LONDON, November 26. /TASS/. Russia’s new Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrei Kelin has not ruled out tit-for-tat measures against British journalists in response to London’s failure to issue visas to Russian media representatives.
The diplomat, who started fulfilling his duties on November 22, told Russian reporters: "We will work to ensure that Russian journalists in the United Kingdom have normal work conditions and in the event of some steps, which we consider as unfair, we will take tit-for-tat measures against British journalists in Moscow, including from leading media and information giants. We take this action in case with other countries and we will be doing so in regard to the UK."
The ambassador has described the current situation as outrageous. "No doubt, the situation with journalists is outrageous since Russian media representatives continue working in the UK in challenging conditions," he noted. "This is linked to constant pressure exerted on them by local authorities." Lately, both RT TV channel and Sputnik news agency have come under pressure despite working under British licence. The UK’s media regulator Ofcom launched a case against RT, slapping a huge fine for allegedly breaching impartiality rules, which was deemed by a London court as unfair, Kelin said.
A source told TASS last week that the UK had failed to issue visas to some Russian journalists this year without explaining the reasons. The British diplomatic mission in Moscow declined to comment, saying that 99% of applicants in Russia received British visas between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019.