TIRANA, April 11 – The Russian Embassy to Tirana blamed Albanian media this week of making up facts and offending Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in a streak of what it said was biased reporting regarding the latest ‘clashes’ between the US and Russia.
According to the Russian Embassy’s statement, a number of articles published by a local newspaper have included fake news items and offensive terms toward Putin.
“The newspaper’s editorial staff should know that, by republishing fake news and conspiracy analyses by ‘well-respected’ Western media, it takes responsibility for spreading falsifications,” the embassy’s statement said.
The statement concluded that deviation from standards of truth, professionalism and serious reporting are wrong and will ultimately harm the newspaper readership and accountability.
The newspaper defended its position by affirming the articles mentioned by the embassy are not original articles, but rather translations of articles by top Western media.
The Russian Embassy has lately been in the news more than usual in Albania, after it mocked the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on what it called an “incompetent” statement coming from the ministry concerning the alleged Russian nerve agent attack on a former Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
Only days after this event, in a move in line with the US, UK and other Western countries, the MEFA ordered two Russian diplomats to leave Albania, as their activities had “not been in accordance with their diplomatic status.”
