Moscow tells London that foreign diplomats' engagement in homosexuality propaganda inadmissible
ST. PETERSBURG. April 4 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry shares the indignation of St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly deputy Vitaly Milonov at public support of the British Embassy to Russia of the LGBT movement.
Milonov submitted a parliamentary enquiry to the Foreign Ministry asking it to check the 'Side by Side' LGBT film festival for compliance with Russian laws and pointed out that employees of the British diplomatic mission in St. Petersburg were rendering information support to the film festival and personally participated in its events.
The Russian Foreign Ministry replied to the parliamentary enquiry seen by Interfax that the compliance of the festival with Russian laws was not the ministry's area. At the same time, the ministry agreed with the deputy and condemned the involvement of diplomats in such events.
"We cannot help but be indignant at the fact that a broad audience, including minors and young people who are just developing their physical, intellectual, psychological, spiritual and moral health, have an opportunity to freely see 'theme films' of this festival," the ministry said.
The Consulates General of Norway and Sweden in St. Petersburg and the Australian and Canadian Embassies to Russia, as well as Goethe-Institut have been declared partners of the Side by Side festival, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, engagement in LGBT festivals does not give a reason for legal action yet this kind of behavior demonstrated by foreign diplomats is inadmissible.
"For our part, we have called the attention of the heads of the British Embassy to Moscow to the inadmissibility of engagement of employees of the British diplomatic missions to Russia in the breaking of traditional moral, ethical and family values and accentuated the strongly negative attitude of Russian society to such festivals," the ministry said.
LGBT film festivals have been held in St. Petersburg since 2007. Festival events take place in Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Arkhangelsk, Tomsk, Perm and Moscow.