The BBC has announced a new syndication agreement between its Russian news site bbcrussian.com and GZT.ru, a Russian online news portal, as part of efforts to open up greater access to BBC news video and text content within the country.

The deal will provide users of the GZT.ru website direct access to Russian-language video content from bbcrussian.com, which the broadcaster claims will see its news reports opened up to an additional audience of 1.6 million users each week.

In a statement on the BBC press office website, head of BBC Russian Sarah Gibson says the broadcaster is able to offer a unique resource to Russian consumers.

Our ambition is to build on BBC Russian’s well-established direct online audience through partnerships with highly-regarded online sites. Our global perspective makes us a unique resource for news consumers in Russia, and this is another way for them to access BBC news and analysis. We see Russian audiences turn to us on big stories, including Russian and regional ones, and we are really pleased to have another way through this partnership to make our content more accessible.”

Hatip: PaidContent:UK