Kadyrov's and Putin's press services accuse RWB of bias and superficiality

Dmitri Peskov, press secretary of Russian Premier, has stated that the Reporters Without Borders (RWB), who called Vladimir Putin in their annual report an enemy of the free press in Russia, had superficial knowledge of the topic. The press service of Ramzan Kadyrov, President of the Chechen Republic, stated that the estimate given by the RWB was biased when ranking Kadyrov among oppressors of the freedom of speech.

"It would be nice to know the criteria of the report compilers prior to react to this sort of fabrications. However, we failed to see them," Mr Peskov said.

"Quite possibly that the authors are still captured by stereotypes, or just superficially know the topic, not wanting to see the political changes in Russia," he has added. According to his version, those who wrote the report for the Reporters Without Borders, "are even unaware that more and more media in Russia become economically independent and that the number of electronic resources covering the territory of the country has multiplied."

"It's strange that the authors of the report are ignoring the efforts undertaken personally by Vladimir Putin in the recent decade to improve the situation in the country," the "Interfax" quotes Mr Peskov as saying.

"Journalists of the leading world mass media know that Kadyrov is one of the most accessible politicians for the press," runs the comment of the press service of the Chechen President.

The press service reminds that last year Kadyrov gave interviews to correspondents of practically all major TV companies, newspapers and magazines of Europe, America and Asia. "There was not a single instance, when journalists were asked to present the text coordination prior to publication," the statement asserts.

"It is an evidence of Ramzan Kadyrov's openness, his readiness to cooperate with the press and his ability to correctly perceive constructive criticism. Therefore, we perceive the decision of the RWB as biased and far from the real state of things," the "Rosbalt" Agency quotes the statement of the press service.