A Sky News journalist who slipped uninvited into Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s press conference at the G20 summit in Brazil was allowed to remain after a “democratic vote” by accredited reporters.
The incident occurred on Wednesday and has been revealed by the ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The press conference, typically attended by the Russian press pool and reporters from the host country, rarely includes Western journalists due to reciprocal restrictions on Russian media. Lavrov’s team discovered the British journalist sitting in the back row with a BRICS-branded microphone.
Zakharova addressed the situation openly. “Colleagues, please vote. A Sky News journalist wants to take part in our press conference. We all know how Russian journalists are treated in the West. It’s up to you to decide whether to let her stay,” she said in comments reported by Russian media.
After a brief pause, the entire room of reporters raised their hands in favor of allowing the Sky News employee to remain. “She blushed noticeably,” Zakharova remarked.
Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT, later quipped on Telegram, “When you suddenly see real democracy, you blush.”
While the unnamed journalist did not ask a question during the hour-long press conference, she rushed toward Lavrov as the event concluded, asking about Ukrainian strikes using US-supplied ATACMS missiles.
According to Russian media, the minister had already addressed the topic earlier and did not respond, with security politely intervening as Lavrov exited.
The EU and Canada banned RT and other Russian outlets in March 2022, citing the Ukraine conflict, while the US government later restricted RT, labeling it a proxy for “Russian intelligence.”
Zakharova alluded to these restrictions, highlighting the irony of welcoming a Western journalist despite the exclusion of Russian media in the West.
Western reporters have been excluded from Lavrov’s events since reciprocal sanctions began. However, Zakharova noted that the Sky News journalist was treated with “professional courtesy” once she identified herself and asked for permission to stay.