Moscow warns of retaliation if US continues to pressure Russian media

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Moscow may consider taking retaliatory measures if Washington keeps the pressure on the Russian media working in the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

"People should understand that if they create conditions under which journalists face a physical threat, if they experience physical threats due to their activities, the retaliatory measures would follow. It is not our choice," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by Russia's Sputnik news agency.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova makes a statement in Moscow on April 7, 2017. /AFP Photo

Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice asked Russia's state-controlled broadcaster Russia Today (RT) to register its branch office in the US as a foreign agent, a move seen as "illegitimate" by Moscow.

According to Zakharova, the US authorities are also targeting Russia's state news agency Tass and other Russian newspapers and journalists in addition to the RT.

The spokeswoman called the US campaign a "huge mistake," adding that Moscow had never expelled foreign journalists from Russia by revoking their accreditation or ending their visas.

Washington has been accusing Moscow for months of interfering in the US presidential election last year, although the latter have repeatedly denied these allegations. The RT is among the institutions suspected of working on behalf of the Kremlin in its support of then Republican Party candidate Donald Trump.

It is widely expected that Moscow could retaliate by starting with US government-funded media outlet Voice of America which currently also operates in Russia.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency