Feature Image Credit: MFA Russia/Twitter
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has strongly objected to a sensational and fake news report published by Indian news portal The Print and called it a “ludicrous” and “hopeless” attempt “aimed at attracting attention”.
Debunking The Print’s deceptive news report, the MFA handle tweeted, “@ThePrintIndia’s attempt to create a sensation from nothing failed and looked ludicrous and helpless. We hope that the outlet will draw necessary conclusions and will from now on focus on facts, rather than flashy headlines aimed at attracting attention.”
❌ @ThePrintIndia's attempt to create a sensation from nothing failed and looked ludicrous and helpless. We hope that the outlet will draw necessary conclusions and will from now on focus on facts, rather than flashy headlines aimed at attracting attention https://t.co/76wo4pKk4i pic.twitter.com/zIdKhPP3L9
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) January 23, 2021
The MFA also released a detailed and scathing statement on Facebook condemning The Print‘s “irresponsible” and “sensational” report titled “India-Russia annual summit postponed for 1st time in two decades amid Moscow’s unease with Quad”, which was published on 23 December 2020. The report falsely attributed the cancelling of the Russia-India annual summit to Russia’s supposed “unease” with India’s participation in the US-led Quad, whereas the summit had actually been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is a group of countries comprising US, Japan, Australia and India that seek to tackle China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. The four nations are also part of the Indo-Pacific strategic initiative.
The MFA pointed out in its statement that just two days before the report was published, Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev had held a press briefing in which the current status and future prospects for the Russia-India relations, in both bilateral and multilateral framing, were discussed. In the same briefing, the statement stressed, it was emphasised that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the schedule of the annual Russia-India summit, although there was no obstacle to the strengthening of ties between the two countries.
The MFA further attested in its statement that it has no objections regarding India’s participation in the Quad. “Russia welcomes the commitment of its Indian partners to the promotion of inclusive formats of regional cooperation as opposed to the division that a number of other countries are trying to impose, as they build their policies in the spirit of containment”, the MFA said.
Protesting against The Print‘s misleading report, the MFA said, “Notably, our colleagues in the Indian Foreign Ministry also drew attention to The Print’s “sensational” material, emphasising that in 2020, the summit, with the mutual agreement of the parties, had not taken place due to the pandemic, and insinuations of any other kind were invalid. The Indian Foreign Ministry noted separately that the spread of false information about important bilateral relations was “particularly irresponsible.” “