Russia announced today that it has revoked the accreditation of the Le Monde newspaper's correspondent in Moscow, in retaliation for France's refusal to issue a visa to a Russian reporter, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
This means that the French daily is left without a correspondent in Moscow for the first time since the 1950s.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had taken the measures after repeatedly warning Paris about the refusal to issue a visa to a Russian journalist.
The French publication condemned the move, calling it a "disguised expulsion of our journalist".
"For the first time since 1957, Le Monde is not allowed to have a correspondent in Moscow," said the newspaper's director, Jerome Fenoglio. He stressed that reporting reliable news from Russia was more important than ever, adding that France believed that the Russian journalists denied visas by Paris were actually working for Russian intelligence.