“As for the issue of a Russian-speaking Bosnian student, I think everyone understands everything here. Russophobia is now trendy, for it you can get some positive dividends from older brothers and accuse Russians of everything in line with the principle [UK Prime Minister] Theresa May once announced — 'highly likely', this is very fashionable,” Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Slovenian counterpart Miro Cerar.
"I urge the media representatives present here to always be objective and write about everything that is actually happening," he said.
A scandal broke out earlier this month, after German media outlets Spiegel and Suddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing the video recording that they obtained, that then-Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache discussed in 2017 the possibility of an acquisition of the Kronen Zeitung newspaper by a woman who called herself a niece of a Russian businessman to secure help at the 2017 legislative elections.
READ MORE: Austrian Chancellor Kurz Loses No-Confidence Vote Amid Video Scandal
Following the scandal, Strache described the situation as a trap and a "political assassination" and added that the woman was actually Russian-speaking Latvian citizen.
The scandal has already reshaped the Austrian political establishment as Strache, himself resigned, while the government led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was dismissed on May 28.