Moscow says Moldova ban on TV channels 'political censorship'

Russia on Saturday accused Moldova of "political censorship" after the small eastern European country suspended the broadcasting license of six television channels over accusations of misinformation.

Moldova on Friday said the decision was made due to the "lack of correct information" in their coverage of national events and Russia's military campaign in Ukraine among other reasons.

Some of the suspended channels re-transmit programs from Russian television channels that were on Friday banned in the European Union as part of a new package of sanctions on Moscow.

"We consider this ban to be an unprecedented act of political censorship, an abuse of the principle of media pluralism, and a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of access to information," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The ban will come into effect on Monday and will remain in place for the duration of the nationwide emergency situation that Moldova declared after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in late February.

A country of 2.6 million people wedged between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova was this summer granted candidate status to join the European Union, starting the process of joining the bloc that could take many years.

Russian is widely spoken in the former Soviet nation.