Federation Council member insists on reaction in kind to possible U.S. restrictions on RT
MOSCOW. Oct 5 (Interfax) - Russia will have to respond symmetrically if the United States imposes discriminatory measures on RT, Andrei Klimov, the head of the Russian Federation Council's Sovereignty Protection Commission, said on Thursday.
"In the recommendatory part, taking into account the existing legislative basis, we tell Russian ministries and other agencies to develop and, if necessary, start adopting within the framework of their jurisdiction strictly balanced and proportional measures in response to the steps that may be taken on October 17 this year," Klimov told journalists following a meeting of the commission's working group.
U.S. authorities demanded that the Russian TV channel be registered as a foreign agent by October 17, RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said at the meeting. Otherwise, certain measures will be applied to RT employees, she said.
"If practical steps are taken in relation to RT after October 17, we believe our ministries and other agencies will have to start applying response mechanisms," Klimov told journalists.
Russia's response should be symmetrical and should affect "American media outlets, primarily those directly working for the authorities in Washington," he said.
"These measures could be absolutely mirrored. We will do what they do," he said.
"If they [the U.S.] do not put these threats into practice, we will also refrain from such steps," he said.
The Sovereignty Protection Commission will draw up an interim report on its work by October 10, he said.