Russia recalls envoy after Joe Biden says 'killer' Putin will 'pay the price'
Moscow, Mar 18: Russia is recalling its ambassador to the United States for consultations, the foreign ministry said Wednesday without citing a specific reason.
The move to bring Anatoly Antonov to Moscow comes amid rising tensions with President Joe Biden's administration, which has imposed sanctions over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is now in prison.
It also comes on the heels of a declassified report from the US national intelligence director's office that finds President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in last November's presidential election.
In a television interview aired on Wednesday, Biden was asked whether he thought Putin is a killer and said I do.
(Putin) will pay a price, Biden said, asked about the declassified report.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not cite specific reasons for Antonov's return but said that relations are in a difficult state, which Washington has brought to a dead end in recent years."
"We are interested in preventing their irreversible degradation, if the Americans are aware of the associated risks, she added.
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International Federation of Journalists says 128 journalists killed worldwide in 2025
Majority killed in conflict zones
Brussels, Belgium: A total of 128 journalists lost their lives across the world in 2025, with more than half of the deaths recorded in the Middle East, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said on Thursday.
According to the global press body, the Palestinian territories accounted for the highest number of fatalities, with 56 media professionals killed as Israel’s war with Hamas continued in Gaza. IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger described the situation as unprecedented, saying the concentration of deaths in such a small geographical area over a short period had not been seen before.
“This is not just a statistic. It is a global red alert for our colleagues,” Bellanger told AFP, warning that the scale of violence against journalists reflected a deepening crisis for press freedom worldwide.
Journalists were also killed in several other countries during the year, including Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, Peru and India. This shows the risks faced by media workers in both conflict zones and politically volatile regions.
Bellanger also criticised the lack of accountability for attacks on journalists, arguing that impunity continued to fuel violence against the press. Without justice, he said, those responsible for targeting journalists are emboldened to continue.
The IFJ report said 533 journalists were currently imprisoned, a figure that has more than doubled over the past five years. China remained the world’s largest jailer of journalists, with 143 reporters detained, including several in Hong Kong, where the imposition of national security laws has drawn criticism from Western governments.
The IFJ noted that its death toll is typically higher than figures released by other watchdogs due to differences in methodology. Its count for 2025 includes nine journalists who died in accidents. In comparison, Reporters Without Borders reported 67 journalists killed in the line of duty during the year, while UNESCO placed the number at 93.
