The measures taken against the television company Deutsche Welle (DW) are groundless and complicate relations between Berlin and Moscow. This is stated in a statement by a representative of the German Foreign Ministry, circulated on Thursday, February 3.
He said that this step on the part of Russia is probably a response to the decision of the Commission for Licensing and Supervision of the Media of Germany to ban the broadcasting of the RT DE TV channel in Germany.
However, the ministry believes that these situations cannot be compared: RT DE broadcasts without a license and does not apply for permission.
“The measures announced today by the Russian government are without any foundation and will place a new burden on German-Russian relations. If these measures are actually implemented, it will significantly limit the freedom of independent journalists to report on events, which is of particular importance just at a time of political tension, ”the message says.
The day before, the German authorities decided to ban the broadcasting of the RT DE channel on the Eutelsat satellite, smart TV, the RT website and application, and the Odyssey platform.
RT expressed the opinion that the actions of the German media regulator are illegal and violate the European Convention on Cross-border Television (ECTT).
The Russian authorities, as part of the first stage of retaliatory measures, decided to close the correspondent office of the German television and radio company Deutsche Welle in the Russian Federation.
In addition, the departments responsible for implementing the decision in the Russian Federation plan to cancel the accreditations of all employees of the Russian bureau of the television and radio company, ban satellite and other Deutsche Welle broadcasts in the country, and also initiate consideration of the issue of recognizing the German company as a foreign media agent.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that “the verdict of the German media regulator is an unambiguous signal that Russian concerns are defiantly ignored.” Moscow is forced to start implementing retaliatory measures against accredited German media outlets, the Russian ministry said.
As Jan Nolte, deputy of the Bundestag from the Alternative for Germany party, told Izvestia, Russia’s response to the ban on broadcasting of the RT DE TV channel in Germany is understandable, in his opinion, this situation was the fault of the FRG.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
