MOSCOW, January 14 (RIA Novosti) – A US journalist based in Moscow has been banned from re-entering Russia, a British newspaper reported Tuesday.
David Satter, 66, an experienced Russia correspondent and the author of several books on Russia and the Soviet Union, went to Ukraine to renew his Russian visa but was told on Christmas Day by an embassy official in Kiev that his visa application had been denied, The Guardian reported.
"The competent organs have decided that your presence on the territory of the Russian Federation is not desirable. You are banned from entering Russia," the newspaper quoted the diplomat, Alexy Gruby, as saying.
Satter, who has regularly visited Russia since 1969, had held his current position in Moscow as a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty adviser since September. He had also been reporting and providing commentary to the outlet's Russian service.
RFE/RL spokeswoman Karisue Wyson was cited by Agence France Presse news agency as saying that Satter's problems began when he attempted to return to Russia from Ukraine after covering the recent mass anti-government protests there.
The US Embassy in Moscow has been informed of the move, which comes just weeks before the Sochi Winter Olympics. The Russian authorities have declined to comment.
This is not the first incidence of modern Russia barring foreign journalists. A British correspondent for The Guardian, Luke Harding, was expelled from Russia in February 2011, a decision he attributed to his criticism of the government.
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