Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has castigated the racist comparison made by the Romanian ambassador to Kenya, noting that his utterance reflects the general attitude of the "collective West" towards African nations.
"Many people already had an idea of how the West treats Africa even without him. But to compare African diplomats to monkeys while visiting the African continent, this, of course, is a complete no-go," Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.
During a meeting that he was chairing in Kenya's capital, the ambassador saw a monkey, which appeared at a window in the conference room, and said: "the African Group has joined us."
Once word broke about the ambassador's smug, racist comment, the African diplomats condemned the behavior of the Romanian envoy and issued a statement emphasizing the importance of creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, understanding and sensitivity in the diplomatic sphere.
The Russian diplomatic spokeswoman dubbed the ambassador's remark as a manifestation of fascist ideology and its remnants that are still existent within the system of international relations.
"If you still think there's no modern-day fascism, or that neo-Nazism [existing] is a bit of a stretch, then you're wrong. All this not only exists, but is also a deep-seated ideology of the political establishment in the 'collective West'," she stressed.
She also recalled the words of Josep Borrell who said that the world is divided into a "beautiful garden" and "wild jungle", as well as a joint statement made by the EU and NATO on their intention to use all tools "for the benefit of one billion of their citizens."
"And now, it would seem that after these monstrous confessions, European diplomats could correct their rhetoric. But, their nature has taken its course and [everything] has spewed forth," Zakharova concluded.
Romania’s Foreign Ministry stated that even though the incident took place on April 26, it only learned about it on June 8. In a statement, the ministry announced its decision to recall the ambassador to Kenya back to Bucharest and apologized for his remarks. It was noted that the ministry condemns all behavior incompatible with mutual respect, and hopes that this isolated incident would not affect its "deep relations" with African nations.
On June 11, Kenya's Foreign Minister, Alfred Mutua, commented on the issue, expressing his gratitude to the Romanian government for recalling its ambassador to Nairobi "after he made disparaging and racist remarks against Africans and all Black people."