RT Editor-in-Chief Says US Taught Russia Foreign Agent Law Serves Transparency

The registration of RT America under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) prompted a mirror-like response in Moscow, with several media outlets funded from abroad being included in the Russian foreign agents list.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan on her Telegram account said that "the Department of State has taught us [Russia] that foreign agent laws serve only the ideals of transparency."

"Do you know that these media outlets, one of which is trying to persuade the Crimeans to return to Ukraine, the second one is focused on the Tatars and Bashkirs, the third one targets the people from the Caucasus and the fourth one, which has been recently launched, focusing on Siberia, are financed by the State Department? Now you know it," Simonyan wrote.

RT Editor-in-Chief's response came after the State Department official noted that the FARA provided for transparency without limiting the freedom of press.

READ MORE: RT Chief Jokes About US State Dept Reporters Watching Network 'On the Sly'

On November 13, RT America registered as a foreign agent in the United States upon the demand of the US Justice Department, which according to Simonyan, put the broadcaster at a disadvantage compared to other foreign outlets working in the United States.

RT and the Sputnik news agency have been facing significant pressure in the United States over allegations of being involved in attempts to influence US public life, including the 2016 presidential election. Both outlets, as well as Russian authorities, have repeatedly dismissed the allegations as unfounded, while Russian authorities pledged to work out an adequate response to the pressure.

As a result, the law on designating non-Russian media funded from abroad as foreign agents was adopted, under which nine media outlets, including the Voice of America and Radio Liberty, were included in the list of foreign agents.