The article is written in an emphatically alarmist style, and is designed to frighten ordinary British readers with a mythical Russian military threat.

The Russian Foreign Ministry would like to emphasise that the British media, including The Sun, are part of a global media campaign to denigrate Russia. In this case, the British title offers a new set of allegations to the international community, this time related to “Russian interference in Libya.” At the same time, just as before, these insinuations lack any logic or supporting evidence.

We reiterate that Russia acts strictly in keeping with the UN Security Council resolutions regarding Libya. In all our undertakings, we focus on collective efforts with all the responsible parties in Libya in the interests of the speedy implementation of the roadmap for national reconciliation, prepared by the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Libya Ghassan Salamé.

We recommend that journalists from the British media rely on first-hand information, including from the Foreign Ministry’s official website, when working on articles on Russian foreign policy.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/744807...libya-warlord/



The source of information

Allegations of Russian diplomats’ interference in Montenegrin politics

14 November 2018 - 13:47

Spoiler!

Montenegro’s pro-government Pobjeda newspaper published an article on November 3 about a Russian diplomat taking part in the constituent meeting of the Podgorica local committee of the True Montenegro party.

The authors claim that attendance of an open meeting of an opposition party’s local committee by a diplomat from the Russian Embassy in Podgorica is contrary to diplomatic practice and amounts to Russian interference in domestic Montenegrin affairs.

We interpret this statement by Montenegrin journalists as an attempt to put pressure on Russian diplomats and tell them who they can associate with and which public events they can attend. This is also an attempt by some Montenegrin journalists to force local politicians and public figures to restrict their association with Russian diplomats.

We would like to remind those who like to expose “Russian imperialism” and claim to be experts on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 that the daily work of diplomats around the world includes “ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving state, and reporting thereon to the government of the sending state.” Attending public events at an official invitation, such as Pobjeda newspaper has reported, is part of this work.

Russian diplomacy has always strictly complied with the fundamental principles of international relations and will continue to do so in the future.

https://www.pobjeda.net/protected/li...l/page-1.html#



The source of information

Danish media whipping up hysteria about alleged secret arms shipments by Russian vessels

16 November 2018 - 13:16

Spoiler!

On November 6, the Danish newspaper Information published an article, “Russian ships secretly transporting hazardous goods through the Great Belt.”

According to Information, the Russian cargo ship Sparta III (owned by the Russian state company Oboronlogistika), heading from St Petersburg to Haiphong, Vietnam, transported weapons through Danish waters without notifying the maritime authorities. The journalists claim that the Russian crew deliberately failed to declare the ship was loaded with military cargo. With reference to some experts, the Danish newspaper has thus planted the Russian arms smuggling topic, adding that other Russian ships are secretly transporting weapons with false documents. The Danish commentators and experts seem especially outraged by Russian smugglers’ choice of that country’s waters.

The Danish Ministry of Defence has responded to this fake. It promptly issued a comment refuting the Information’s report. The military explained to the general public what seafarers know as common truth: the open sea corridors used by the cargo ships mentioned in the article are international waters, and the only place where the Danish authorities had to be notified was the Great Belt strait.

The Sparta III did not violate the procedure for entering data into the international Automatic Identification System (AIS) either, the Danish ministry stressed. The crew provided the necessary information before entering the Great Belt strait in full compliance with international rules. The Danish ministry even pointed out to Information the obvious flaws in its journalistic probe – only the ships’ names, their type and route are entered in the AIS, and there are no requirements to enter information about the cargo.

This time, the anti-Russia fake was exposed by specialists from the Danish Ministry of Defence. All that is left for us to do is to note the low level of professional training of this Danish media outlet’s commentators.

https://www.information.dk/indland/2...ebaelt-skjulte



The source of information

Accusations against Russian instructors in Central African Republic

1 March 2019 - 10:09

Spoiler!

On February 12, 2019, Radio France Internationale published a report titled “Central African Republic: The UN investigates torture accusations against Russians.” This fake was circulated by a number of foreign media outlets.

In this regard we would like to divert categorically such conjectures and insinuations as completely baseless. All known to us so far reports and proceedings distributed among members of the UN Security Council, including confidential ones and with limited public access, do not contain such information.

We would like to point out that the Russian instructors were invited to the Central African Republic by the country’s leadership to provide assistance in the training of Central African troops and law enforcement officers. So far, Russian specialists have trained over 2,000 troops and law enforcement officers in the CAR, who have already started performing urgent tasks involving the protection of civilians, maintaining security and establishing the government’s authority across the entire state.

CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra as well as Minister of National Defence and Reconstruction of the Army Marie-Noëlle Koyara have repeatedly expressed high regard for Russia’s assistance in enhancing the performance of Central African troops.

We believe that the accusations of involvement in the interrogation and torture of a CAR citizen in Bambari laid by Radio France Internationale against the Russian instructors operating in the CAR are defamatory. We would like to specifically point out that the confidential report by the panel of experts on the sanctions against the CAR that Radio France Internationale refers to does not contain any mention of the Russians’ involvement, along with CAR personnel, in any unlawful actions in the territory of the Central African Republic.

