Putin's factory of lies: Serbia is a springboard for Russian propaganda in the Balkans

(Patria) - The head of the Europe and Balkans desk at Reporters Without Borders, Pavol Salaj, believes that Serbia is a "springboard for Russian propaganda".

In an interview with Radio Free Europe, responding to accusations that they are trying to limit freedom of expression by calling on the EU to hold Serbia accountable for hosting RT, Salaj stressed that Reporters Without Borders is not trying to do that, but rather to stop propaganda.

- I think this situation, where a sovereign and proud country like Serbia hosts Putin's factory of lies and Russia uses it to spread its propaganda, is unacceptable for both Serbia and the European Union - Salaj said.

He added that they call RT "Vladimir Putin's factory of lies" because the primary material comes from the Kremlin, and is then processed to be understandable and attractive to audiences in Serbia and the Balkans.

- Then RT Balkan distributes it throughout the region - to the Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska, Montenegro and beyond, even to EU member states bordering Serbia - Salaj stated.

He pointed out that the sanctions the EU adopted against RT and RT Balkan have not been adequately implemented, as they noticed that RT France can be watched in France via "copies" of websites, but that there is a big difference compared to Serbia in that it has not banned RT Balkan.

As he said, they called on the EU to hold Serbia accountable because it does not respect EU rules - "Serbia can do whatever it wants, but under these conditions it cannot join the EU".

He stated that they know there is a plan to launch an RT television channel, but they do not know whether it will be launched in Serbia, Republika Srpska or elsewhere.

- That would again be a provocation and another reason for the EU to hold Serbia accountable - Salaj added.