MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. No official decision has been made on the expulsion of Russia’s Union of Journalists from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Vladimir Solovyov, head of the Russian Union of Journalists, told TASS on Tuesday.
"No decision on the expulsion of the Russian Union of Journalists from the International Federation of Journalists has been made. We have received no official documents. We are in touch with the IFJ leadership," he said.
Reuters reported earlier citing the IFJ that the Federation had initiated the process of Russia’s expulsion.
"The Reuters’ quote was taken out of context. The group of Nordic unions - of Finland, Denmark, Norway and others - have long been accusing the management of the International Federation of Journalists. Of corruption, of organizing last summer’s congress in an authoritarian country, Oman. Among others, they also demand the Russian Union of Journalists be excluded from the Federation. The reason is that our Union has set up four new offices in Russia’s new regions. But the Charter of the International Federation [of Journalists] has no such provision to expel a Union," Solovyov said.
According to Solovyov, the Nordic unions have delivered an ultimatum, saying they will withdraw from the federation if their demands are not met. "Russia’s expulsion is only one of their demands. Notably, their joint membership fee is much bigger than Russia’s, the one we annually pay. The federation’s leadership will be faced with a hard choice. Anyway, we are in touch with the federation. We are calm. There are no grounds to exclude us under the organization’s charter. These are purely political statements, which, by the way, are banned by the charter," he added.