In this context, we would like to note recent statements by CAR Minister of Public Security and Territorial Administration Henri Wanzet Linguissara, who in his conversation with a Federal News Agency (Russia) correspondent said that the report about a MINUSCA investigation into torture involving Russian military instructors is a blatant lie. He said that the Mission does not have a mandate to conduct any investigation that is not directly related to the activities of the peacemaking organisation. “As Minister of Public Security, I confirm that the Russians accused of torture are simply instructors and any investigations are within the competence of police and gendarmerie under the jurisdiction of the investigative committee and the court of appeal of Bambari, in this case,” he stressed in an interview with the Federal News Agency.

http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20190212-r...portees-russes



The source of information

Italian media reports on Russian funding in Italian domestic politics

4 March 2019 - 11:53

Spoiler!

On February 24, Italian L'Espresso magazine ran an article entitled “Three Millions for Salvini,” which suggested that the conservative League party led by Matteo Salvini (topping the opinion polls in the Apennines with a 34 per cent support rating before the European Parliament elections) could have received about 3 million euros from Russia’s Rosneft – the sum matching the Russian oil giant’s profit from selling diesel fuel to the Italian state energy company Eni. L’Espresso journalists alleged the money was being injected into the party to promote its victory in the election to the European Parliament.

These ideas were actually expressed in the subjunctive mood, suggesting the writers did not have any reliable data on such a deal. Yet, L’Espresso came to the unequivocal conclusion that since the League’s emissaries often visited Moscow and met with high-ranking representatives of the Russian authorities and the business community, their misuse of Russian financial support must be an obvious fact that did not require any proof.

There is another interesting aspect. Despite the obvious absurdity of the accusations against Russia, the authors of the article are clearly going to put on a multi-act media show. It was announced that The Black Book of the League, disclosing the alleged Russian connections and other crimes by party members, was being prepared for publication in Italy. The publicity announcing the forthcoming book reads: “They support Putin’s course, propagandise the ideas of his philosopher [Alexander] Dugin, call for the lifting of the sanctions imposed against Moscow and, in cooperation with Russian partners, seek to move production to Eurasia.”

The date for setting off this information bomb was certainly not chosen at random. It was right before the regional elections in Sardinia, with the obvious aim of playing the Russian card. The politically-motivated publication in L’Espresso is just an attempt by the Italian press to follow the same track as the American and British media. The idea is not new, and neither is the scenario – it can be safely labelled: “Designed in Washington, assembled in Rome.” What we are now witnessing in the Italian media is the well-tested US scenario of using the mythical threat of Russian interference in internal political affairs. Russia has repeatedly pointed out that there are no facts proving Russia's interference in any foreign presidential elections. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underscored this in his speech at the Munich Security Conference: “One can publish just about anything. We can see growing numbers of accusations, allegations and statements… until we have the facts, everything else is bunk, pardon my not too diplomatic turn of phrase.”

http://espresso.repubblica.it/attual...lvini-1.332104



The source of information

[unseen]

Slanderous articles in the British media

4 March 2019 - 21:10

Spoiler!

The British media reacted to the anniversary of the Salisbury incident with a slew of anti-Russian pieces. For example, the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday published on March 3 the results of its “investigation” into the activities of Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko. The author of the article accused Yakovenko of involvement in espionage during his time at the USSR’s Permanent Mission at the UN in the 1980s. As a key piece of evidence cited is that Yakovenko was awarded a military medal 'For Merits to the Fatherland' in 1996, an accolade often given to spies... for his successful “espionage work.”

Following on the Russian Embassy in London, we confirm the slanderous character of this article.

Yakovenko worked at the Soviet mission at the UN from 1981 to 1986 and came home upon the completion of his foreign posting.

The assertion that the medal “For Merits to the Fatherland” is a military medal betrays the absolute incompetence of the author, who does not know anything about the system of state decorations in Russia.

The substance of the matter is that in 1993-1998 Yakovenko headed the Russian delegations at the talks on the launching of the International Space Station. This was a major international project with the participation of Russia, the US, EU states, Canada and Japan. The talks were successful, resulting in an agreement signed in Washington in 1998. The leaders of the Russian Federation decided to present Yakovenko with the medal “For Merits to the Fatherland, Second Class” for his personal contribution to the complicated multilateral negotiations. Against this backdrop, the link drawn by The Mail on Sunday between the award and spying looks completely absurd.

We hope this article is just an unfortunate misunderstanding by the Mail on Sunday and will be retracted by its Editor-in-Chief Ted Verity before long. Attempts to fan the flames of the artificial anti-Russian spy mania in Britain in the context of the anniversary of the Salisbury incident by discrediting Russia’s highest representative in the UK are unacceptable.

