MOSCOW, January 12 (Sputnik) — Latvia's plans to create a "counter-propagandist" Russian-language TV channel in the EU undermines freedom of speech, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said Monday.
"Russia has always had a positive outlook on freedom of speech. But the European Union's intention to create a sort of counter-propagandist channel does not quite agree with the term," Meshkov said.
In December 2014, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said the country was attempting to convince the EU to allocate funds to set up a European channel in Russian that would be devoid of "propaganda".
In April 2014, Latvian authorities suspended Russia's Rossiya RTR TV channel in the country, as, according to the National Electronic Mass Media Council of Latvia, the channel was not objective when covering events in Ukraine.
In July, Latvia announced the Russian channel would resume broadcasting in the country after a three-month suspension.
The Latvian foreign minister said on Saturday he would visit Moscow on January 19, together with other EU representatives, in order to discuss relations between the bloc and Russia.
