MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2022) The United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have launched a war against the Russian media outlet RT, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.
"Four countries - the United States, Germany, France, and well, Britain is singing along - have declared a real war on the Russian tv channel Russia Today over the past few days," Zakharova said during a briefing.
The spokeswoman linked measures against RT France to the ban of RT DE in Germany, as well as "unequivocal statements by the British Foreign Ministry" about the outlet and "the so-called reports that were published a little more than a week ago on the website of the US State Department," stressing that all these seem to be a coordinated action rather than a series of coincidences.
The intensity of pressure on the broadcaster is increasing as human rights groups and international organizations remain silent, Zakharova said.
She also noted that French media watchdog Arcom did not specify accusations in its recent investigation into alleged omissions of coverage of crises by RT France, including the Yellow Vests movement, Syria and the Central African Republic.
"In fact, the media regulator does not explain the claims, does not disclose the claims themselves... I would really like to hope that this is a misunderstanding that will soon be cleared up," she said, adding that Moscow expects the investigation to be transparent and calls on Paris to lift all restrictions from RT France.
On February 1, German media watchdog MABB officially banned the airing of RT DE in Germany due to a licensing issue. The outlet pledged to appeal the decision in court.
In response to the move against RT DE, Russia earlier this week shut down the activities of German outlet Deutsche Welle on its territory, including the closure of its office in Moscow, cancellation of accreditation of its employees, and the halting of its satellite service and other broadcasting. According to the Russian foreign ministry, should Germany changes its position on RT DE, Russia will respond in kind regarding Deutsche Welle.
Last month, the US State Department issued a report accusing the Russian government of a media campaign with the use of Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik to "change public opinions about Ukraine in Europe, the United States, and as far away as Latin America," while the UK has threatened to revoke the broadcaster's license.
The media war comes amid mounting tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine, which is claimed to be under the threat of invasion from its neighbor due to a military buildup at their common border. Moscow has dismissed the allegations, pointing at NATO's activities in Eastern Europe as a threat to its national security.
