Spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry: Two experts encountered obstacles while participating in a UN event
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that two invited expert participants faced human-made obstacles while attending an informal "Arria-formula" meeting of the UN Security Council in New York ahead of the meeting.
Zakharova wrote in her Telegram channel: "Is it a coincidence or a deliberate arrangement? On February 20, an informal "Arria-formula" meeting of the UN Security Council members convened by Russia was held in New York, with the theme being the destructive impact of Western media on the situation in Ukraine."
She said that Russia had been waiting for this meeting for more than three years. The original plan was for Norwegian political scientist Glenn Dison and Italian journalist Andrea Lucidi, who holds Russian nationality, to attend.
However, she pointed out that Dison was unable to fly from Oslo to New York because his flight was canceled for unspecified reasons, even though the weather was clear in both places, and it was reportedly the only flight not allowed to depart from the capital's airport that day.
Lucidi was detained in Istanbul and was released only hours before the meeting started, almost affecting his participation.
She emphasized that despite these difficulties, the meeting was successfully held, allowing the invited experts to explain to the international community the biases of Western media in reporting the conflict and the facts about how anti-Russia narratives are constructed.
Previously, Russia has repeatedly used the "Arria-formula meeting" to discuss various aspects of the Ukraine crisis and humanitarian situations. The "Arria-formula" refers to informal meetings held by UN Security Council members with invited experts and representatives of civil society. In recent years, Moscow has repeatedly raised issues related to the information policies of Western countries and their reporting methods regarding the situation in Ukraine on such platforms.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1857692541634634/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.