YALTA, September 15. /TASS/. The FBI has violated freedom of the press by questioning former employee of Russia’s Sputnik news agency Andrew Feinberg, which is an alarming sign for the entire journalist community, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

"By exerting pressure on a Russian news agency, the US authorities blatantly violate their international obligations concerning freedom of the press and the right to receive and transmit information, enshrined in the 1975 Helsinki Act," she said. "The unwarranted steps that the US took are unacceptable for a democratic state, it is an alarming sign for the global journalist community," the Russian diplomat added.

"We reserve the right to take retaliatory steps following Washington’s outrageous actions," Zakharova stressed.

According to the US media, the FBI questioned Feinberg amid accusations against Sputnik of spreading propaganda. The Kremlin expressed concern over the fact. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the questioning pointed to "serious censorship issues and attempts to narrow the media’s scope of work."