Moscow summons French ambassador – RT in French
Russian diplomacy summoned the French ambassador in Moscow on September 18 to denounce the discrimination suffered by Russian journalists, accusing Paris of having roughed up correspondents during the G20 summit in India.
French Ambassador to Moscow Pierre Levy was summoned by the Russian Foreign Ministry due to “discriminatory and blatantly Russophobic actions by representatives of the French authorities against RIA Novosti correspondents and the editor-in-chief of Russia Newsat the G20 summit in New Delhi,” Russian diplomacy said on September 18 in a press release.
The latter had in fact “been brutally refused access to a press conference by French President (Emmanuel) Macron”, specifies the Russian ministry.
Paris brushed aside Zakharova’s demands for an apology
On September 10, in New Delhi, a correspondent from the information portal Russia News was in fact refused access to Emmanuel Macron’s press conference. An incident that she had filmed.
According to RIA Novosti, several of its journalists had also suffered such refusal, under the pretext that the room was full. “According to security officials, only the French press is authorized to enter the room. Many Indian and Western journalists were unable to attend the press conference,” the Russian press agency reported at the time.
In a message published on September 11 on her Telegram channel, Maria Zakharova denounced “racial discrimination and a violation of democratic principles” as well as a “witch hunt” in the information space led by Paris. The spokesperson for Russian diplomacy then demanded an apology from Paris, stressing that the AFP had not been refused access to Sergei Lavrov’s press conference during the G20.
“We have no comment on the statements of the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is well known for her excesses,” French diplomacy reacted on September 11, during a press briefing, to a question asked about this incident.
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