Russia may ban access of U.S. media outlets to State Duma

MOSCOW, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- A total of nine or 10 U.S. media outlets are likely to be barred from entering the Russian State Duma, or the parliament lower house, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

"We insist that the measures should be mirror-like and precisely targeted. They should not spread on all media," the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a meeting of the Duma Committee on Rules and Regulations.

She added that Moscow will not deprive U.S. media of general accreditation for journalistic activities in Russia.

Calling the plan of banning the entry for some U.S. media outlets to the Duma "logical", Zakharova said Moscow will lift restrictions on U.S. media if Washington stops pressuring on Russian media.

On Wednesday, Russian English-language news channel RT America was stripped of press credentials on Capital Hill, citing the company's "foreign agent" status.

In response, the Duma said Friday that it would approve a decree on banning the entry for U.S. media outlets to the lower parliament house at the house plenary session this week.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill requiring foreign-funded media outlets in Russia to register as foreign agents, in retaliation to RT America's registration as a foreign agent in the U.S. at the demand of the U.S. Department of Justice. Enditem