EU Resolution Proves West Recognized Russian Media's Influence - Newspaper Chief

The European Parliament's resolution calling to counter some Russian news outlets is a result of the West recognizing that Russian media had achieved great success in having an influence on the Western public opinion, the editor-in-chief of Lebanese Al-Binaa newspaper told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution on countering Russian media outlets, such as the Sputnik news agency and the RT broadcaster. As many as 304 voted in favor the document, 179 voted against and 208 abstained. With a total of 691 officials taking part in the vote, less than half supported the resolution.

"This last resolution by the European Parliament represents in reality, a recognition by the West that Russian media has become very influential on the public opinions of the people in the West," Nassir Kandil, who used to be a member of the Lebanese Parliament, said.

He added that the European Parliament's decision to approve the resolution should give a boost of confidence to Russian media as they have been able to reach hearts and minds of Westerners with only limited resources when compared to the media empires the exist in the West.

The resolution said that Sputnik and RT posed a danger to European unity and called for extra European Commission funding for counter-propaganda projects.

Sputnik responded by calling the move a direct violation of media freedom and human rights, while Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the matter by pointing out that the document indicates a degradation of democracy in the West. Praising Sputnik and RT for their work, the president expressed hope that real media restrictions would not follow.