"Amid constant talk in the European Union about its commitment to the freedom of speech, we regret to note near daily incidents of neglect of such an important principle, for the sake of political ambitions," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Our Baltic neighbors' power circles seem to have adopted a tactic of banning individual journalists and media outlets that fail to provide the mainstream information approved by authorities, feeling powerless to maintain control over the media through other means," the statement reads.
Earlier this year, Estonia also put restrictions on the country’s officials talking to Russian reporters. Under the new system, officials must obtain a permit from Estonian security services to give interviews and commentaries.
In April, the Russian state Rossiya RTR TV channel was suspended from broadcasting for three months after members of the National Electronic Mass Media Council of Latvia had concluded that the channel was allegedly not objective in its coverage of events in Ukraine, a move that was denounced by Russia as a violation of people's right to freedom of information.
