"A decision by Canada’s Foreign Ministry to refuse to provide press credentials to Russian media to cover the meeting of the so-called Lima Group is shameful and is worth of strong condemnation," the embassy spokesperson said.
"The targeted harassment of the news agencies Sputnik and Ria Novosti as well as the duly accredited in Canada correspondent of TASS runs counter to the declared by Canadian side commitment to free speech, and is nothing more than a politically motivated persecution of journalists", the spokesman said.
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The spokesperson also said "Canada should stop the practice of restricting the right of journalists to freely cover events, without being obstructed or persecuted," and instead "apply to itself the same rules and standards, the observance of which it requires from others."