The conspiracy theorists from The Times dreamed even bigger. On March 3 the newspaper published a report entitled “Establishment flocks to dine at Kremlin-linked Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.” In their telling, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS) is an international spying organisation of the Kremlin whose networks directly threaten the highest echelons of the British aristocracy this time. To support this claim, the author of the article makes what he thinks is a rock-solid argument – the IOPS is headed by former FSB chief Sergey Stepashin while Russian Ambassador to the UK Yakovenko takes part in its public activities in London.

Founded in 1882, the IOPS is one of the oldest and most reputable organisations in the world. After the 1918 October revolution it was renamed the Russian Palestine Society and placed under the USSR Academy of Sciences. After the collapse of the USSR it continued its activities under its original historical name Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. Since its foundation the IOPS has had the same areas of focus: Middle East scholarship, humanitarian cooperation with the peoples of the Middle East and support for Orthodox pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It has never had and cannot by definition have anything to do with “spy games.”

The fanning of anti-Russian popular sentiment by the British media is reaching dizzying heights, calling to mind the anti-Soviet propaganda of McCarthy-era America and the unforgettable quote from those times: “The Russians are coming! They are right around. I’ve seen Russian soldiers.”

To sum up, there is every indication that our ambassador in London is being harassed by media controlled by the UK establishment. As such, it is possible that additional slanderous articles about Yakovenko will appear.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...pelled-US.html

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/n...iety-2zmg8dbkb



The source of information

Regarding a Nezavisimaya Gazeta article on Transnistria

5 March 2019 - 17:49

Spoiler!

We are compelled to respond to an article by the director of the newspaper’s coverage of politics in countries of Russia's near abroad, Svetlana Gamova, on Moldovan and Transnistrian issues entitled “Moldova may open a second Transnistrian front,” published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta on February 20 of this year. This article contains many factual errors.

The following excerpts require revision:

1) “The sides have agreed to mutual recognition of the diplomas of Moldovan and Transnistrian universities.” However, the signed protocol does not endorse such recognition but only the authentication of diplomas of Taras Shevchenko Transnistria State University by the Ministry of Education of Moldova;

2) “They built a bridge across the river that was destroyed way back in 1992.” This bridge was built in Soviet times and repaired in 2012. The relevant protocol provides for the official opening of traffic on it;

3) “The trilateral peacekeeping mission.” This name is incorrect because Ukrainian observers take part in this mission along with Moldova, Transnistria and Russia; OSCE representatives also participate in the work of the United Control Commission (UCC);

4) “Additional Moldovan military units are ready to enter the Security Zone.” A Moldovan delegation refuted this rumour two weeks ago and presented on the following day written assurances that Moldova does not intend to take this action;

5) “Just before, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Republic of Moldova announced the doubling of polling stations in the Security Zone, once again without informing the UCC about this.” On the contrary, on February 13, the CEC of the Republic of Moldova announced the withdrawal of practically all polling stations from the Security Zone to Moldovan territory.

We were perplexed by some of the conclusions reached by the journalist. For example, Gamova claims that "the 5+2 negotiating format may trigger a new conflict on the Dniester," implying that Russia – a participant in this format, as well as a mediator and guarantor of the Transnistrian settlement process – will encourage armed clashes. Such a statement shows that the author fundamentally misunderstands the issue, or writes with the intention of provoking.

Chisinau, the article alleges, “is changing the formula of dialogue with Transnistria.” Moldovan leaders have regularly made similar statements since 2012 but without any results.

We believe that these facts show that Gamova was irresponsible in her preparation of this article for print and does not understand the complicated political situation in the region, particularly given that the piece was published ahead of the parliamentary election in Moldova on February 24. We hope this was not a piece of deliberate disinformation addressed to the world public during the election campaign, which could undermine trust in this Russian publication.

http://www.ng.ru/cis/2019-02-20/6_7513_front.html



The source of information

Critique of Russia’s law against fake news by Algemeen Dagblad

27 March 2019 - 09:15

Spoiler!

On March 12, 2019, the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad published an article titled ‘Russia introduces steep fines for insulting the country and politicians’ (Rusland kondigt torenhoge boetes aan voor beledigen van land en politici). The piece contains a number of critical observations regarding a law that has been recently adopted in Russia to tighten penalties for spreading fake news, as well as introduce a system of fines for those insulting Russian government institutions or state symbols.

For instance, the article’s author Joost Bosman claims that “legal initiatives designed to fight fake news in Russia can be compared to a bartender trying to fight alcohol abuse in his own bar: there is an agency in St Petersburg from where trolls spread lies throughout the world 24/7 using social media.”

By accusing Russia head-on of making fakes, the journalist in turn contributes to spreading inaccurate information by once again raising the subject of the so-called Olgino trolls, which has become a meme within Russia’s media community. As is always the case with fake news, Joost Bosman neither provided the address nor the telephone numbers of the St Petersburg agency, and did not refer to any sources.

Joost Bosman also shared his assumptions on the alleged plans by the Russian government to use the new law as a tool for suppressing the opposition and eliminating dissent in Russia.

