Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Council of Europe Prefers Megaphone Diplomacy for Communications

JAKARTA - The European Council has chosen the path of 'megaphone diplomacy' in its communications with Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

"The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a request from the Russian media for comment on a letter from the Secretary General of the European Council Marija Pejcinovic Buric to Sergei Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister), regarding our country's compliance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights," Zakharova said in a statement, quoted by TASS, December 14.

"Unfortunately, the European Council has taken the path of 'megaphone diplomacy' in communicating with us. Strasbourg hastened to publish and published this letter almost simultaneously with its delivery to Russian officials," Zakharova criticized.

Zakharova noted, "before talking about the essence of the message, it must be studied carefully."

According to Zakharova, the aim of the move was "to show how it appears that the Council of Europe cares about human rights in Russia, while Russia, on the other hand, is 'avoiding' its international obligations."

"This clearly shows that this is not a desire for meaningful dialogue with our country, but just another propaganda campaign," she stressed.

"What remains from the equation is the fact that this organization, with its own hands, with the aim of appeasing the Russophobic majority, has destroyed the common legal and humanitarian space on the continent, making it impossible for Russia to become a member of the Council of Europe and participate in the organization's main conventions it," concluded Zahkarova.

It is known that Russia stopped being a member of the European Council in March, having previously joined on February 28, 1996, as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.