Moscow Believes RT Ban in Bolivia Driven by Country's New Political Agenda

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is concerned over the ban on RT's broadcasting in Bolivia and believes that the move is driven by the new political agenda of the Latin American country, where President Evo Morales has recently resigned amid violent protests, the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday.

"We are really concerned over the situation that the Russian media face in the mentioned region, in Latin America. It was revealed today that now a Bolivian provider has decided to block the RT from broadcasting in Bolivia," Zakharova said at a briefing.

"It is disturbing that it happened after the RT broadcasting was banned in Ecuador. I think there is no sense in saying that this is just a consequence," Zakharova added, expressing confidence that the decision was triggered by Bolivia's new political agenda.

"Of course, it is inadmissible to see media becoming victim of the highly changeable political environment," Zakharova added.

The spokeswoman expressed hope that this was not an attempt to "suppress alternative information sources through discrimination."

RT said earlier in the day that its Spanish-language channel would be banned from broadcasting in Bolivia starting on December 2. The broadcaster noted that it was unclear whether the decision had been made under pressure from the interim government.

RT-Spanish was blocked from broadcasting in Ecuador after Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo complained about the channel’s coverage of anti-austerity protests in the country.