Ukraine to take BBC journalists off its sanctions list
“We are appalled by this ban, which represents an absurd, counter-productive breach of freedom of information”, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.
The journalists and bloggers were among 388 people named as representing an “actual or potential threat to national interests, national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”, according to news reports. He has called for their names to be removed from the decree.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) also censured the measures, noting that they would restrict media freedom.
KYIV, Ukraine-Ukraine’s president signed a decree on Wednesday banning dozens of journalists, including three employees of the British Broadcasting Corp., from entering the country.
Presidential press secretary Svyatoslav Tsegolko tweeted it.
Ukraine redoubled its efforts on Wednesday to see Russian Federation stripped of its veto power on the UN Security Council when the global body’s General Assembly meets in the coming weeks.
The decree alluded to their involvement in the Russian annexation of the Crimea Peninsula in 2014 and the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Mr Rutz said he had no idea how he got on the list as he had “never been to Ukraine”.
Hug warned, however, of military movement on the government-controlled side and risks that fighting can resume “at any moment” while weapons remain close to the front-line.
“Jens Stoltenberg, will travel to Lviv and Kyiv on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 September 2015″, a statement said, indicating he would hold talks with President Petro Poroshenko. Other issues unrelated to Ukraine – Russia’s peacemaking efforts in Syria and the fallout from the discussions over refugee policy – may make unanimity on sanctions elusive, the official said.
The blacklisted reporters included three Moscow-based journalists with the BBC.
Victoria Nuland said last week in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, that sanctions on Russian Federation will stay in place until the Minsk accord negotiated in February is fully implemented.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman said: ‘The fact that there are many representatives of the media on these lists is of course totally unacceptable.
“We stand in favor of preserving rights for the five permanent Security Council members”, state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying.
“It is frustrating to note how low the Ukrainian government’s expertise on the basics of worldwide affairs and cultural diplomacy is”, he said.