MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/: Moscow will not listen to other countries' criticism of its foreign agent media law, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
"We aren't ready to listen to such criticism," he pointed out. "It is about our domestic legislation and we have no plans to discuss it with anyone," Peskov noted, when speaking about a statement by the United States and its allies, in which they had criticized Russia over the use of the foreign agent media law.
The law on media outlets acting as foreign agents was adopted in Russia in 2017 after the US Department of Justice had demanded that RT America (a branch of a Russian TV broadcaster) register as a foreign agent in the United States. The law establishes the same requirements for media outlets acting as a foreign agent as for foreign agent organizations. They must provide data about their senior officials, spending and auditing, as well as reveal their status in the materials they publish.
The US Department of State earlier released a statement on behalf of Washington and its closest NATO allies, as well as Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand, which criticized the Russian authorities for allegedly "intensifying harassment of independent journalists and media outlets" through the use of the foreign agent media law, particularly against Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (labeled as a foreign agent in Russia). The statement also calls on Russia "to comply with its international human rights commitments and obligations and to respect and ensure media freedom and safety of journalists".
