Russia condemns Latvian ban on news agency

The Russian Foreign Ministry has denounced Latvia’s decision to refuse Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya the right to set up an outlet in Latvia as “politicised”.

A Foreign Ministry statement released on Saturday called on the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to look into the matter.

According to the statement, Russia “has repeatedly drawn attention to Latvia’s ‘innovative’ methods for managing the censoring of information space, which conflict with the country’s international obligations to ensure freedom of speech and the media”.

Latvia refused registration to Rossiya Segodnya on the grounds that its contents were contrary to elements of the Latvian constitution.