Maria Zakharova, "I'd really like a part of the culture of the Caucasus to be brought into my life, into the life of my child"

Today Vestnik Kavkaza visited Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. In an exclusive interview, Maria Zakharova spoke about a wide range of issues on the agenda of the foreign policy of Russia, including  the Syrian settlement, the migration crisis in Europe, about women in politics and the Caucasus.

- Today women increasingly manifest themselves in politics, they are playing an increasingly important role in society, there are hundreds of examples – Valentina Matviyenko, Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton, First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, Federica Mogherini. Still, there are more men in politics. In your opinion, what inhibits the active participation of women in the political process?

- The strengthening of women in politics should go in some evolutionary way, there should be nothing artificially created. Still, women themselves should want to begin to engage in politics and to occupy some positions, to go into this business, and so on. It is impossible to develop this situation by artificially putting women forward. There should be a criterion – the level of professionalism. We can develop legislation so women have equal rights and opportunities. But still I am standing for the evolutionary path. A woman may qualify for certain positions confirming her professional qualities.

- Does the fact that you are a woman interfere or help in your work?

- It happens both ways. In some environments it may be easier to make contact, some questions may be clearer to me, because I have an experience and a family, and I am a mother. But there are other situations. Especially at the early stage I had to deal with a lack of understanding of what a woman did in the Foreign Ministry. But it's all a matter of time and a question of the experience that every woman bears. If you're a professional, you will be treated accordingly not because you are a woman or a man, but because you can provide support, help, you can help in any situation. My experience tells me that people still rely on professionalism and not on gender. I think this should be a motto. We need to become professionals and then many questions will simply fall away by themselves.

- Recently there have been a lot of meetings of Sergei Lavrov with John Kerry, and you often talk with your American counterpart, John Kirby. What sort of relations do you have? You had good relations with Jenny Psaki, whom my journalist colleagues miss a lot, you were even defending her from different comments.

- I just think that there should be no harassment of human rights. If you do not agree with some views, you have to criticize the essence, but it should not turn into the personal harassment. I will never support this, whomever it is against. For me, this topic is completely closed. I would rather speak everything directly, why I think so, than speak maliciously, and certainly would never support others in doing so. So I did not defend her, I'm just saying that if you do not agree with what is being said, you need to build a reasoned defense of your position. As a person engaged in information work, I understand that it is a very difficult thing, because you could be asked any question, you could be in the air, where there will be no second attempt. We cannot know everything, no man can know everything, and to the spokesman, the man who runs the press-service, all sorts of questions from A to Z are addressed. We cannot provide the answer to all these questions. Sometimes there are misfires, they happen to everyone. Only those who do not work do not make mistakes. From this point of view, I have respect for my colleagues.

But there is another topic, I could never accept what they say, if I believe that this is contrary to our position. I firmly and fundamentally defend our position, I stand on a general discussion of those arguments that I hear from my colleagues. With Mr. Kirby, we are familiar, we meet during visits. Employees of the Department of Information and Press and the press officer of the US State Department are in close contact. We are preparing the meeting of our leaders. I do not like what they say about Russia in their briefings. But every time we try to disavow it.

- When did you decide to become a diplomat? It is, as you said, hard work.

- These thoughts have been visiting me since my childhood. My dad worked in the Russian Embassy in China, I saw the profession closely. It was interesting. On the other hand, I was interested in journalism. Nobody in the family had ever studied any journalism or other work related with publicity. We didn't have such a tradition. My grandparents were associated with cars in different guises, my grandmother was a chemist, a teacher, my mother is an art historian, my dad is a diplomat. But I was very attracted to journalism. I did not know how to connect these things. Then it turned out that there is a faculty of International Information at the MGIMO, where they teach diplomacy and journalism.

- Is there time for a personal life, for your daughter?

- Well, of course. Is it possible to live without that?

- What attracts you in your work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

- The ability to combine traditional forms of work that are related to public service which involve traditionalism, and rigor, and canons with creativity. Our agency is one of the few that allows you to combine these two seemingly incongruous things. There is nothing to do without creativity without the possibility of using innovative methods, unconventional approaches, and in a short time, in extreme situations. This should be absolutely clear basic foundation associated with professionalism, knowledge, understanding of our position, with its settling, with analysis, with forecasting. The combination of these two things for me is the most interesting and attractive in this work.

- Your boss’s extreme hobby is rafting. And what hobbies do you have?

- I do not have such extreme hobbies, but I also like sports. My parents were often moving from place to place, changing jobs, we were following our father. But I never had an opportunity to do any sport seriously. So I tried, I think, all that was presented in one or another school. I studied figure skating, I even have some grade, swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, in these activities I also have a junior level. There was a bit of volleyball, shooting, and then skates, and a bicycle ... I studied what was in the form of additional classes in various schools. So now sport has remained in the form of fitness, some active pastime.

I have other, quieter hobbies. I collect Chinese ceramics. There was even a small exhibition in Moscow. I write articles on this topic. Because I'm a Sinologist, I studied the history and culture of China. This became the basis of my research, I defended my Ph.D on China.

-          Vestnik Kavkaza has a traditional question: have you been to the Caucasus? Do you have favorite places there?

-          Actually, I spent a significant part of my childhood there. The brightest impressions are connected with Abkhazia. My parents always spent vacations in Sukhumi (now it is called Sukhum), and it was the brightest page of my childhood. Its climate, people, traditions, food, the absolutely different atmosphere filled me. And still, everything which is connected with the Caucasus is important for me. I love culture, adore music. I speak about this for the first time publicly. I like men’s choral singing, lezginka; this is the most dynamic music for me, it has a lot of passion and energy. When I am very tired and I have to charge somehow, I find this music on the internet and listen to it. I dream about visiting a concert where I could see a professional performance of lezginka.

I like Caucasus food. As for the North Caucasus, I have visited only North Ossetia. There was a visit by the Minister to South Ossetia, we went through Vladikavkaz. But I have read a lot about the region, and I hope I will visit it again.

-          What can you say about the republics of the South Caucasus?

-          Unfortunately, I have never been to Tbilisi. I have many friends there, they always invite me to come. I hope this dream will come true. I regularly visit Yerevan and Baku. It is connected with my job, but it is always a pleasure for me, as I have friends and colleagues in both cities. I can see how the countries are developing. Each time I visit Baku, I am excited about the changes in the city. Old Baku is an architectural heritage of Baku, the authorities of Azerbaijan invested so much effort and resources into it. It is fantastic. I can feel it is a pearl which is being cherished. I like visiting Yerevan, our visits always end with full tables with our colleagues and friends. Pomegranate wine, songs, and so on.

I have no relatives from the Caucasus, but energetically, it is close to me, its culture is close to me. The godfather of my daughter is a person from the Caucasus. It was my intended choice, as I wanted a part of the culture be in my life, in life of my child.