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Diplomat slams Austria’s refusal to issue visas to Crimean journalists

This is an outrageous incident, and, unfortunately, far from the first one, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. Austria’s decision not to issue visas to Crimean journalists is nothing but Crimea’s blockade, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"I can describe the situation with the refusal to issue visas to Crimeans as a blockade," she said. "Today, unfortunately, we witnessed another unpleasant incident when journalists from Crimea were not allowed to visit a OSCE event. They were accredited to the event, but the Austrian side refused to issue visas. This is an outrageous incident, and, unfortunately, far from the first one."

According to Zakharova, the fact that journalists are not allowed to speak about the situation in Crimea and answer questions is both the information blockade and attempt to impede the freedom of movement.