Meanwhile, the Kremlin has described a move to take Russia's RT channel off the air in the US as "illegal and discriminatory".

US intelligence agencies have called RT "Russia's state-run propaganda machine". RT was also accused of contributing to Moscow's campaign to interfere with the 2016 US presidential election. RT's editor-in-chief posted a message on social media, saying the channel was being "kicked off" because of its status as "a foreign agent". The Kremlin said lawyers are examining the case and it was deeply concerning about how Russian media was being treated in the US.