Editor in chief of “Echo of Moscow” to open its bureau in Kyiv

Aleksey Venediktov, editor in chief of “Echo of Moscow”, had come to Kyiv with several objectives, one of which was to open Kyiv service of the radio station. Venediktov  told it the Strana.ua.  Venediktov noted that the Ukrainian bureau "Echo of Moscow" will include a radio station, website and pages in social networks. According to him, the project will be launched if the law on language quotas is revised, since the bureau plans to broadcast in Russian. “I expect that radio “Echo of Moscow” will be able to operate in Ukraine. I'm willing to open a bureau in Kyiv, and, if you like, in Odessa and Lviv. It is actually strange to have a bureau in Israel, Germany and Washington, but not to have a bureau here in Ukraine. It's just nonsense. My journalists, whom I have verified, have to drive information, opinions of different political forces to Russia from here. Only 4-5 people are needed to do it. But as long as the law on language (meaning the law on language quotas on radio and television - ed.) forbids us to do so. Speaking to people from the new team of the President of Ukraine, I ask the question, whether the law on language is to be amended? “ Alexey Venediktov said. According to him, both Russian and Ukrainian journalists could work in the Ukrainian bureau. He proposed to head the Ukrainian representation Sakena Aimurzaev - the former chief editor of Radio Vesti, correspondent for "Echo of Moscow" in Kyiv. At the same time, Saken Aymurzaev himself told “Detektor Media” he did not hear about it. And rumors were about the opening of the Ukrainian bureau of "Echo of Moscow", according to him for several times. The editor-in-chief of “Echo of Moscow” specified speaking to Strana.ua, he planned to open a bureau in Ukraine five years ago, before the Revolution of Dignity. “I am interested in a purely commercial aspect. Wether we will be able, if the law on language is amended, to open the bureau here that could produce its product for four hours a day, that will be broadcast here and in Moscow. Let's see it. This is a market issue. The bureau should be self-supporting, I will not subsidize it,” said Alexei Venediktov. According to Strana.ua, it is unclear, according to Venediktov, what he projects to do : to launch Ukrainian radio station under the brand name of "Echo of Moscow", which will really fall under the language quota (60% of the Ukrainian language on air), or a bureau to supply  news for the Russian "Echo of Moscow" (then nothing to do with Ukrainian law on language). We will remind, the controlling stake of shares of "Echo of Moscow" belongs to "Gazprom-Media Holding".