If Joost Bosman closely follows political developments in Russia, we believe that he should refrain from distorting the reality and twisting facts about the Russian opposition that is broadly represented in the country’s political and social life, and has access to a wide range of media outlets for expressing its point of view.

https://www.ad.nl/buitenland/rusland...tici~ace5f349/



The source of information

False publication in London newspaper Al Arab

27 March 2019 - 10:39

Spoiler!

On March 9, 2019, London’s Arabic-language daily Al Arab published an article, Russian Book of Suggestions in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.

At the beginning of the article, without giving any references, the author took the liberty of employing the generic phrase traditionally used in many commissioned articles and in fake news: “As reported by the Russian sources,” and then gave a prefabricated false statement that Sergey Lavrov allegedly expressed “dismay” over the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s visit to Tehran.

We believe that this provocative false information was planted in the context of an information war launched against the legitimate Syrian authorities by well-known countries, the so-called global coalition, who witnessed the defeat of the militants under their wardship on the ground and who now continue to drive a wedge between the states participating in the multi-format productive cooperation within the framework of the Astana process to ensure the settlement of the Syrian conflict.

https://alarab.co.uk/دفتر-استدراج-ال...سط



The source of information

Disinformation spread by some Israeli media outlets

19 April 2019 - 18:37

Spoiler!

On April 14, a number of Israeli media outlets published reports to the effect that Russian representatives allegedly took Eli Cohen’s remains out of Syria. An agent of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, he was executed in Damascus in 1965.

We can confirm that these reports are blatant disinformation. We urge Israeli journalists to adhere to the highest standards of accuracy, professionalism and honesty in covering such sensitive subjects. It is necessary to recognise that responsibility for the potential consequences of this provocation rests not only with its organisers but also with its executors.

https://www.mako.co.il/news-world/ar...d7d1a61004.htm

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261851

http://www.newsru.co.il/mideast/15apr2019/koen_701.html

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/...-Report-586858



The source of information

[unseen]

Another anti-Russian piece in the British media

26 April 2019 - 13:23

Spoiler!

A piece of “investigative journalism” about the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and last year’s election of its head was published in a Sunday edition of Britain’s The Financial Times on April 4.

This article charges our country with under-the-table dealings, pressure on national delegations and machinations which, according to the author, make it possible for Russia to remain a leader in the world of chess.

The great Soviet grandmaster Mikhail Botvinnik was right when he said that chess players live and operate in a world permeated with politics.

It appears that the people from The Financial Times judge others by themselves. Russia has no need to resort to the methods they describe, as our country has a rightful place among the leading chess powers. Alexander Alekhin, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Viktor Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Sergey Karyakin are the greatest Russian and Soviet chess players, and the world knows their names.

Also, we dismiss the claims about the "pressure" allegedly exerted by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the national delegations. Informing partners about a national candidate for a particular position at an international organisation is common practice. Organising such work is a part of the direct professional duties of the Russian and other diplomats, including in the context of FIDE. Seeing such work as “pressure” means confusing responsible journalism with blatant propaganda.

We consider the article in The Financial Times as another inappropriate attempt to politicise this game, which does not meet the interests of the international chess community. Releasing such fakes, The Financial Times simply fulfils an order by the British establishment and works to increase the “toxicity” of the information background surrounding Russia. Moreover, this is done to the detriment of an objective and unbiased coverage of sports events, in this case, chess.

https://www.ft.com/content/f4d0dfea-...9-b6515a54c5b1



The source of information

Misinformation in the Maltese media

13 May 2019 - 13:55

Spoiler!

On April 18, citing the London-based office of the US internet portal BuzzFeed News, a number of Maltese media outlets published reports, the content of which boils down to what is said in the title of an article published by a local newspaper, Times of Malta: “Russia tried to acquire tear gas, riot gear from Malta.” Officials suspected that the plan was to send them to Venezuela on a military ship.

Maltese journalists blindly reproduced the insinuations of their American colleagues. Statements by the usual anonymous Maltese government figure, the content of the allegedly intercepted diplomatic correspondence between the Russian diplomatic mission and representatives of Malta, as well as a random set of data about the Russian Embassy in Valletta were cited as sources.

We would like to emphasise that the Russian diplomatic mission in Valletta operates in strict accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Russian diplomats do not take part in any covert special operations. The Maltese authorities provided no official comments to the Russian Embassy in Malta.

We believe that the misinformation spread by the Maltese media is an example of a lack of professionalism and an echo of the anti-Russian hysteria, the fanning of which is not in the interests of Russian-Maltese friendship.

https://www.timesofmalta.com/article...as-riot.707683



The source of information

The Italian media’s attempts to play the “Russian card” in the run-up to the European election

13 May 2019 - 13:58

Spoiler!

On April 6, the national Italian newspaper Repubblica published an article by Claudio Gatti entitled “How Russia is trying to influence the foreign policy of European countries” which provides details of a journalistic investigation carried out jointly with the British BBC, the German ZDF and Spiegel.

