Right of Reply: Russian Embassy responds

Friday, 13 March 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Russian Embassy in Colombo has issued the following statement in response to the story ‘Dutch Embassy condemns Russian pressure to remove Ukraine war photos from exhibition’ published in yesterday’s Daily FT:

“Due to the controversial article in the Daily FT ‘Dutch Embassy condemns Russian pressure to remove Ukraine war photos from exhibition’ published on 22 March 2026, the Russian Embassy would like to provide the following message.

The publication provides the phrase allegedly ‘warning to stage a protest if the organisers failed to comply.’ The Embassy would like to stress the groundless nature of such messages.

In this context, the Embassy respectfully requests clarification from the Daily FT as to conduct proper fact-checking so that in the future, their ‘analytical’ materials would be well grounded and not misleading. Since our previous press release was not published in any media, we also recommend the Daily FT not to transform the newspaper into media division of the Dutch Embassy in Colombo.

The publication of this press release of the Russian Embassy by the Daily FT newspaper will prove that its editorial team continues to be devoted to the noble mission of mass media – providing information in an objective manner.

The Embassy reserves its right to rigid reaction to any attempts to organise anti-Russian messages or actions.”