‘Double standards everywhere’ Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s ‘TASS’ interview, in a nutshell
In a 30-minute interview with the Russian state news agency TASS, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed Western diplomats for their recent shows of support for imprisoned opposition politician Alexey Navalny (this comes after Moscow expelled three European diplomats on February 5). She then went on to accuse the West of having “double standards” when it comes to political prisoners and criticized the “policy of containment” allegedly directed towards Russia and China. Here’s what Maria Zakharova said, in a nutshell.
What the American embassy did ahead of the rallies was a political action. Information about the routes of the marches was accompanied by a political statement. This clearly motivated people to take part in the protests. These actions were coordinated, the Japanese were also drawn in by Western curators. And it culminated in diplomats participating in the rallies and arriving at the courthouse. You will never see this from us. They have double standards everywhere. In Spain, they say that they don’t have “political prisoners, but rather imprisoned politicians.” This isn’t cynicism and it’s not sarcasm, this is the latest strategy in Western propaganda. We have laws. But they block accounts and don’t explain anything to anyone.
Before, they told us that Navalny is a domestic story, but now we see that there are powerful foreign forces and finances behind him. Internet giants also support them — now the story’s out: like it or not, you’ll get push notifications urging you to watch their next video. The whole world has seen evidence of how external forces interfere in our affairs. This is a policy of containment, and they behave the same way with China. The West has realized that it no longer wants free competition. No matter how we might behave, a policy of sanctions dominates. The European Union is concerned about Navalny, but they also say that we need to fight fake information about the vaccine. But on August 13, Navalny recorded an video where he said that there is no Russian vaccine. So why don’t they judge him for this lie?
The summary above is a paraphrased version of Maria Zakharova’s interview with the Russian state news agency TASS. In other words, these aren’t verbatim quotes. You can watch the full interview in Russian here.
What rallies?
On January 23 and 31, as well as on February 2, “Freedom for Navalny!” protests took place in more than 100 cities across Russia. Demonstrators took to the streets to oppose the jailing of opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who was remanded in custody immediately upon returning to Russia from Germany on January 17. On February 2, a Moscow court sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison for violating the terms of his parole in Yves Rocher case. More than 10,000 people were detained throughout the country at the rallies in support of Navalny.
What happened?
On February 2, about 20 Western diplomats attended opposition politician Alexey Navalny’s hearing in Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry said their actions constituted interference in the country’s domestic affairs. However, the British Embassy in Russia described this as “common practice.”
Navalny’s imprisonment
Alexey Navalny was arrested on January 17, immediately upon returning to Moscow from Berlin, where he spent nearly five months recovering from a chemical nerve agent attack. The next day, a Russian court remanded him in custody for 30 days, pending trial for allegedly violating his parole in the Yves Rocher case. On February 2, a Moscow court revoked Navalny’s probation and sentenced him to two years and eight months in prison.