EXCLUSIVE. Maria Zakharova: Caucasian culture is close to me

A correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza was received today by the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova. In addition to the current Russian foreign policy agenda, Maria Zakharova spoke in an exclusive interview about her relations with the Caucasus. ‘‘The atmosphere of the Caucasus is very close to me," she said.

According to Maria Zakharova, her first acquaintance with the Caucasus occurred when she was a child. "I cannot say that I grew up there, but I spent a significant part of my childhood in the Caucasus. The brightest impressions are tied with Abkhazia, because my parents travelled to the Sukhumi resorts. They were the brightest pages of my childhood. The climate, people, traditions, food, and absolutely different, but peculiar atmosphere. I absorbed all these things. Everything that is tied with the Caucasus still has a special significance for me,’’ the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Maria Zakharova admitted for the first time that she loves Caucasian male choral singing and lezghinka dancing . "It is the most dynamic, the most ‘energy-charged’ music for me. I find such music on the internet and listen to it when I am tired and I need to cheer up. I have a dream of visiting a concert where I could see and listen to a professional performance of lezghinka. I really really love it," she said.

According to Maria Zakharova, she has visited the North Caucasus very rarely. "I cannot say what was in many regions of the Russian Federation located in this region. I was in North Ossetia during the visit of the Minister to South Ossetia. We went through Vladikavkaz. I have read a lot about this region, but I think that I will manage to visit it,’’ she expressed such a hope, adding that he also had never been to Tbilisi, although many of her friends are regularly invited there.

The spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry often visits Azerbaijan and Armenia in the context of her work. ‘‘The visits are always tied with my work, but every time I receive a lot of pleasure, because I have a lot of friends there. I see how these countries are developing. I am happy when I travel to Baku. I am delighted with what is happening to this city. Once we had three hours of spare time in the capital of Azerbaijan, and we were shown the center of the old city. It is really old, it is the architectural heritage of Baku. But it was renewed. It is clear to the residents of Baku how much strength and soul the republic's leadership put into it. It is such a jewel that they care about. It is fantastic!" Maria Zakharova shared her impressions.

The spokeswoman also noted that loves to travel to Yerevan. Visits always end with feasts with colleagues and singing songs. Maria Zakharova concluded that, despite the fact that she does belong to Caucasian culture, "the atmosphere of this culture still remains really close to me." "I can tell you that even the godfather of my daughter is a close friend of ours from the Caucasus. It was my conscious choice, because I really like to see some parts of this culture in my life and the life of my child,’’ the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.