Russia has strongly condemned the treatment of a Russian television crew by Turkish authorities.
The Foreign Ministry says the crew from the TV channel Rossiya-1 was detained in the southwestern province of Hatay bordering Syria on December 7, and that Turkish authorities decided to deport them on the grounds that they violated the rules of foreign journalists' work in Turkey.
The ministry also said Turkish authorities refused to give explanations to representatives of the Russian Embassy in Ankara.
"We strongly condemn the illegal actions of the Turkish authorities," the statement said. "Such attitude toward the media is absolutely unacceptable."
The development comes amid a bitter row between Moscow and Ankara triggered by the Turkish military's downing of a Russian bomber on the Syrian border on November 24.
