Russian RIA Novosti propaganda outlet complains about closure of its office in Greece

The Russian propaganda news outlet RIA Novosti has claimed that the Greek Foreign Ministry has revoked the accreditation of its chief correspondent, forcing it to close its bureau in Greece.

The RIA Novosti report claims that the Greek Foreign Ministry refused to extend the accreditation of its chief correspondent in Athens, Gennady Melnik (source).

“Last year, the accreditation was extended with a delay, and this year, an employee of the Department of International Public Relations said that there would be no positive response,” the RIA said in a statement.

RIA Novosti has been under EU sanctions since June 2024 for systematically spreading Kremlin propaganda, including justification for Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Russian outlet called the closure of the office “a gross violation of the principles of freedom of speech and democracy.”

The RIA Novosti office was opened in Athens on the eve of the 2004 Olympic Games. However, since 2022, access to RIA Novosti has been blocked in Greece, as well as in other EU countries.

The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet officially commented on the situation.

After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU countries imposed sanctions on Russian propaganda outlets that openly engage in subversive activities and disinformation campaigns against the EU.

We have revealed in our analysis in 2024 that RIA Novosti had wide audiences among Russian speakers in the EU countries, namely in Germany. Its content fits Kremlin propaganda and Russian officials narratives, especially when it comes to Russia’s war in Ukraine and Moscow’s geopolitical confrontation with the West.