Russia has listed two of America’s largest government-funded, overseas news organisations, as foreign agents.

Journalists from Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty outlets could be banned from reporting from the Russian parliament.

Russia's move comes after the US withdrew congressional press credentials from the Russian-funded RT news network.



The Russian government has officially named the US media organisations Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) as foreign agents.

In a bulletin posted on Tuesday, the Russian Justice Ministry also listed as foreign agents seven affiliated news agencies, including Russian-language subsidiaries of RFE/RL covering various Russian territories and Crimea.

While the Justice Ministry's statement didn't specify the repercussions of the listing, it is likely that reporters from those outlets could be banned from attending sessions at the Russian parliament.

On Monday, a committee at the State Duma, or lower house of parliament, proposed banning any US media named as foreign agents from its meetings, the Washington Post reported. The deputy head of the rules committee at the Federation Council, or upper house, also signalled the same intention recently.

Russia's ban comes six days after the US withdrew congressional press credentials from the Russian government-funded broadcaster RT, stating rules that the US cannot allow outlets employed "by any foreign government or representative thereof."

According to Reuters, the US designated RT as a foreign agent to respond to what it called Russia's attempt to meddle in the presidential election — something Russia, and US President Donald Trump, have denied.

Putin and US President Donald Trump at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam, earlier this year. Thomson Reuters

A Kremlin spokesman said the US decision to remove RT's press credentials was a "very unfriendly step," and that Russia was "deeply disappointed."

Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, also slammed the US decision at the time, saying: "The US government's misguided decision to request for RT to register under FARA [the US Foreign Agent Registration Act] gave the Kremlin a platform to retaliate, and they have done so with a full-throttle attack on media freedom.

"But sadly, the bill will not simply hurt foreign media, but worse, unjustifiably limit Russian citizens' right to access information and ideas."

Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty were both founded by the US in the 1940s to broadcast news to territories in what was then the Soviet Union and its satellites.