ADDS REMARKS BY ZAKHAROVA
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 hit 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 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 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 reportedly plan to try to push US President Joe Biden to lift a ban 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 with Ukraine's hands."
The spokeswoman noted that media reports indicate Western-made missiles may be disguised as Ukrainians with the labels of the Western companies replaced with Ukrainians.
"This is a bloody cheating,” said Zakharova. “We understand perfectly that it would be impossible without supervisors' approval.”
"We would like to remind Washington, London, Paris and Brussels that they continue to play with fire. Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly said, ‘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 added.
- Russia slams UNESCO report on journalists’ security
Zakharova slammed a UNESCO draft report on the security of journalists 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 sources for the report, which is being prepared for the Intergovernmental Council of the International Program for the Development of Communication that is scheduled for 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 the “west of Paris," then he deserves to be mentioned by UNESCO, 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.
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, she said.
"Riddled with unreliable ‘facts’ if unreliable, then these are already fakes, the draft report itself becomes a source and tool for spreading disinformation. And it is the Director General, Audrey Azoulay, (UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) who bears full responsibility for such a situation," she stated.
Azoulay's actions discredit the entire organization and put in question its mandate, clearly stipulating that she has to defend media workers of any nation, she said.
UNESCO, or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 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.