Foreign ministers encourage their missions abroad to talk to the journalists of the host country, but are sensitive about remarks their diplomats make on the record to journalists of the sending country. Foreign ministries are afraid that diplomats abroad who are not familiar with the details of the thinking and arguing at home may make remarks that embarrass their own government. Since it is not possible for the diplomats to avoid cooperating with their own country's journalists, that will insist on giving only background information that may not be attributed to them. This procedure is, in practice,acceptable to both sides.