Russian news agency refused right to set up Latvian outlet

Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya has been refused permission to establish an outlet in Latvia.

The notary responsible for applications to the official Register of Enterprises decided not to enter the agency into the register, as Rossiya Segodnya’s registration application conflicted with elements of the Latvian Constitution and other national laws.

The Register of Enterprises also requested the opinion of the National Electronic Mass Media Council on Rossiya Segodnya’s application, which was received on 29 April. The Council stated its belief that the goal of the news agency was to disseminate information that would help Russia to pursue its foreign policy interests.

Latvia is home to several Russian news outlets, the most notable of which are Meduza and Spektr. Latvia also produces its own public Russian-language output on the LR4 radio channel and LTV7 television channel.