Russia's Foreign Ministry has deemed "unacceptable" the detention of Russian Channel One correspondents in Turkey's Hatay province on Monday and their subsequent deportation from the country, according to an online statement published on the ministry's website on Tuesday.
Reporters filming an episode of the state-owned channel's flagship current affairs show "Special Correspondent" in the southern region bordering on Syria were detained by uniformed figures who refused to identify themselves, the Slon news website wrote Tuesday.
They were then taken to a police station and informed that they would be deported for failing to comply with a new law requiring Russian journalists in Turkey to have secured a work permit before undertaking their trip, the report went on to say.
According to the ministry statement, Ankara offered no explanation.
Early this week, the Turkish Embassy in Moscow announced that Russian journalists will now have to apply for official permission to work in the country, providing a detailed itinerary and details of prospective interviewees, the TASS news agency reported Wednesday.
"This is a routine procedure in many countries. It's also useful," an unidentified embassy source was quoted as saying in the TASS report.
