Spokeswoman for the US State Department Heather Nauert said Friday that Washington was calling on Russia to respect media freedom. She pointed out that Russia had labeled a number of media outlets, including two US government-funded broadcasters, as "foreign agents."
"The Department of State is unhappy that only the media funded by the US state budget was included into the Russian list of 'foreign agents.' This can be easily fixed. The main condition for this is to stop pressuring Russian media in the United States and take them off the US list of foreign agents," the embassy wrote on Facebook.
READ MORE: Mainstream Media Warns of 'Russian Malware', Ignores CIA's Own Virus Development
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law on "foreign agents" in late November last year, in response to pressure put on Russian media in the United States. The RT broadcaster, in particular, had to register as a foreign agent in November, at the demand of the US Department of Justice, which led to difficulties with Congress access.
RIA Global LLC, which produces content for the Sputnik news agency, was ordered to register as a "foreign agent" in February. Sputnik Radio's partner Reston Translator had to do the same in November.