MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan on Wednesday pointed out that the premise of Lithuania's ban against the broadcasting of several RT channels was false as Dmitry Kiselev, who is under EU sanctions, is not their owner but heads Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.
Earlier in the day, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) banned the broadcasting of five RT channels (namely RT, RT HD, RT Spanish, RT Documentary HD, RT Documentary). It followed a similar decision made by neighboring Latvia last week. Notably, Rossiya Segodnya and RT are two different legal entities, RT is not chaired by Kiselev, and RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan is not under any EU sanctions.
"Dear Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission that has banned RT in Lithuania, Dmitry Kiselev has nothing to do with Russia Today. Dmitry Kiselev heads Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency. Even if Google Translate tells you that Rossiya Segodnya translates [from Russian] as Russia Today," Simonyan wrote on Telegram.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu on Monday said that his government was mulling over banning RT channels as well.
