INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's Embassy in Yerevan denounced Thursday the temporary suspension of Russian broadcaster Sputnik's local branch over "offensive"
comments a presenter made about Armenia on air.The commission responsible for television and radio announced late Wednesday that the license
of Tospa, the broadcaster of Sputnik Armenia, was being suspended for 30 days after remarks by the Russian TV personality Tigran Keosayan in
November.His opinions do not befit what a "political commentator, presenter and citizen of another country" has the "moral right" to say, it
said.Keosayan also encouraged "illegal acts," the commission said without elaborating.The pro-Kremlin presenter is married to Margarita
Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the RT broadcaster and a loyal supporter of President Vladimir Putin.The Russian Embassy in Yerevan criticized
the decision, saying the measure was being taken to push Armenia further from Russia."This step cannot but look like a concession to those
who are increasingly vociferous in favor of severing the long-standing, mutually beneficial and respectful allied relations between Russia
and Armenia," the embassy said in a statement.Sputnik is a state-run Russian media organization operating in several countries through radio
channels or websites, and has been accused of spreading Kremlin "disinformation."The European Union, Britain and Canada banned it shortly
after Russia sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.In a separate case, the commission inflicted a fine of $1,200 on the channel for
comments that "did not correspond to reality" and were likely "to cause panic" in Armenia.The Caucasus country is a traditional Russian ally
but relations have soured since its historic enemy Azerbaijan seized the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in September.Yerevan says
Moscow did not do enough to stop the lightning Azerbaijani offensive, where Baku seized territory it had not controlled for decades from
