New Delhi: A Russian reporter was denied entry into a press briefing held by French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi Sunday, prompting a strong response from the Russian foreign ministry which termed the incident as “racial discrimination”.
On Sunday, a video of Russia News Editor-in-Chief Yekaterina Nadolskaya being denied entry into the French President’s press briefing was circulated on social media, in which she can be heard asking: “Why are Russian journalists not allowed to come see Macron? Why?”
A French official, who was standing outside the hall where Macron was about to speak, could be heard replying: “You know why”.
Hours after the incident, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Marina Zakharova condemned the incident and further claimed that French authorities attempted to break the journalist’s phone.
The author of this report saw the Russian journalist arguing with French officials outside the briefing hall but cannot confirm if attempts were made to damage her phone.
“We cannot and will not submissively ignore the fact that the vanguard of the Western pseudo democracies, this time represented by France, have displayed yet another instance of racial discrimination and violation of the basic principles of democracy,” Zakharova said.
She added that an AFP correspondent and cameraman were provided access to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s press briefing shortly on Sunday.
The Russian foreign ministry further demanded an apology from the office of the French President, noting that representatives of 11 French media houses were accredited in Russia.
This comes two days after reporters accompanying US President Joe Biden to New Delhi had been denied press access to his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House had made requests to the Indian government to ensure that media get better access. However, the journalists were eventually given a readout of the closed-door meeting held between the two leaders.
A day prior, Nadolskaya gave interviews to various Indian media while holding up the Russian flag. “Our relations (India-Russia) have been good and it will remain good… We like PM Modi in Russia… It is not important who attends the G20 Summit, whether it is Putin or Lavrov, what is important is Russia’s position. We are building a new order,” she said.
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