Russia warns US media in Moscow they risk losing their accreditation – sources

Russia warned US news organisations on Monday they risked being stripped of their accreditation unless the treatment of Russian journals in the United States improves, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, some Russian state media have been prevented from operating in the United States and some other Western states withdrawing their broadcasting licenses and sanctioning the outlets, steps Moscow says show a disregard for media freedom.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin signed a law in March imposing a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally “fake” news about the military, prompting some Western media to pull their journals out of Russia.

Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign minry spokeswoman, announced last week she was calling in the heads of US media outlets to notify them of “the most stringent measures” in response to the “hostility” encountered their Russian peers in the United States.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
At the meeting on Monday, she outlined the difficulties for Russian journals there including visa renewals, blocked bank accounts and alleged harassment US intelligence agencies, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the meeting.
Zakharova warned the outlets that if Russian journals were not able to work freely in the United States, then their reporters in Russia risked facing similar difficulties with their visas, media accreditation and bank accounts.
She told the US media representatives that unless things changed, then the US journals would have to leave. She added that Russia did not want to do this but was being forced to because of the plight of Russian journals.
Zakharova did not respond to a written request to comment on the meeting or about the warning to US media organisations.

The RIA state news agency said representatives of The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Associated Press, NPR and Alhurra TV attended the meeting.
Spokespersons for US media organisations such as Associated Press, CNN, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meeting.
Washington has imposed sanctions against some state-run Russian TV stations, which it says have spread disinformation to bolster Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russian officials do not use the words “invasion” or “war”.
Russian officials including Foreign Miner Sergei Lavrov and Zakharova say Western media have provided an excessively partial narrative of what they call Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine that ignores Russia’s concerns about the enlargement of NATO and the alleged persecution of Russian-speakers.
While some Western media organisations have left Russia, others, including Reuters, have stayed in the country and continue to report.