RUSSIALINK: “Moscow warns London of possible reciprocal measures to UK media” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 11 (Interfax) – British members of the press working in Russia should be prepared for symmetrical measures after the United Kingdom authorities have denied Russian media access to a conference in London, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
“We have always acted based on the principle of reciprocity, and in this context, the British media working in Russia should be prepared to face consequences of the UK government’s actions,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing on Thursday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on July 9 that it demanded that the UK present concrete facts based on which the television network RT and Sputnik agency were denied accreditation to the Global Conference for Media Freedom in London.
“Otherwise, we will see the accusations voiced as libel smearing business reputation of Russian media outlets and a vivid example of the spread of fake news and disinformation,” Zakharova said in a commentary.
The UK embassy to Russia said in its Telegram channel that “Russian media received accreditation and will take part in the conference. This concerns both major Russian news agencies and TV channels (including federal ones).”
Moreover, a representative of the Russian embassy in London also received accreditation to take part in the conference, it said.
“We did not accredit RT and Sputnik because of their active role in spreading disinformation,” it said.
In particular, 15 irregularities in RT’s operations were uncovered in 2011/12- 2017 and seven other serious irregularities in 2018, it said.