US sanctions against RT are ‘aggression’ – Moscow

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned BRICS members that they could be next on Washington’s hit list

The new US sanctions against RT and other Russian media outlets are a brazen act of aggression that should concern the rest of the world, as Washington could apply the same measure to others, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new restrictions targeting RT parent companies Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti while accusing RT of being “engaged in covert influence activities… functioning as a de facto arm of [Russian] intelligence.”

In her opening remarks at the BRICS media summit in Moscow on Saturday, Zakharova called the recent US crackdown on Russian media an “emergency situation” that she said should be of direct concern to the group’s members.

READ MORE: ‘Terrified of dissenting voices’: RT comments on new US sanctions

“Yesterday, Russian journalists became victims of the aggression from the United States of America. They were subjected to a real terrorist and information attack both as a corporation and as individuals.”

She noted that the latest restrictions – which he said were based on “monstrous and baseless” accusations became just another link in the “pre-planned” chain of events that has seen the US ramp up pressure on Russian media – not only on RT, Sputnik and Rossiya Segodnya, but on their contributors – as relations between Moscow and Washington soured in recent years.

“We cannot remain silent. What is happening now to Russian journalists and media organizations… could happen to each and one of you,” she warned, addressing BRICS members while urging the global community to express solidarity.

“This is a crime. This is an assault of freedom of speech. This is an assault on the profession of journalism. This is an assault on human dignity.”

Zakharova previously promised that the US crackdown on Russian media would not go unanswered. Her comments came after Washington last week sanctioned several Russian nationals, including RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan and three other senior RT employees, over alleged efforts to influence the upcoming US election.