Sputnik Radio's Chief Editor Regrets His Statements and Writes to Armenian Television

The chief editor of Sputnik Radio, Kirill Vishinsky, has written a letter to Tigran Hakobyan, the chairman of the Armenian Television and Radio Commission, regarding the suspension of broadcasting on the 106.0 frequency in Yerevan. At the end of 2023, the Armenian regulator revoked the license of the rebroadcaster 'Tospа' for 30 days. In another resolution, the commission fined Tospа $1,200.

The first decision was linked to the program 'Friday with Tigran Keosayan,' in which the host allegedly made sarcastic and degrading statements about the country's dignity and honor without having the 'moral right' to do so as a foreign citizen. The fine pertains to the author's program 'Abovyan Time' by former MP Arman Abovyan, where the commission identified claims that 'spread panic and are based on unverified and unreliable sources.'

In his message, Vishinsky expressed regret that radical remarks that clearly contradict Sputnik Radio's editorial policy were aired in the fall of 2023. In this context, he emphasized that journalists and public figures from both Russia and Armenia bear responsibility for maintaining a friendly and allied relationship between the two countries.

'Sputnik Radio sees its mission as presenting Russia as a strong and friendly state with good intentions to foreign audiences. In this sense, we plan to continue our broadcasting, understanding that journalists and public figures in our countries are responsible for the atmosphere of friendship and the substance of the allied relations between Russia and Armenia,' the letter states.

Meanwhile, Vishinsky also pointed out that examples of, to put it mildly, discourtesy towards Russia and its leadership in the Armenian media space are not scarce either. 'For hundreds of thousands of Armenians who consider Armenia a small homeland and its media space a subject of daily interest, such phenomena cannot fail to cause discontent,' said the chief editor of Sputnik Radio.

Vishinsky expressed confidence that this letter would quell the 'annoying discomfort' caused by the radical statements made on air. 'I hope that our continued collaboration with Tospа Radio will be an example of effective Russian-Armenian cooperation,' he concluded.