The Russian Foreign Ministry rejects the West's accusations of discrimination against foreign media agents
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced today, Thursday, that Moscow rejects accusations of discrimination in Russia against agents of foreign media.
Speaking at a working breakfast dedicated to media agents in Russia, which was organized in the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Zakharova explained that the corresponding law appeared as a response to US actions against the Russian media.
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said, "Our Western partners did not leave us with any other choice," adding in this regard that a general view alone is enough to know that Russian law is more liberal than its foreign counterparts.
Zakharova commented on this, saying: "We will do our best to refute this information when they say that foreign media in our country do not have the same rights as other media. This is not true.. We continue to work with everyone."
It is noteworthy that the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held in 2021 from 2-5 June in a live format.
The status of foreign agent was established for media outlets receiving financial assistance from foreign countries or organizations in Russia in 2017.
The amendments to the status of foreign media agents came as a forced response to the harassment of the Russian media in the United States, and in particular, the consideration of Art America's partners and Sputnik's partners as foreign agents.