Ab Gietelink, April 6, 2022
1 minute 23 seconds Dutch intro
Interview with Aleksander Shulgin, Russian Ambassador.
"My impression is that the media is very one-sided in its description and mostly uses Ukrainian sources"
What argument d…
Ab Gietelink, April 6, 2022
1 minute 23 seconds Dutch intro
Interview with Aleksander Shulgin, Russian Ambassador.
"My impression is that the media is very one-sided in its description and mostly uses Ukrainian sources"
What argument does Russia give in the Ukraine war?
The classic villa of the Russian embassy in The Hague was covered in snow on the day of the interview. Opposite the entrance gate hung a large yellow-blue flag with a mobile police post next to it. Despite the threat of war, we were allowed inside without control to place our cameras in the 19th century room. Aleksander Shulgin is an experienced diplomat in his late sixties, who prepared the interview well. He is an empathetic and sensitive man, who formulates in slow and precise English.
Mr Shulgin. There is a dramatic war going on in Ukraine. I would like to clarify the Russian position in the conflict with you in the upcoming interview. First of all. What is the situation of yourself and the embassy at the moment ?
We live in difficult times. Myself and some of my staffers received threats. Someone threw a bomb...
A bomb?
Yes. Someone threw an improvised bomb at the Russian consulate that luckily did not go off. The police arrived and the threat was neutralized. Then we received letters with white powder to threaten and intimidate us. Russians, who live here, are also threatened. Some were refused work by companies, others lost their jobs. This anti-Russian hatred swelled to a level that even Prime Minister Rutte has addressed the population.
When you look at the Dutch media. What do you think then?
My impression is that in her description they are very one-sided and mostly use Ukrainian sources. Even Dutch journalists are now asking about the quality of information from Kiev sources. We invite them to check the information carefully and not to be misled by the Ukrainian 'fake news'. It is a unilateral description of events, in which the Russian perspective is no longer visible.
What role did Russia's 2014 Maidan revolt play in the break with Ukraine and NATO?
President Yanukovych did not use force in this and received guarantees from Germany and France for his agreement with the opposition. He was forcibly displaced and the Western countries de facto legitimized the coup d'état, including winner Poroshenko's military violence against the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
What, according to Russia, has gone wrong in the People's Republics
