MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. Moscow will respond to actions by US authorities against Russian journalists arriving to cover the US elections, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement addressing the latest US measures against Russian media.
"The arbitrariness of the US authorities will not go unanswered by us," she emphasized.
The diplomat reported that on the night of October 29, a film crew from the Izvestia news agency was detained at Washington Airport while en route to cover the upcoming presidential election.
"Despite possessing the necessary authorization documents for their trip, local law enforcement confiscated all equipment and communication devices from the Russian journalists and subjected them to hours of interrogation. Following this, the group’s cameraman, V. Borovikov, was denied entry, his visa was canceled for unspecified 'administrative reasons,' and he was ordered to be expelled from the country," Zakharova stated.
According to her, representatives of the Russian embassy in the US were denied access to the Russian citizen to provide necessary assistance. "Meanwhile, other correspondents from the Russian broadcaster were allowed to enter US territory without any explanations or apologies, and they were even granted accreditation as media representatives with certain restrictions," she added.
"We view this incident as yet another serious violation by Washington of its obligations to ensure freedom of access to information and media pluralism," Zakharova emphasized.
She noted that Russian journalists had notified US authorities of their intentions in advance and obtained official permission to carry out their editorial assignment, which "demonstrates a deliberate effort to use repressive measures to block inconvenient information." "Such actions align entirely with the ongoing global campaign by the current administration against Russian media and journalists, which directly contradicts not only the US’s international obligations but also provisions of its own constitution," the diplomat concluded.