US To Retaliate If Russia Shuts Down Radio Free Europe - State Dept.

�WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th April, 2021) The United States will respond if Russia shuts down Radio Free Europe, State Department spokesperson Ned price said on Thursday.

"Should the Russian government continue to move to forcibly shut down RFE/RL [Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty], we will respond," Price said in a press briefing.

Earlier in the month, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor said it drew up nearly 400 administrative violation protocols against the US government-funded organization over continuing to refuse to label its content as foreign agent, leading to fines totaling $919,000.

Price said US officials will continue to raise the issue concerning RFE/RL with their Russian counterparts.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that he had addressed the situation of RFE/RL, which targets media consumers in Russia and the post-Soviet space, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Moscow bureau of RFE/RL, designated as a foreign agent in Russia, recently filed a lawsuit against the country with the European Court of Human Rights in order to appeal Russian court rulings obligating it to pay fines for not identifying itself as a foreign agent as required by law. The purpose of the law is to inform Russian readers that content shared by such media may be pursuing the interests of foreign countries.