YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th June, 2020) The Russian embassy in Armenia on Friday reacted to a media regulation bill clearing the first round of debates by warning that its passing would spell uncertainty for Russian television channels.
"First of all, we would like to emphasize that it's an internal matter of Armenia... Nonetheless, the new bill will have a direct impact on the future of Russian broadcasts in the Republic. We are, of course, closely following debates on it," the statement read.
The Bill on Audiovisual Media is aimed to replace the dated Television and Radio Law, the diplomatic mission noted. It would require a foreign channel's country of origin to sign a contract with Armenia to secure air time.
"That means we will have to negotiate 'rules of the game' and Armenia will have the upper hand. Russia has said many times it is ready for talks. The ball is in Armenia's court," the embassy added.
The bill would also require foreign-language media content to be either subtitled or dubbed. The embassy said it was concerned that this would further undermine the rights of those speaking Russian that have been eroded since Armenia emerged as an independent state.
