MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, who was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, won’t be labeled a foreign agent unless there are grounds for this, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week forum.
"Unless he violates Russian law and provides the grounds for being declared a foreign agent, this won’t happen. But if he hides behind the Nobel Prize in order to do something that violates the Russian law, this means that he would do this deliberately so as to draw attention to himself or for some other considerations," Putin said, adding that one has to honor Russian laws, regardless of their merits.
He underscored that the law on foreign agents was initially conceived in the US in the 1930s, and is being implemented there until this day, including against Russian media.
"Why is it allowed for the US, and not for us? In both countries, it serves only one purpose - to protect internal political processes from external influence. These foreign agents, they are not barred from political or any other kind of activity; they simply have to register," the President said.
Earlier, the Nobel Prize Committee awarded the Peace Prize to Russia’s Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov and Filipino journalist Maria Ressa for their "efforts on protection of the freedom of speech".