U.S. Accuses Russia Of Conducting 'Full Assault' On Media

Washington on Monday accused Russia of trying to intimidate Western correspondents in Moscow who were summoned by the Russian Foreign Ministry and threatened with reprisals because of U.S. sanctions.

“The Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs summoned your colleagues to quote, ‘explain to them the consequences of their government’s hostile line in the media sphere,'” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters during his daily press briefing.

“Let’s be clear, the Kremlin is engaged in a full assault on media freedom, access to information and the truth,” he added, slamming what, as he put it, was a 'clear and apparent effort to intimidate independent journalists'.

The Russian Government, he said, "fundamentally and willfully" disregards what it means to have a free press, as evidenced by them blocking or banning nearly every independent Russian outlet seeking to report inside their country.

"Threatening professional journalists for simply trying to do their jobs and seeking to seal off Russia’s population from any foreign information illustrates the flimsiness and the fragility of the Russian Government’s narrative."

Washington, Price said, continues to issue visas to qualified Russian journalists, and "we have not revoked the Foreign Press Center credentials of any Russian journalists working in the United States."

The U.S. Treasury Department designated Russia-1, Channel One, and NTV, all of which, as Price put it "are directly or indirectly state-owned and state-controlled media within Russia, and the revenues from which support President Putin’s war."

"Many other both independent and state-linked entities remained unsanctioned," he reminded.

For Price, the U.S. Government continues to engage with Russian media outlets "because we believe it is vital for the people of Russia to have access to information."

"We also support access to the internet and media by all people, including people in Russia, even as we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine."

Moscow’s efforts to mislead the people of Russia and the world and to suppress the truth about what they are doing in Ukraine continues, including by making it illegal to use the word “war” in connection with Putin’s full-scale invasion or war on Ukraine, Price added.: "There is no other word except for censorship."

When asked by TURAN about Moscow's continuation of persecution against Russian journalists abroad, Price said, the Kremlin had a long track record of pursuing those who have attempted to put a spotlight on it.

"History is unfortunately riddled with examples of independent journalists and truth-tellers whose reporting has been suppressed, or in some cases, much worse has befallen them. And there are even recent examples of what appears to be very clear examples of the Russian Government pursuing and subjecting even to intimidation and to violence those who would attempt to expose corruption, malfeasance, wrongdoing on the part of the Russian Government" he added.

Price also spoke about U.S.-Russia diplomatic relations, defending Washington's efforts to keep lines of communication open and calling it "always important, but especially important during times of increased tension or, in this case, even conflict or war."

"We want to see those lines preserved. It’s why we have been very vocal in speaking out against the unjustified steps that the Russian Government had taken vis-à-vis our diplomatic presence in Moscow. Our goal is to see those lines of communication maintained," he said in response to TURAN's questions.

In the meantime, Price said, Russia is diplomatically isolated "in a way that it never has been before".

"You should ask Moscow how it plans to vote in terms of the next Human Rights Council meeting, just to give you one example. This is a country that is now, in many ways, a pariah on the international stage. We have seen countries distance themselves from Moscow. This is not only confined to private sector companies," Price added.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.