By AFP
MOSCOW: Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday threatened to expel a US journalist or US media outlet if YouTube again blocks broadcasts of its weekly press briefings.
“A few of my briefings were blocked. What we did is we went ahead and said: if you block a briefing one more time, one journalist or one US outlet will go home,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a roundtable discussion.
She also took aim at Polish media, “taking into account that all this is overseen by a lady with Polish citizenship”, referring to the platform’s CEO Susan Wojcicki, a US citizen of Polish descent.
“Given Poland’s position (towards Russia), we may not stop at US” media, Zakharova added in quotes carried by Russian news agencies.
Since Russia began its military operation in Ukraine on February 24, YouTube has deleted the channels of many pro-Kremlin media, while state media outlet RT and state-controlled Sputnik were blocked in most Western countries.
Last week, Russia said it was closing the Moscow offices of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in retaliation for Ottawa’s banning of RT.
Kremlin accuses West of blocking grain exports from Ukraine
The Kremlin on Thursday accused Western countries of preventing vessels carrying grain from leaving ports in Ukraine amid fears of a global food crisis.
Moscow “rejects” accusations that Russia is to blame for stopping grain deliveries from reaching their destinations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“On the contrary, we accuse Western countries of taking a number of illegal actions that have led to this blockade,” Peskov told reporters
Referring to sanctions imposed on Moscow over its offensive in Ukraine, he said Western countries should “cancel those illegal decisions that are preventing the charter of ships, preventing the export of grain”.
Moscow has said it would create food corridors in Ukraine and avoid a global food crisis if international sanctions imposed on Moscow were removed.
The sanctions and military action have disrupted supplies of fertiliser, wheat and other commodities from both Russia and Ukraine.
The two countries produce 30 percent of the global wheat supply.
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on Wednesday called on Moscow to do the “right thing” and release grain stuck in Ukrainian ports.
