The Kremlin strongly accused the US of putting undue pressure on Russian media on Friday, September 6.
As per Reuters, this accusation followed the US Justice Department's charges against Russian TV contributor Dimitri Simes and his wife for allegedly attempting to violate US sanctions.
These charges came shortly after the US took steps to counter alleged Russian interference in the 2024 presidential election, including charging two RT employees and sanctioning the network and its top editor.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who earlier denied Russia's involvement in US election said in an official statement, noting, "Washington continues to try to put pressure on Russia, on Russian citizens, and even on the Russian media, which is engaged in informing both citizens inside our country and world public opinion about what is happening, from our perspective."
He further said, "Washington does not even accept that there should be options out there for anyone to get news from our perspective. This is nothing other than blatant pressure. We strongly condemn this stance as unacceptable."
Despite ongoing conflict with several countries, Russia still allows Western journalists to operate in the country.
However, it’s worth noting that many journalists left the country after the Ukraine conflict began in 2022 and the 2023 arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on spying charges.
Additionally, Russia has vowed to take action against US media in response to the sanctions on RT.
