Russian Foreign Ministry requested information from Yerevan about reasons for ban on journalist Dmitry Seleznev`s entry into Armenia

ArmInfo. Maria Zakharova,Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, has commented on the ban on journalist Dmitry Seleznev's entry into Armenia. "Recently, Armenian authorities denied entry to Russian war correspondent Dmitry Seleznev without providing any explanation. He had  covered the conflict in Karabakh. How would you comment on this situation?" the journalist asked Zakharova during a weekly briefing on November 20.

"Well, this is also in line with how, if you recall, the current  authorities in Armenia came to power on a wave of struggle for  freedom of speech, for pluralism, for, so to speak, transparency, and  for the open expression of one's opinion. Yes, we have indeed noted  the ban on Dmitry Seleznev entering Armenia," a Russian Foreign  Ministry spokesperson said.

She added that the lack of information regarding when the  restrictions will expire, whether the journalist is accused of any  crimes in the republic, and how he can expect the ban to be lifted is  alarming.

"It is well known that Dmitry Seleznev reported on the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2020. This fact is widely known.  However, it is unclear what he did wrong. We have requested  information through our embassy in Yerevan about the reasons for this  decision, and we hope that it is not related to Seleznev's  journalistic activities, as this would go against the  image of the  country as a democratic state and  a rule- of-law state promoted by  the Armenian authorities. Freedom of the press, as we know, is an  inviolable principle of any democracy," Maria Zakharova concluded.