Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Foreign Minister Swears During News Conference

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference after a meeting in Moscow, Russia, August 11, 2015.

Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov caused a stir this week when a video of him swearing during Tuesday's news conference with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, circulated on the country's media and social networks.

Forty minutes into the conference, while Lavrov's speech is being translated into Arabic, Russia's foreign minister can be heard quietly but distinctively muttering “imbeciles,” before adding an obscene five-letter word widely used in Russia. The Moscow Times cannot publish the word due to a law that bans the use of obscene language in media outlets.

The 90-minute video of the whole news conference, including this episode, was posted online by state-run TV channel RT. Two minutes later, Lavrov interrupted his own speech to reprove someone in the audience, saying angrily “Are we disturbing you?”

The new spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, who is herself well-known for her blunt and emotional statements in social media and credited with the overall vulgarization of the ministry's communication style, claimed she hadn't heard Lavrov swear, the Govorit Moskva radio station reported Wednesday.

“I was present at the news conference and didn't hear anything like that. I can't comment on things I didn't hear,” she said in an interview with the radio station. “I don't have any comments on what was happening in the background,” Zakharova said.

This is not the first time Lavrov has made headlines for his use of obscene language. In 2008 he swore at his then-British counterpart David Miliband during a phone call.

Miliband “was subjected to a tirade of four-letter abuse when he spoke to his Russian counterpart over the country’s invasion of Georgia,” the Telegraph newspaper reported at the time.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more