In a tit-for-tat
against London’s actions, Moscow has no choice but to keep a close eye on
British media efforts in Russia, the Kremlin says.
MOSCOW, February 6.
/TASS/. The government does not practice media censorship in Russia, and regarding
the curtailment of foreign ownership of media outlets, this is a universal
practice, which is appropriate and legitimate, Russian Presidential Spokesman
Dmitry Peskov said at the Media Day forum organized by the Kommersant
publishing house.
"There is no censorship, that’s for sure," Peskov stressed. "Restrictions on media ownership for foreigners and citizens holding foreign passports is a practice employed by various countries throughout the world. The threshold of ownership may differ, but the idea itself is absolutely right."
According to the
Kremlin spokesman, media outlets have freedom of speech, but, in addition to
that, they should have certain responsibilities being the most powerful
instrument in shaping public opinion. "It would be wrong to allow foreign
citizens to own such resources in the country, especially during the current
decade’s aggressive atmosphere, let’s put it that way," he concluded.
British media
The Kremlin said that
Moscow is forced to carefully watch British media’s work in Russia in response
to London’s steps against Russian journalists.
"In the United
Kingdom our mass media outlets, RT and Sputnik, are subjected to persecution,
their right to work aimed at disseminating and gathering information is
limited. This forces Russia in a most careful way to pay attention to British
media and their compliance with the current legislation," Peskov said.
Source: ITAR-TASS
06-02-2019
