Russia will take harsh steps unless Tallinn stops its unfair treatment of Sputnik Estonia, the speaker of the Russian upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, said Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th December, 2019) Russia will take harsh steps unless Tallinn stops its unfair treatment of Sputnik Estonia, the speaker of the Russian upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, said Thursday.Sputnik Estonia staff have been told by the local authorities that they risked having criminal cases opened against them unless they stopped working for Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency. Tallinn cited 2014 European Union sanctions as the reason for their actions. Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya, has called on Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid to prevent arrests of journalists.
"We really hope that Estonia will stop this unprecedented illegal campaign, will reconsider this. Otherwise, we will take adequate steps in response. They will be harsh," the speaker said as aired on Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
According to Matviyenko, it is impossible to "put up with pressure on our media any longer, these measures will be significant."
The speaker added that Estonia's actions could have a negative impact on its relations with Russia.
