Jane Onyanga-Omara

USA TODAY

LONDON — State-run broadcaster Russia Today said its bank accounts in the United Kingdom were blocked on Monday, according to the editor of the English-language TV and online media network.

Margarita Simonyan said Russia Today's U.K. bank NatWest wrote in a letter to the broadcaster's London office that it was no longer providing it with services, without giving a reason for the decision.

"They've closed our accounts in Britain. All our accounts. 'The decision is not subject to review.' Praise be to freedom of speech," Simonyan tweeted.

“We have recently undertaken a review of your banking arrangements with us and reached the conclusion that we will no longer provide these facilities,” the letter said, according to Russia Today (RT).

The Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns NatWest, said in a statement, “These decisions are not taken lightly. We are reviewing the situation and are contacting the customer to discuss this further. The bank accounts remain open and are still operative.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May's office said Monday that the bank can decide who it offers services to based on its appetite for risk.

"Looks like when London left the EU, it left all of its commitments to freedom of speech in Europe. As they say, a new life without bad habits," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote in a Facebook post.

The U.K. voted to leave the European Union in a June referendum.



On Sunday, the United States and Britain said they were considering sanctions against Syria and its ally Russia over the situation in the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo.

More than 300,000 people there have been under siege by unrelenting bombing. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said there are more than 10,000 armed rebels in the city.

"Hypothetically, this may have something to do with new British and American sanctions against Russia, which may be announced soon. It may not. Our legal department is dealing with the issue now,” Simonyan told the RBK news website.

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