Russia has moved to close CBC/Radio-Canada’s Moscow bureau and strip its journalists of their visas and accreditation, saying it was retaliating after Canada banned Russian state TV station RT.

Speaking with reporters in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Canada and other countries of “open attacks on the Russian media”.

“A decision has been taken to impose retaliatory measures against Canada’s actions: the closure of the Moscow bureau of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, including the nullification of the accreditations and visas of their journalists,” Zakharova said in Russian, her comments translated by Reuters.

The Russian Embassy in Ottawa confirmed the development.