Russia says Western ambassadors are meddling in Russia’s affairs
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Russia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday accused Western ambassadors in Moscow of meddling in Russia’s internal affairs and said their behaviour raised questions about the point of such envoys.
The war in Ukraine has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that it risks provoking a nuclear war if Western troops are sent to fight in Ukraine.
Russia was dismayed by what Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on March 4 was a refusal by European Union ambassadors to meet him for a conversation ahead of Russia’s March 15-17 presidential election.
There was no immediate reaction to Lavrov’s statement from the Western ambassadors.
Asked by Russian state television anchor Vladimir Solovyov if the EU ambassadors understood their function, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said their refusal to meet Lavrov raised questions about their role.
“The question indeed arises among everyone: what are they doing, and why, how do they interpret their conduct on the territory of our country if they do not perform their most important function?” Zakharova said.
