YEKATERINBURG, February 16. /TASS/. The executive committee of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) may decide to freeze the membership of the Union of Journalists of Russia as early as this month, the chairman of the Russian union, Vladimir Soloviev, said on Thursday.
Addressing the Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg via lecture, Soloviev said, "They (the IFJ - TASS) cannot terminate our membership. This can only be authorized by the Congress, and the nearest Congress is in 2026 - quite a ways to go. However, on (February - TASS) 22, the executive committee will convene a meeting where they can make a decision to freeze our membership."
Earlier, Reuters reported, citing the IFJ, that the global journalism body had come up with an initiative to expel the Union of Journalists of Russia. The move followed the establishment of branches of the Russian union in the country’s four new regions. However, Soloviev has told TASS that no official decision to oust the Union of Journalists of Russia from the IFJ has been made yet. The IFJ is set to consider halting Russia’s membership next Wednesday.