Moscow, which has witnessed a total persecution of Russian journalists and media representatives in Ukraine, states that the trend continues not only regarding media, but also Ukrainian lawyers. “It seems that Kiev is dealing with this issue very seriously. We are talking about those lawyers who are not afraid to defend the interests of Russian citizens in court. We expect that this situation, which perhaps can be described with the fairly undiplomatic, but very far-reaching and, in this case, certainly appropriate term, as legal anarchy, will receive a proper assessment by the Western sponsors and foreign friends of the current Kiev authorities, who are so concerned about compliance with the norms of democracy and human rights,” the Spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, says.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry is satisfied that a collection of materials of meetings of representatives of journalist organizations of Russia and Ukraine was published. It was prepared by the office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. The theme was announced as: 'Two states — one profession'. The Ministry is grateful to Ms. Mijatovic for her attention and, most importantly, her efforts to establish a greater understanding and constructive dialogue between the professional unions of the journalists of the two countries. Of course, we are also grateful for the desire to contribute to the professional standards and ethical norms of journalism, improving the situation with security of journalists in the context of the crisis in Ukraine. “We support the common condemnation of cases of violence against media workers by journalists' organizations, their calls for investigations into the deaths of journalists. Of course we are pleased with the consonance of their speeches with repeatedly made statements, particularly by the Russian side, regarding the inadmissibility of hindering the professional work of journalists. We consider the expansion of the forum and the involvement of representatives of a new, young generation to seminars and discussions especially important, namely students and recent graduates of journalism faculties in both countries, and we welcome the experience of the creation of joint reports, documentaries on hot issues that concern not only the Russian and Ukrainian public, but also the international community,” Zakharova said.
However, it seems to Moscow that such consistent work by a specialized institution of the OSCE could be more productive if it would involve media representatives from eastern Ukraine, namely the DPR and the LPR. “After all, the problem of the whole Ukrainian crisis in this case lies in the fact that one part of Ukraine, one part of Ukrainian society, simply does not hear and refuses to hear the other part of Ukrainian society. And this Ukrainian internal dialogue, in particular, in this case, between media professionals of all of its regions, is truly critical for the consolidation of the entire Ukrainian society. Therefore we urge the office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of Media to fully use existing powers and coordinate actions with the OSCE field presence in Ukraine, attract journalists, in particular from the DPR and the LPR, to participate in their media projects. I think we shouldn’t hesitate,” Maria Zakharova stated.
