The RT television channel will stop broadcasting in Washington on April 1. RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan confirmed Bloomberg's report on the matter. She added that RT will continue working on other platforms. Will access to Russian TV channels be limited for residents of Washington?
We will find out from our correspondent Alexander Khrystenko.
- Alexander, greetings. What do they say about this in the American editorial office of RT?
- Hello. This is certainly an unpleasant surprise. RT had difficulties with broadcasting in Washington and in the regions closest to the US capital. Margarita Simonyan stated that the cable provider that broadcasted RT in Washington "kicked the channel off its broadcast network." She is sure that this was due to the foreign agent status assigned to the channel. When this happened, when the American authorities made this step, everyone assured that there would be no consequences for the channel. But just after the channel was given the status of a foreign agent, the channel's journalists were denied Congressional press accreditation, for example. And now there are difficulties with broadcasting. Let's listen to what the deputy chief editor of RT Anna Belkina says.
Anna Belkina: "The TV channel RT was excluded from the broadcast network on several platforms in Washington and nearby areas. Really, this happened because RT was forced to register as a foreign agent in the US, despite the fact that for a long time we were assured that this wouldn't affect our ability to broadcast and continue our journalistic activities in the United States. We will continue broadcasting in Washington on other platforms.”
The editorial office says that this is the next episode of the whole campaign against the channel. This campaign is aimed at discrediting the reputation of the RT television channel. Before today, there were no real obstacles to broadcasting, but everything was done to discredit the channel in the eyes of the audience. Now we see that there are also technical difficulties. But the editorial office continues to work even in such difficult conditions.
- Alexander, thank you.
That was Alexander Khrystenko discussing the possible termination of broadcasting of RT in Washington.
