Russian Journalists Union Slams Belarus For Withdrawing Russian Reporters' Accreditation

Vladimir Solovyov, the chair of the Russian Union of Journalists, told Sputnik on Thursday that the withdrawal of accreditation of Russian journalists by Belarus for a report on the situation with COVID-19 in the country violates the right for freedom of information and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved after the May holidays

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2020) Vladimir Solovyov, the chair of the Russian Union of Journalists, told Sputnik on Thursday that the withdrawal of accreditation of Russian journalists by Belarus for a report on the situation with COVID-19 in the country violates the right for freedom of information and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved after the May holidays.

On Wednesday, media reported that the Belarusian Foreign Ministry revoked the accreditation of Russian Channel One journalists over the broadcaster's report on the epidemiological situation in the republic amid the coronavirus pandemic. The information was later confirmed to Sputnik by ministerial spokesman Anatoly Glaz, who did not explain what objections Minsk had against the report.

"We will send an official letter to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry today, as the Foreign Ministry withdrew our colleagues' accreditation. We will send a letter asking and offering to explain why this happened, what false information was found in the report, and offering to somehow resolve this situation in another way, as the revocation of accreditation violates the right to freedom of information. We will communicate with our Belarusian colleagues with the same theses," Solovyov said.

Chairman of the Belarusian Union of Journalists Andrey Krivosheev told Sputnik earlier in the day that both the Russian and Belarusian Union of Journalists agreed to hold an online conference to address the situation with the cancelation of Russian journalists' accreditations.

According to Solovyev, during the meeting, the parties will also talk about a "robust and harsh enough" report prepared by the Belarusian tv in a response to Channel One's report.

The chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists expressed hope that after May 9 Victory Day the situation might change in a positive direction.

"We are constantly in contact with our colleagues from the Belarusian Union of Journalists, with its chairman Andrey Krivosheev. We are well acquainted. We have been to Belarus more than once, and our colleagues visited us. We work together in the International Federation of Journalists. Of course, we know the whole situation well," Solovyov added.

According to the chairman, the withdrawal of the accreditation over a report is an excessive measure. Such a case could have been solved differently, for example, by seeking a refutation or establishing a dialogue.

Solovyov added that during the online negotiations, it was also planned to discuss a 12-minute report on the incident, which was broadcast on Belarusian television,� and was "rather tough and harsh to Russia."

"And I think we will talk about all this calmly. With any other country, it, probably, would be somehow different, but Belarus is our sister country. We will see how the conversation will develop ... As for the timing [when the situation will be settled], it is difficult to say. But after May 9, this situation will, probably, somehow change," he added.