New face of Russian foreign policy: 1st woman appointed as Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Russia’s Foreign Ministry appointed a new director for its Information and Press department on Monday. Maria Zakharova, the first woman to become the ministry’s spokesperson, spoke to RT about how her department will convey Moscow’s positions to the world.

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“We will try to combine all ways of bringing information about Russia’s foreign policy. We will use – absolutely for sure – traditional ways, like interviews, press conferences, briefings, statements, official comments. And, of course, we will go on with developing social networking and we will be very active in internet, as well,” Zakharova told RT. “I think that this combination of traditional ways and some innovation is the most useful.”

Zakharova, who has worked in the ministry since 1998, began her career as an editor, serving as head of Russia’s Permanent Mission’s press service at the United Nations in New York for several years before being appointed as a deputy director in the Information and Press department. She holds the diplomatic rank of minister-counselor and is also a popular blogger. She is a fluent speaker of English and Chinese.

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Zakharova replaces spokesman Alexander Lukashevich, who became Russia’s permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) earlier this month.