Moscow: Russia on Thursday announced the withdrawal of the accreditation of the French Le Monde newspaper's correspondent in Moscow as a retaliatory measure after France refused to issue a visa to a Russian journalist.

According to Anadolu Agency, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Telegram that the French Embassy in Moscow had twice denied a work visa to a reporter from the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. In response, Russia informed the French Foreign Ministry and its ambassador in Moscow that it would take reciprocal action.

Zakharova explained that the decision affected Le Monde's permanent correspondent in Russia, Benjamin Quenelle, whose accreditation needed a technical extension. She emphasized that there was no "political subtext" to this decision and noted that Quenelle was made aware of the situation and actively attempted to resolve it.

Despite warnings about the inevitable repercussions for Quenelle, Zakharova pointed out that French diplomacy remained indifferent and maintained its decision not to issue a visa to the Russian journalist. As a result, the retaliatory measures were enacted. She also mentioned that if the issue with Russian journalists' visas is resolved, the French correspondent's accreditation would be reinstated.

Le Monde's editorial director, Jerome Fenoglio, expressed dismay in a Wednesday article, highlighting that the newspaper would be without a correspondent in the country for the first time since 1957. Fenoglio condemned Russia's decision and urged Moscow to reconsider. He also noted that the French Foreign Ministry had indicated that the names proposed by Moscow for work visas were identified as "agents of Russian intelligence services."