The European Union delegation to Russia and the Association of European Businesses said Monday that they disagreed with The Moscow Times' characterization of a meeting between European business leaders and the EU's top envoy to Russia.
"The article is factually wrong and misrepresents the discussion," the two parties said in a joint statement.
The article, with the headline "Investors Appeal Against Sanctions" on the front page of Monday's print edition and the headline "European Investors Say Pleas Against Sanctions on Russia Ignored" on the newspaper's website, describes a contentious, closed-door meeting last Thursday during which European businesspeople expressed frustration that possible EU sanctions would punish them more than Russia and urged the EU to soften its stance.
The article, written by freelance contributor Cristina Giuliano, who serves as the Moscow bureau chief for the Italian news agency TMNews, and Moscow Times editor-in-chief Andrew McChesney, relied on interviews with several businesspeople who were present at the meeting. The businesspeople spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the situation.
McChesney said Monday that The Moscow Times stood by the article.