The anti-Russian accusations made by the author are based on a copy of an email distributed by the Dossier Centre owned by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. This email was allegedly sent to the Foreign Policy Directorate at the Presidential Executive Office in April 2017, by an Assistant to a State Duma Deputy, Pyotr Premyak.

Gatti indicates, however, that he does not have reliable data about the Northern league or the Five Star Movement joining the “Moscow network.” But as indirect evidence, he points to the visits by representatives of these two political parties to Russia, their calls to lift the anti-Russian sanctions, and their “attempts” to normalise relations with Bashar al-Assad, as well as their posting of material by the Russian media, such as RT and Sputnik, on their official party websites. As an argument in defence of his conspiracy theory, the author also cites a 2017 memorandum on cooperation between the Italian Northern League and United Russia. In closing, the author tries to “draw parallels” with the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the United States, who found no evidence of Russia's interference in Trump’s election campaign, but stated that “attempts by the Russian special services did take place.”

In connection with such publications, we would like to once again point out that our country strictly observes the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of foreign states, including Italy. We regard the attempts to whip up an imaginary Russian threat in the context of the internal political struggle in the run-up to the May election in the EU as dishonest practices by certain Italian media.

https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubb...tml?ref=search



The source of information

Anti-Russia attacks in the media of the Central African Republic

15 May 2019 - 15:05

Spoiler!

An article titled “Locals in Mbaïki stop short of lynching Russians” appeared in Le Democrate, a newspaper of the Central African Republic, twice, first on April 30 and then on May 2, 2019. The media is spreading misinformation regarding the work of Russian instructors in the country who are, in fact, tasked with training the country’s military. The article also contains far-fetched interpretations of the killing of Russian journalists in the Central African Republic in July 2018, and some of its paragraphs distort the real nature of economic relations between Moscow and Bangui, in particular regarding the extraction of diamonds and other minerals.

We would like to reiterate that Russian instructors in the Central African Republic operate in strict compliance with the intergovernmental agreements, and have been praised by local authorities. Russia and the Central African Republic have been stepping up their economic cooperation in a proactive and mutually beneficial manner.

We strongly believe that the authors of Russophobic articles of this kind are influenced by attitudes imposed from the outside. The article published by Le Democrate distorts facts and spreads fake news. Those behind this publication are clearly seeking to harm bilateral ties between Russia and the Central African Republic and to undermine their positive momentum.



The source of information

Misinformation in US media regarding Idlib, Syria

22 May 2019 - 12:11

Spoiler!

On May 6, 2019, The Washington Post published an article titled “Escalating Syrian and Russian airstrikes in rebel-held Idlib stoke fears of a final showdown,” accusing the Russian and Syrian military of intentionally targeting with airstrikes “hospitals and other civilian infrastructure” in Idlib Province, Syria. The authors try to shock their readers, suggesting that a humanitarian disaster is inevitable and pointing to the massive outflow of civilians from the area of the alleged hostilities. The article contains unsupported claims that about 200,000 people fled to the north of Idlib, where the situation is relatively calm.

It is telling that apart from the usual technique of citing anonymous sources, which has become all too common for Western propaganda, this article went further by omitting some facts. Its authors from The Washington Post did not say a word about what actually caused all this distress in the Idlib Province, a region that is ruled by international terrorists, recognised as such by the UN Security Council as well as US national law. This relates primarily to the successors of Jabhat al-Nusra from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Its fighters have not joined the ceasefire that was established under the Astana agreements, regularly shelling communities across the perimeter of the de-escalation zone, including residential neighbourhoods of Aleppo, causing multiple civilian casualties, and attacking Syrian army checkpoints. The terrorists have used drones and multiple rocket launchers on numerous occasions to target Russian military sites in Khmeimim. However, Washington prefers to turn a blind eye to these embarrassing facts that are left out of the “journalist investigation.” The same applies to the statements made by the Russian and Syrian military, which firmly refute the accusations of damaging civilian infrastructure in retaliatory action to eliminate the terrorists who have crossed all possible lines.

It can be argued that the misinformation campaign we are currently witnessing has been initiated by the US government. As a matter of fact, keeping the so-called Idlib enclave intact would benefit Washington. The goal is quite obvious: to tie up a substantial part of government troops along the perimeter of the Idlib de-escalation zone and prevent Damascus from restoring control over the entire territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. The United States is trying to artificially slow down the elimination of international terrorists in Syria, prolong the armed confrontation and put the brakes on the settlement and normalisation processes. In doing so, the US gets a pretext for maintaining its own military presence in the country, preventing the legitimate Syrian government from accessing the rich natural resources on the other side of the Euphrates and creating obstacles for the free movement of people and goods along the international road linking Damascus and Baghdad, since it goes through the US-occupied Al-Tanf region.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.4e403db9befc



The source of information

[unseen]

Misinformation in Colombian and Argentine media

27 May 2019 - 16:13

Spoiler!

