VIENNA, May 20. /TASS/. The OSCE leadership is shamefully silent against the background of the recent EU decision to impose a ban on the broadcasting of a number of Russian mass media, Russian Permanent Representative to the organization Alexander Lukashevich has said.

"The shameful silence on this matter on the part of the OSCE leadership and its specialized structures, especially the Representative on Freedom of the Media, once again demonstrates their trademark double standards, including with respect to questions of freedom of the press, the rights of journalists and access to information. We consider their work in this area to be a failure," the Russian mission said on its Telegram channel.

Lukashevich called the decision on sanctions "evidence of Brussels' inability to cleanse its information space of unwanted media and inconvenient truth." "Repeating unsubstantiated accusations against Russian mass media claiming it spreads disinformation only increases their ratings and contributes to increasing their audience," the diplomat added.

The EU Council's decision banned three Russian media outlets - RIA Novosti, Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Izvestia, as well as Czech website Voice of Europe, which the European Commission accuses of being funded by Russia. The decision came into force on May 17.