MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. Washington’s demand that Russia’s RT TV channel should register as a foreign agent is a politically motivated and inept move, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
"We have repeatedly explained that the requests by US authorities for Russia Today to register as a foreign agent impose obvious constraints on the Russian media outlet’s press freedoms and pose personal safety risks for its employees. Besides, it is selective and politically motivated," she said. "On the contrary, the American media outlets in Russia have worked here for many years and have not fallen under the purview of the Russian foreign agent law. Has Washington ever paused for a moment to think about that?"
"Why is this happening, why are such statements made in broad daylight? I do not know, incompetence maybe?" Zakharova questioned.
She also pointed out that ‘foreign agent’ registration demands "have not been placed on numerous other foreign media outlets funded by government sources that are operating in the US."
Zakharova urged officials in Washington to stop "conjuring up all sorts of misinformation and a never-ending mess."
"Let’s normalize the relations between our countries without interfering in the work of our media. We believe dialogue is the only way to hammer out a compromise, there are no other options in sight," the diplomat concluded.