MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian media has been very serious financial and administrative restrictions in some foreign countries, according to President Vladimir Putin.
"There are specific restrictions, and they are very serious, not of moral and ethical nature but rather administrative and financial," the Russian president said at a meeting of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights in Moscow.
Vladimir Putin's statement comes amid intense scrutiny of Russian media outlets in the United States over the course of the recent months. In particular, RT has been accused numerous times of allegedly attempting to influence public opinion, especially during the US presidential election in 2016, a claim repeatedly denied by the broadcaster and the Kremlin as groundless.
Most recently, Twitter decided to off-board advertising from all accounts owned by RT and Sputnik on the basis of its internal investigation carried out following the US intelligence community’s conclusion that both media outlets allegedly attempted to interfere in the 2016 election.
In its turn, RT has revealed how Twitter itself has been pushing the broadcaster to spend big on its ads during the US election campaign, a proposal eventually turned down by the media outlet. that According to Sputnik's press release, the agency has never used paid promotion on Twitter, pointing out that its subscribers are those who are looking for an alternative view on world events.
READ MORE: Full Disclosure: Read Twitter's Complete Ad Pitch to RT Ahead of 2016 Election
Following the Twitter's actions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the decision was made under the pressure of the US security services. The diplomat called Twitter's move yet another aggressive step aimed at blocking actions of Russian media, and warned that Moscow's retaliatory measures would follow.