At the beginning of April, the Argentine media portal Infobae reprinted an article from the Colombian weekly Semana dated November 29, 2014, Russian espionage in the world, with a new title, Exposed Russian spies’ attempts to steal strategic information from Colombia. Semana also reprinted its old material on March 31, also with a new headline: Tentacles of Russian espionage in Latin America.

Neither of the recent reports contains anything new; they simply repeat the ‘exclusive’ Colombian story from five years ago and seem to be replicating the conspiracy theory of an alleged global Russian information intelligence programme, codenamed “Planet,” operating since 2003. The writers assure their readers that mystical Russian hackers are targeting the military, political, economic, and science and technology information contained on public and private carriers. Anonymous representatives from the special services are traditionally quoted to support the story.

It is in this tone that they report that government offices in Mexico City have been subjected to cyber attacks from Russia for many years; that traces of Russian hacker activity were also found in the Colombian city of Medellin; and that massive attacks on law enforcement computers from Russian IP addresses have allegedly been recorded in Argentina.

The absurdity of these claims against Russia is obvious. First, the story provides no evidence that the supercomputer network mentioned actually exists. The investigation sources are anonymous. The highlighted “facts” don't hold up even against the most superficial criticism and they clearly target an unprepared audience. In particular, cyber attacks on the Argentine Defence Ministry in 2017 are attributed to Russia only because they were committed from IP addresses located on the territory of the Russian Federation – when it's generally known that there is no possibility of objectively and reliably establishing the sources of such actions.

Another weighty argument that such charges against Russia are unsustainable is the absence of any official complaints against the Russian Federation by state bodies in Mexico or Argentina, the alleged long-time targets of Russian hacker attacks.

It is indicative that this artificial round of the anti-Russia spy fever in the South American media has been launched amid the ongoing hysteria in Washington over Russia’s military technical cooperation with Venezuela – hence the persistence in creating an enemy image embodied by Russia to scare ordinary citizens in South American and Caribbean countries who for the most part have no prejudice or suspicion against us.

There is an interesting technical detail regarding the story – since January 2019, Colombian Semana is half owned by London-based Colombian businessman Jaime Gilinski Bacal who is a US Harvard University graduate, and Argentine Infobae has a content-sharing contract with the Washington Post and is considered a pro-American portal in the region.

We believe that the reprints of the Semana weekly’s provocative article from five years ago are part of the efforts by the anti-Russia forces in South America to create a negative image of Russia and undermine its political and economic standing in the region. Also, dirty campaign techniques are being used to discredit Russia’s international authority – disseminating Russophobic rumours and fantasies. We believe that the residents of South American countries that are friendly to Russia will not buy these attempts to falsify the truth but will draw the right conclusions about unscrupulous journalists reprinting old fake news.

https://www.infobae.com/america/colo...a-en-colombia/

https://www.semana.com/nacion/articu...-latina/607623

https://www.semana.com/mundo/articul...mundo/410748-3



The source of information

[unseen]

The Irish Times spreads fake news

3 July 2019 - 14:02

Spoiler!

On June 24, The Irish Times ran an article entitled “Russians suspected of spreading fake news about Northern Ireland.” The article presents the findings of an “investigation” by the Digital Forensic Research Laboratory (DFRLab) at the Atlantic Council that suggest Russian intelligence services have allegedly used fake accounts and dozens of online platforms to spread false information in the form of fake emails, tweets, etc. It appears Russia is being blamed for posting divisive and inflammatory content “in a bid to stir tensions within and between countries, including Ireland and the UK.”

The fact that journalists writing for a respected publication rely on materials from the Atlantic Council and affiliated platforms puts the credibility of the data they publish into question. It is no secret that this “independent think-tank” financed by the foreign policy and defence departments of the United States, Great Britain and a number of other NATO member countries serves the political interests of the North Atlantic Alliance (while Ireland is not a NATO member). By referring to such individuals as DFRLab senior researcher and well-known Russophobe Ben Nimmo, who, by the way, had previously worked for the NATO press office, The Irish Times is jeopardising its own reputation as an independent media outlet. We believe that this Irish newspaper has revealed itself to be a tool in the dirty information war against Russia. As it accuses Moscow of spreading fakes, the publication itself is replicating inaccurate information.

We consider the statements made in the DFRLab investigation and reprinted by The Irish Times to be slanderous and groundless. Paranoid claims about creating fake accounts, forging tweets and emails are not supported by any facts or specific evidence. As before, “highly likely” is the sole argument provided by the Western propaganda machine.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...hers-1.3935125

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...land-1.3935137



The source of information

[unseen]

Anti-Russia propaganda in the Albanian media

23 July 2019 - 15:57

Spoiler!

Both pro-government and opposition media in Albania published a number of articles mentioning the would-be Russian connections of the country’s president and prime minister, as well as “Kremlin’s meddling” in Western Balkan’s domestic political processes.

