Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova touched upon the topic of a French journalist who spread false information about the trip of foreign correspondents of the Russian Black Sea Fleet to Crimea.
In an interview with Radio Sputnik, she explained that in 2015 a trip to Crimea was organized for foreign journalists, the program of which included visiting the Artek children’s camp and other infrastructure facilities on the Russian peninsula. She added that a French journalist asked to see the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
She added: “His desire was… We didn’t plan to show the Black Sea Fleet because we wanted to show the infrastructure of the city and Crimea with all its capabilities and what it was like before 2014 and how it was reconstructed. would like to focus on this in particular, but if there was another request from the media, foreigners are welcome.
And she continued: Is it possible to expect what happened next?.. A journalist from the Le Figaro newspaper, who visited only the part of the peninsula associated with the Black Sea Fleet, and did not visit any other points in the program schedule, published an article in which he wrote that Russia and Russian staff organized a trip for foreign correspondents to the Russian Black Sea Fleet to demonstrate their military capabilities.
The Russian diplomat asked: “What does this mean?.. It was the French journalist who asked to visit the fleet, and not we offered it. He presented the article as a game of muscles on the Russian side and a desire on our part to show and develop our military temperament in the Crimean lands. Of course, he didn’t write anything to confirm it.” The Russian Black Sea Fleet has historically been stationed on the island and is an integral part of Crimea.
Source: RIA Novosti