U-S Claims Kremlin Engaged In 'Full Assault' On Media Freedom

Ned Price

The United States continues to issue visas to qualified Russian journalists and has not revoked the foreign press credentials of any Russian journalists working in the United States, the State Department said on Monday, adding that the Kremlin is engaged in a "full assault" on media freedom.

Reuters reported on Monday that Russia warned U.S. news organizations they risked being stripped of their accreditation unless the treatment of Russian journalists in the United States improves, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. Read More

"Suffice it to say the Russians continue to make a false equivalency. The Russian government fundamentally and willfully disregards what it means to have a free press, as evidenced by them blocking or banning nearly every independent Russian outlet seeking to report inside their country," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.

Meanwhile,  Reuters reports the U.S.-backed broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has been fined 20 million roubles ($325,000) in Russia for failing to delete what Moscow calls "fake" news about its military operation in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday.

According to Interfax, Radio Liberty refused to delete reports that included a tally of deaths among civilians and Russian service personnel "as well as extremist statements about Russians". Russia has not provided military casualty figures since March.