On Tuesday, Interfax news service cited Russia’s chief media regulator as saying that the Kremlin will take action against Alphabet Inc's Google if articles from Russian news websites Sputnik and Russia Today are placed lower in search results. According to Interfax, Alexander Zharov, head of media regulator Roskomnadzor, claimed that his agency sent a letter to Google requesting clarification on comments made by Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt about how the Russian websites would be treated in search. Interfax quoted Zharov as saying, “We will receive an answer and understand what to do next. We hope our opinion will be heard, and we won’t have to resort to more serious retaliatory measures."