For example, Sot and Tema newspapers referred to Albanian President, Ilir Meta, as “Putin’s man” and the “champion of Russian scenarios” destabilising the Balkans. The evidence to support this yet another conspiracy theory consists of the fact that the head of state is mentioned by Sputnik, a “pro-Kremlin propaganda mouthpiece,” as well as his long interview in 2018 with Mikhail Gusman, Deputy Director General of TASS News Agency. Therefore, the Albanian media regards the very fact of talking with Russian journalists as “serving Moscow’s interests.”

Beginning July 9, 2019, i.e. after the conversation between North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Russian prankers was made public, the suggestion that Russia was behind the idea of the land swap between Belgrade and Pristina as part of the alleged “Moscow’s anti-Albanian foreign policy” resurfaced in the Albanian media. The words of the Macedonian politician whereby “Russia and Turkey could be interested in benefiting from this dangerous precedent” were presented as if Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama was serving “the hostile interests of the Russians and Serbs, the historical enemies of Kosovo and the Albanian people.” One can only guess how the Albanian media became so brash and ready to accuse both politicians in power and their opponents of “serving Russia’s interests.”

Unfortunately, there is nothing new in the attempts to play the Russian card in Albania’s political infighting. We can recall the fake report in 2018 on the alleged funding by Russian businessmen of the Democratic Party, an opposition force, during the 2017 parliamentary election. This fake was based on publications in Mother Jones, a US magazine affiliated with George Soros. The Albanian media went on to spread the message that Moscow was to blame for the destructive actions by the opposition, and orchestrated all protest movements in the Balkans. We have to point out that media outlets controlled by political forces loyal to the United States often come up with accusations that are not backed by anything.

The escalating anti-Russia rhetoric amid political infighting in Albania proves once again that the country’s authorities and the media they control are ready to join in the global information campaign that was unleashed against Russia. They use all the available tools that were developed in the West to this effect, including spreading fake news that are not backed by anything on funds obtained by politicians and election campaigns, as well as messages on Russian security services meddling in the political processes in other countries.

https://sot.com.al/politike/ilir-met...levizionin-rus

https://sot.com.al/politike/sponsori...-kucove-pritet

https://www.gazetatema.net/2019/07/1...rimin-pro-rus/

https://www.gazetatema.net/2019/06/2...dhi-shume-lek/

https://www.gazetatema.net/en/dps-ru...llar-payments/

https://www.gazetatema.net/2019/07/1...dron-pas-tyre/

https://sot.com.al/politike/ndikimi-...hte-ne-krye-te

https://www.kohajone.com/2019/07/09/...e-babloku-rus/

https://www.kohajone.com/2019/07/12/...ike-ne-kosove/



The source of information

New round of misinformation in Western media

24 July 2019 - 16:16

Spoiler!

On July 15, 2019 police in Italy released a report on the detention of Italian extremists. The original statement says that “the Turin headquarters had under their surveillance people connected to extreme right political movements who fought in Donbass against pro-independence activists.” On July 16, the text was amended (to read “had taken part in an armed conflict in Ukraine’s Donbass region”). Nevertheless, in their coverage of the report Western news agencies and media outlets (Reuters, CNN, NBC, the Guardian, BBC, CBS) presented the news story as a raid on radicals who took part in hostilities “alongside Russian-backed separatist forces.”

The Western media outlets treated primary sources in a frivolous and irresponsible manner, which testifies to their lack of professionalism. Since this is an extremely sensitive subject, we can conclude that the deception was intentional and designed to promote pro-Western approaches to the conflict in Ukraine among the general public. We believe this to be tantamount to brainwashing the audience in order to link the conflict in Donbass to Russia by using any news story, even the least suitable one.

This is a clear example of biased Western media trampling upon the fundamental principles of journalism in their quest for scoring points here and now in the propaganda effort unleashed against Russia. We view articles of this kind as a system-wide attempt to mislead the audience.

We hope that respectful news titles will pay more attention to what they publish in the future in order not to distort or manipulate facts, either intentionally or inadvertently.

You can find Maria Zakharova’s piece here: https:///2JU7KAs

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-i...-idUSKCN1UA1T0

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/15/e...ntl/index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/i...aques-n1029916

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-weapons-cache

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48987723



The source of information

Another anti-Russian article in Dutch media

15 August 2019 - 12:38

Spoiler!

On August 9, the Dutch daily De Telegraaf published an article titled “Russians” threatening Dutch F-16 pilots’ wives.” Citing “intelligence agencies’ classified data,” the newspaper reports that Russian security services threatened NATO military officers in the Baltic countries. These threats were allegedly made against the families of Dutch F16 fighter pilots stationed in Lithuania in 2017.

The largest Dutch newspaper cites anonymous witnesses who supposedly received calls from people who spoke “with a strong Russian accent” as evidence. The fact that the accent was identified as Russian instead of Slavic or Eastern European can serve as proof that subjective information was deliberately spread to damage Russia’s reputation. In addition, the newspaper cites “credible data of the Dutch military intelligence service MIVD that cannot be disclosed,” so there is no way to determine if it is authentic. We regret to say that once again the lack of evidence has not prevented the publication of a clearly anti-Russian article full of propaganda fakes.

