The Kremlin considered it right to close “Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus”
The Kremlin considers the decision to close the newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus” correct.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov announced this to journalists today, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Apparently, the only correct decision was made by the publication to close this division in Belarus. One can express regret that our very authoritative, popular and respected publication has ceased working in Belarus. We continue to believe and are convinced that all legal rights of journalists must be ensured,” Peskov said.
He indicated that the Kremlin wants to hope that the actions against KP in Belarus journalist Gennady Mozheiko are not related to his professional activities, but refused to comment on his detention.
“De jure, this is “KP in Belarus”, after all, a Belarusian media outlet. We have no legal grounds to protect the interests of this journalist, because he is a citizen of Belarus, and we in no way have the right to interfere in his relations with the Belarusian authorities,” Peskov said.
He neither confirmed nor denied information from the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs about where Mozheiko was detained.
“The Kremlin cannot confirm that KP in Belarus correspondent Mozheiko was detained in Minsk, since it does not have such data,” Peskov said.
Gennady Mozheiko is the author of a note in which oppositionist Andrei Zeltser, who shot a KGB officer, is presented in a positive light. This material became the reason for blocking the KP in Belarus website, and the correspondent tried to flee to Russia in order to fly from there to a third country. According to the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Russian law enforcement agencies decided that Mozheiko’s stay in the Russian Federation was undesirable, and he was denied permission to travel anywhere other than Belarus. He was detained at home.
Editor-in-chief of the liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy, Alexey Venediktov, believes that KP editor-in-chief Vladimir Sungorkin made the decision to close his Belarusian franchise taking into account the interests of the safety of journalists.
“The deputy of the political department of Komsomolskaya Pravda went there, apparently, he held some negotiations, realized that nothing would work out, and closed it. This is a question about the destinies of people. Here the editor-in-chief or general director, also known as Vladimir Sungorkin, decided on the safety of the remaining journalists. I don’t know, I was not in this position, but let me remind you that at one time I recalled people from Chechnya,” Venediktov said.
“Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus” praised Belarusian nationalists and last year supported Belomaidan.
The Kremlin considered the closure of Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus to be correct.