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Russian foreign ministry explains why BBC journalist was denied visa extension — diplomat

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also noted that the Western media traditionally demonstrated no interest in speaking about Russian journalists who were denied British or US visa extensions

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Russia’s foreign ministry has provided exhaustive explanations to the BBC why its journalist in Moscow has been denied a visa extension, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Friday.

"The Western mass media are getting heated, asking for comments on reports that a British journalist working in Moscow has been denied a visa extension. <…> I can say that everything was explained in detail to BBC representatives who recently visited the Russian foreign ministry. So, they should have something to say," she wrote.

Zakharova recalled that Moscow had repeatedly warned of a possible response to London’s visa abuses against a Russian correspondent in Britain but the BBC kept on ignoring it. "We have made numerous statements asking the British side to stop the persecution of Russian journalists," she noted. "The BBC and its correspondent have opted to take up a stonewall defense and are refraining from commenting on the situation to their colleagues. Why should they? Don’t they have a newsworthy topic or isn’t it the right one? Come on, don’t be shy."

According to the Russian diplomat, the Western media traditionally demonstrate no interest in speaking about Russian journalists who are denied British or US visa extensions.

Bloomberg said earlier, citing a Russian foreign ministry official, that a journalist from the BBC Moscow office would have to leave Russia as his Russian visa was expiring on August 31 and had not been extended.

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