Russia's Deputy Envoy To OSCE Says West Raising 'Information Iron Curtain'

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Russia's Deputy Envoy to OSCE Says West Raising 'Information Iron Curtain'

The Western countries are raising the "information iron curtain" amid differences on media freedoms, Russia's deputy permanent representative at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Maxim Buyakevich, told Sputnik, adding that Russia was forced to react in response

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd May, 2021) The Western countries are raising the "information iron curtain" amid differences on media freedoms, Russia's deputy permanent representative at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Maxim Buyakevich, told Sputnik, adding that Russia was forced to react in response.

According to the diplomat, the European countries lodged some kind of protest to the Russian delegation in the OSCE, expressing discontent with Moscow's recent designation of several Russian media outlets as foreign agents.

"To which we said that the evolution of Russian legislation, in general, is nothing more than a response to what is being done in the West over the past years. It was not our initiative, it was the West which began to raise the information iron curtain and build dividing lines," Buyakevich said.

The official further noted that Western delegations at the OSCE platform tended to avoid giving direct answers to questions asked about specific situations.

"You present them concrete facts of violations and ask them to comment, and in response, you constantly hear political declarations of adherence to the fundamental principles of freedom of expression. And then the fingers are pointed to the media in Russia," Buyakevich noted.

According to the diplomat, the Western partners are not willing to engage in a constructive dialogue on the problems that the media have in the OSCE space.

"Therefore, if the West is ready to start the process of reunification of the information space, we will support it, but for now we have to take retaliatory measures to unfriendly steps toward the Russian media," the diplomat stressed.

In late April, the Russian Ministry of Justice labeled the independent Meduza news portal, which had offices in Moscow and Riga, as a foreign agent. Under Russian law, materials by media outlets designated as foreign agents must be labeled as such while being spread on the Russian territory.