Lavrov Blasts Rumors Russia Seeks to ‘Hide’ Data on Covid-19 Deaths
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Moscow has no intention of hiding information about the country’s coronavirus death rate, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RBC on Friday.
"As for the coronavirus statistics, I can assure you that the Russian authorities would be the last to try to hide the truth," he pointed out. "This is no joke, it is about human lives and I think that it is outrageous to play with them. Just like it is outrageous to try to take advantage of the situation in order to tarnish a country’s image," Lavrov added, TASS reported.
When asked about the possibility of revoking the credentials of the Financial Times and the New York Times newspapers because of the their articles about Moscow’s alleged attempts to hide the actual number of COVID deaths, the Russian top diplomat said: "I haven’t heard anything about it. I principally oppose kangaroo trials of journalists but journalists should take responsibility for what they publish."
The Financial Times newspaper wrote earlier that "Russia’s national death toll from coronavirus could be 70% higher than the government’s official data show."
