London should explain the refusal to provide accreditations to RT and Sputnik at the Global Conference on Freedom of the Media for allegedly “spreading misinformation.” This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova.
This is a forum scheduled for July 10-11, in which delegates from more than 100 countries and international organizations, as well as over a thousand journalists, teachers and activists are among the participants.
“We demand from official London to provide specific facts within 24 hours, on the basis of which a corresponding statement was made. Otherwise, we will regard the voiced accusations as slander, denigrating the business reputation of the Russian media, a vivid example of the spread of "fake news" and disinformation, "said Zakharova.
She called unacceptable the approach of the British side, voiced by the head of the Foreign Ministry of the United Kingdom, Jeremy Hunt. It is about the concept of “strategic uncertainty”, charges without presenting facts.
“As for the conference itself, the organizers have demonstrated their true intentions and attitude towards freedom of speech, turning the event into a tool for implementing opportunistic political tasks. We believe that other countries and responsible journalists will draw the appropriate conclusions. We hope that human rights NGOs and relevant international structures will not hesitate to express their position, ”the official representative of the foreign ministry added.
On Friday, July 5, it became known that the British authorities denied accreditation to RT and Sputnik journalists for an international conference on media freedom. The reason was allegedly the achievement of the maximum number of accreditations issued.
Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented ironically on the current situation, drawing attention to the wording of the response of the British Foreign Ministry: “Sorry, we are full” (“Sorry, there are no places”).
“I have a question for Margarita Simonyan. Margo, why did the RT staff decide that what you said on the phone is called “full”? In my opinion, the vowel “o” should be doubled there, but the “l” not agreeing, ”Zakharova wrote on Facebook.
Later in the Foreign Office gave a more detailed comment. This time, the decision regarding RT and Sputnik was allegedly explained by their "active participation in the dissemination of misinformation."
As noted by RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan in her Twitter, British diplomats did not give a single example confirming this statement.
“But we can remind you how this very British Foreign Ministry shamefully rubbed a post about the Russian origin of the substance that was poisoned by Skripale. Or how Bibisi tried to find a “Russian trace” - at least some, even stumbling — at the protests of the “yellow vests” in Paris, ”stressed Simonyan.
But we can remind you how this British Ministry of Foreign Affairs bashfully rubbed a post about the Russian origin of the substance that was poisoned with Skripale.
Or how Bibisi tried to find a “Russian trace” - at least some, even stumbling - at the protests of the “yellow vests” in Paris.
According to the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, the refusal to grant accreditation to Russian media representatives is part of the American and British double standards policy.
In turn, State Duma deputy, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on information policy, information technology and communications Andrei Svintsov criticized the wording of the British Foreign Ministry in explaining the refusal to accredit RT and Sputnik.
"This decision has nothing to do with freedom of speech, this is a total restriction and obstruction of freedom of journalistic work ... The fight against Russian journalists ... is in a number of countries, today these countries are in a rather difficult situation ... The United Kingdom today is one of foci, where a political crisis that lasts several years, turns into such a catch of a “black cat in a black room,” Svintsov said in an interview with RT.
At the same time, the Kremlin pointed out the absurdity of the situation, when representatives of the mass media are not allowed to attend a conference on media freedom.
“It may be, shall we say, a quasi-conference. There can be no serious discussion of press freedom in an environment where journalists are denied access. And this is probably the most vivid manifestation of the absurdity of what is happening, ”said the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov.