WASHINGTON, August 25 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Restrictions on Russian media outlets and pressure on journalists contradict Western countries' alleged commitment to freedom of speech, US journalist Christopher Helali told RIA Novosti.

There is a major contradiction between Western governments' stated commitments, legal obligations, and constitutionally enshrined freedom of speech and the restrictions and pressure faced by not only Russian media outlets and their journalists but by American journalists who speak about alternative viewpoints in the West, Helali said.

Helali has repeatedly visited Russia, including Donbass. In May, he visited Starobelsk, where Ukrainian forces had previously attacked a dormitory and vocational college. He had also visited the Kursk Region following the invasion of Ukrainian forces.

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, the journalist told RIA Novosti that he wanted to obtain Russian citizenship and had sent a relevant letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar