Foreign Ministry goes on Twitter

The Russian Foreign Ministry has launched an official Twitter account in Russian and English to inform a mass audience about Russia’s international policies in “a simple and comprehensible manner”.

“Welcome to the @mfa_Russia blog covering news on current events in Russia’s foreign policy,” reads the first entry on both the Russian and English-language pages, MID-RF and MFA_Russia.As the official Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said, “the idea first came some time ago, when it became clear what role social networks play in international affairs, including emergency situations.”He added that they attentively studied others’ experience before launching the account on Wednesday, which had previously underwent a two month test run.   The main task will be to make briefs of major international policy decisions for those who do not have time to read lengthy documents or are not used to the specific vocabulary used in international diplomacy. Tweets will contain links to the original documents published on the Foreign Ministry website. So those who need the source will be able to find it with ease. Through its Twitter account, the ministry also plans to inform Russian citizens of emergency situations abroad. Such notifications could be sent to mobile phones.Diplomats say they hope to receive feedback from their followers on how they want to improve it or what additional information they might be interested in.