PARIS, August 21. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in France said some foreign reporters crossed into Russia illegally recently and demanded that members of the French news media respect Russian law.
"We are keeping a meticulous record of all cases when foreign journalists illegally cross the state border of the Russian Federation, including when a reporter from the La Croix newspaper accompanied Kiev militants during their terrorist incursion into the Kursk Region. Information about the violators is being passed on to the competent Russian agencies, which will carry out checks and take the necessary measures," the diplomatic mission said in a statement.
The embassy "strongly urges members of the French news media to comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation, international legal norms and principles of journalism."
"If you have any questions regarding visits to Russia for the purpose of journalism, you can address them to the press service of the Russian Embassy in France," the embassy said.
On Monday, the Paris-based newspaper La Croix published a story by its reporter who had illegally entered Russia’s Kursk Region. Earlier, the Washington Post published a story about the situation in Sudzha, which said that its reporters had entered the Kursk Region under the escort of Ukrainian troops. Before that, Italian Ambassador Cecilia Piccioni was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry over the illegal entry of reporters from the Italian government-owned broadcaster RAI into the Kursk Region to cover an attack by Ukrainian militants. A strong protest was expressed to the diplomat.
On August 19, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow regards the activity of Western news media in the Kursk Region as evidence of their direct involvement in hybrid aggression. According to the diplomat, all such incidents are meticulously recorded and appropriate measures will be taken against the offenders.