Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit France on June 29. During the negotiations, the Foreign Ministers will discuss the joint fight against terrorism, bilateral cooperation and the crisis in Syria.
"The foreign ministers will exchange opinions on Russia-EU relations. In this context, the discussion will likely include the possible consequences of the UK referendum on leaving the European Union," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
On the situation in Syria
The Al-Nusra Front and Daesh terrorists continue to terrorize local residents in Syria despite the ceasefire.
According to some media reports, terrorists are using Chlorine gas against civilians.
Russia is continuing to provide Syrian citizens with the humanitarian aid, despite terrorists' efforts to interrupt the peace process.
"We continue to work with humanitarian organizations and with UN organizations with the purpose of providing Syrian residents with humanitarian aid," Zakharova said.
There should not be any speculation regarding the dire humanitarian situation in the country. But some Western countries continue doing this. "Sanctions imposed against Syria by the US and some European countries seriously harm the humanitarian situation in the country," she added.
"We believe the difficult situation in Syrian needs to consolidate all patriotic forces in the country," Zakharova told journalists during the press briefing.
We consider the recapture of Fallujah as a victory for Iraqi forces. It's important for the future and better life of all Iraqi people, Zakharova said.
On Washington Post publication
"The Washington Post has posted an article about the alleged harassment of American diplomats in Russia. We received a lot of mail and people were outraged; that's why we couldn't refuse to react," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Allegations of US diplomats being harassed in Russia are not true, she said Tuesday, adding that US intelligence agencies exert an undue amount of pressure on Russian diplomats in the United States.
"This publication is shallow, this publication does not reflect the real picture, it was prepared hastily, it was prepared [according to] hearsay. If you want an example of propaganda, here is the Washington Post’s publication," Zakharova said.
The Western media remains quiet when Russian diplomats are harassed overseas. Instead of improving the situation, however, they turned it upside down.
"Our Russian diplomats constantly face provocations from the FBI and the CIA. In particular, the staff of the aforementioned bodies do not hesitate to apply what includes illegal measures on our diplomats, and psychological pressure in the presence of their families," Zakharova stressed.
If you want proof, one of the experts the Washington Post cited was Michael McFaul, who failed in his role as US ambassador to Russia.
McFaul called Russia a savage country, a term he repeated throughout his tenure.
|This publication was discussed during the State Department briefing. This behavior aggravates Russia-US relations. Let me remind that the US declared that anti-Russian sanctions are aimed at destabilizing Russia.
"It's not us who's worsening the bilateral relations," Zakharova said.
On Ankara-Moscow relations
The Turkish side has taken important steps to normalize relations with Russia. We will monitor] the developments in this field.
On Brexit referendum
The Russian position is very clear — this is an internal affair of Great Britain. It is not our business; there are no double standards in our position.
"As for results and consequences — this decision hasn't been formalized. What should be done — we should wait until the public decision will be formalized by the British government. Only after that can we speak about the Russian reaction. As far as we understand, this decision will affect the European Union. In any case, we are for the development of cooperation with the EU and United Kingdom," Zakharova said.
