ROME, February 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister said Tuesday that press freedom should not be used to whip up inter-ethnic or religious tension or give terrorists a pretext for their actions.
Commenting on controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that have sparked violence protests in many countries, Sergei Lavrov said, "Such scandals will not help to find solution to the Iranian issue and other conflict situations."
At a meeting with his Italian counterpart, Gianfranco Fini, he said "there is the principle of press freedom, which must be firm."
"On the other hand, press freedom must not be used for instigating tensions and untying the hands of terrorists," the minister said.
"I do not know what guides publishing houses that print such cartoons," he said. "Maybe [it is down to] a desire to increase circulation."
The cartoons depicting Islam's main prophet, an act that is prohibited under Islamic law, were originally published in a Danish newspaper in September and subsequently republished in several other countries, causing a wave of anger across the Muslim world. Over the weekend, Danish and EU diplomatic premises in the Middle East were attacked by protesters.
Lavrov said that freedom press must not be commercialized under any circumstances.
The Italian foreign minister said he fully agreed with his Russian counterpart.