We regard De Telegraaf’s article as a piece of unverified information intentionally planted to discredit Russia. We regard these paranoid statements about “the Russian threat” implanted into the consciousness of the Western public as slanderous and groundless.

https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/8380...-f-16-vliegers



The source of information

Publications on Afghanistan’s presidential election of September 28, 2019

15 August 2019 - 17:19

Spoiler!

Recently, a number of media outlets have reported that Russia is backing former National Security Advisor to the President of Afghanistan Haneef Atmar as presidential candidate in the election scheduled for September 28 and allegedly has directed about $60 million to his campaign.

The authors and the publications they work for do not bother to present evidence to support their claims, but rely instead entirely on rumour and speculation. And they are open about it in their reporting. The position taken by the journalists is surprising, and their motives are hard to understand, because there is no truth to the claims. We see these articles as an attempt to turn certain political forces in Afghanistan against Russia.

It can be stated with certainty that Russia has not and will not support any candidates in the upcoming presidential election in Afghanistan, as it is a purely domestic affair. However, we are closely following developments in the country and hope that political processes unfolding there will ultimately lead to lasting peace and national accord.

http://www.ng.ru/world/2019-08-01/10...stan010819.htm



The source of information

[unseen]

False publication on The Insider

10 September 2019 - 21:13

Spoiler!

The website Insider considers the statistics published by the official spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry to be “fake.” The statistics are regarding the situation in Donbass that are based on OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine reports for July 31 to August 18, 2019. It called the information on the listed 1,887 ceasefire violations and 499 cases of opening fire “absurd.”

We would like to draw the Insider’s attention to what experts know well - in its statistics on ceasefire violations, the SMM counts every shot and lists the number of cases of opening fire regardless of the number of shots, volleys or salvoes.

We would like to emphasise that the statistics presented in the table are verified and based on the SMM's reports, most of which are open to public access. We would also like to note that Russia has repeatedly drawn the SMM’s attention to the need to also generalise the information on civilian casualties and the items of civilian infrastructure that are destroyed.

So it is the Insider that produced “fake” news. Do your homework.

https://theins.ru/antifake/174501



The source of information

A slanderous article in Italian Corriere della Sera

13 September 2019 - 17:40

Spoiler!

The leading Italian daily, Corriere della Sera, published an article entitled, “Savoini-Salvini, the ‘third man’ has diplomatic immunity,” on September 6.

The article reanimates the story about Russia allegedly financing the League Party led by former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini (we published a rebuttal earlier: http://www.mid.ru/nedostovernie-publ...ynamic=novelty). The article claims that an employee of the Russian embassy in Rome, “39-year-old Andrey Kharchenko of Azerbaijani descent,” took part in a meeting at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow, where, allegedly, the corresponding arrangements were made.

Interestingly, the Italian edition cites materials from the US news website Buzzfeed. As you may be aware, this site was created in 2006 as an online entertainment resource. It is also interesting that the author of the article went to the Russian Embassy in Italy for a comment on September 5 at 5:54 p.m., 6 minutes before the embassy closed for the day, clearly hoping that the diplomatic mission would simply not have time to refute this slanderous report.

Taking this opportunity, we would like to inform Corriere della Sera that a first secretary by the name of Andrey Kharchenko does work at the embassy. However, he is only 32 years old, as distinct from the person mentioned in the article.

We believe that the main purpose of the article was to impose a Russophobic agenda on readers and demonise Russia against the background of an ongoing investigation.

We urge the newspaper to wait for the Italian authorities’ official findings and not to circulate insinuations.

We expect an official retraction of the libelous information in this article, as well as an apology to the Russian diplomat.



The source of information

Spy hysteria on Swiss television

18 September 2019 - 17:16

Spoiler!

On September 9, the French-language channel RTS broadcast an interview with one Sergey Zhirnov (Sergei Jirnov), who now lives in France and claims to be a former KGB agent operating outside Russia under an assumed identity. He says that over the past 20 years Russian spying in Switzerland has grown in scale (there are dozens of Russian spies who have assumed the identities of nationals of third countries) and nature (became outright “aggressive”).

It is regrettable that RTS has opted to revitalise the rumour of Russian espionage which the Swiss media was puffing up in the summer and autumn of 2018. A year ago, the spy scandal was stirred up so as to present Moscow as an enemy and to alarm people with the alleged Russian threat. In November 2018, the problem was settled following interagency consultations. We would like to remind everyone that both sides stated at a news conference following talks between the foreign ministers of Russia and Switzerland, held in Geneva on November 28, 2018, that the espionage page in bilateral relations had been turned.

Also, we would like to point out that no concrete facts or sound evidence have been provided in Zhirnov’s interview. We reject Zhirnov’s accusations as slander.

The broadcasting of absurd and unverifiable allegations is damaging Russian-Swiss relations. We urge RTS to choose its sources more carefully so as not to mislead the Swiss audience.



The source of information