Western envoys to Moscow meddle in Russia’s internal affairs — Foreign Ministry

Western ambassadors to Moscow have been staging "performances" as part of their agenda of interfering in Russia’s internal affairs, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on a broadcast of the Soloviev Live TV show.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he had invited EU ambassadors to a meeting to make the situation clear ahead of Russia’s upcoming presidential election, but that they then refused to attend just two days prior to the event. The top diplomat also said that Russia possesses information showing that EU embassies in Moscow are preparing mechanisms for supporting the non-systemic opposition, TASS reports.

"They, I mean ambassadors of Western, NATO countries, spend all their time doing only one thing. <…> First, they interfere in our country’s internal affairs. Second, they have literally been staging performances which, too, have something to do with interfering in Russia’s internal affairs," Zakharova said.

The diplomat questioned the activity of EU envoys in Russia in the wake of their refusal to meet with Lavrov. She also echoed the reaction of Lavrov, who lambasted the cowardice of Western ambassadors for refusing to meet with Russian officials.

"Regardless of whether I respect or disrespect these people, they are functionaries. They only transmit information from one country to another. And they (EU ambassadors to Moscow - TASS) are no longer doing their jobs," she concluded.