All news

Diplomat vows Russia will not persecute Ukrainian journalists

MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Russia will not resort to methods used by officials in Kiev and will not persecute Ukrainian journalists working in Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday.

"It is improper to take a cue from those whom we criticize. We act strictly according to the law," she said. "We have accreditation rules, which are the same for everyone."

Zakharova recalled that unsubstantiated accusations were put forward against many Russian journalists in Ukraine. "In these circumstances, we use a whole range of mechanisms, reach out to international organizations and try to solve emerging problems on a bilateral basis," she stressed.

"There are situations when we see that, in addition to pressure, there are thinly veiled threats from law enforcers, the authorities in a certain country against Russian journalists, up to their deportation. When the issue at hand is something like that, unfortunately, in recent years, we had to take tit-for-tat steps. There are some examples to this effect," she added.