ADDS REMARKS BY ZAKHAROVA ON POSSIBLE SETTLEMENT OF ISRAELI- PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned France on Wednesday that long-range missiles from Paris that were transferred to Ukraine may strike the French Embassy in Moscow.
Zakharova, at a news conference in Moscow, slammed a statement by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who said Monday that he ordered the transfer of at least 10 long-range Scalp missiles to Ukraine in the hope that Kyiv would be able to carry out strikes with them "beyond the frontline," meaning in Russian territory.
"I would like to say this to Sebastien Lecornu: When the Kyiv regime strikes 'beyond the frontline,' let's hope it does not hit the French Embassy (in Moscow)," she said.
Zakharova noted that other European officials have made efforts to persuade the US to authorize Ukraine to hit Russian territory with long-range missiles, specifically British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who reportedly plan to try to push US President Joe Biden to let Ukraine use Storm Shadow cruise missiles against targets deep inside Russia before he ends his term in January.
She said it demonstrates that the West does not want peace but "intends to wage a hybrid war against Russia using Ukraine as the weapon."
The spokeswoman noted that media reports indicate that Kyiv could try to pass the Western-supplied missiles off as having been produced in Ukraine so that they could be used in strikes against Russia.
"This is a bloody cheating,” said Zakharova. “We understand perfectly that it would be impossible without the approval of its Western backers.”
"We would like to remind Washington, London, Paris and Brussels that they continue to play with fire. Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly said that ‘If Ukraine receives permission for the aforementioned strikes, we will regard this as the actual entry of NATO countries into a direct armed conflict with Russia," she stressed.
Zakharova added that it will change the essence and nature of the conflict with all its consequences.
"The response to the use of Western long-range systems on the territory of our country will be inevitable and destructive for them," she said.
- Russia slams UNESCO report on journalists’ security
Zakharova also slammed a draft report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the security of journalists in Ukraine, which she said fails to reflect the real state of affairs related to the safety of reporters and the problem of impunity for crimes committed against media personnel.
She criticized the sources of the report, which is being prepared for consideration at the 34th session of the Intergovernmental Council of the International Program for the Development of Communication on Nov. 21-22 in Paris and said it is based on data from “politically biased” non-governmental bodies and methodology, according to which "if a journalist was killed to the west of Paris," then he deserves to be mentioned by UNESCO, but if "to the east of Paris," then his death can be ignored.
"The statistics given in the report look like blatant hypocrisy. According to it, not a single Russian journalist was killed in 2022 -2023. The UNESCO secretariat defiantly ignored the reliable information officially transmitted by the Russian side about the massacres of domestic journalists," she said.
She said the number of Arab media representatives killed from indiscriminate Israeli military strikes in Palestine in 2023 has been significantly underestimated -- only 24 people were mentioned -- while according to available data, 97 violent deaths of media employees were recorded only at the end of 2023.
"Riddled with unreliable ‘facts’…the draft report itself becomes a source and tool for spreading disinformation. And it is the (UNESCO) Director General, Audrey Azoulay, who bears full responsibility for such a situation," she said.
Azoulay's actions discredit the entire organization and put in question its mandate, clearly stipulating that she must defend media workers of any nation, she added.
UNESCO is a specialized agency of the UN that was established in 1945 to promote international collaboration through educational, scientific and cultural reforms to increase universal respect for justice, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Turning to media reports claiming that Russian, American and Iranian diplomats are working on security proposals that will ensure a cease-fire in Lebanon, Zakharova said: "We pay special attention to the escalated confrontation in the Arab-Israeli conflict zone."
Russia makes vigorous efforts aimed at de-escalation of the situation in the Middle East at international platforms, primarily in the UN Security Council, she noted.
"We are making vigorous efforts to stabilize the situation. We are talking about our international legal approaches and the situation with assistance in the release of hostages. We use all our mechanisms for this. All this is being done to end the bloodshed as soon as possible," she said.
Media reports earlier said that Russia may guarantee Israel the end of Iran's arms deliveries to Hezbollah, as well as the end of the use of Syria to ensure such supplies.