Deutsche Welle is banned in Russia. Moscow is reacting drastically in the dispute over a ban on broadcasting the German-language program of its state broadcaster RT DE. This is likely to further strain the already ailing German-Russian relations.
Russia has issued a broadcasting ban on Deutsche Welle, the foreign broadcaster of the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry ordered the closure of the correspondent’s office in Moscow on Thursday and the withdrawal of journalists’ accreditations. This was Russia’s reaction to a broadcast ban on the German-language program of its state broadcaster RT DE.
According to the ministry, the broadcasting of Deutsche Welle’s Russian-language programs via satellite and all other means of transmission is prohibited. In addition, proceedings are being initiated to declare Deutsche Welle a “foreign agent”. Further steps will be informed shortly, it said. Politicians had repeatedly criticized Deutsche Welle’s Russian program.
Deutsche Welle: tit for tat for Aus from RT DE
In Germany, the regulators of the competent Commission for Licensing and Supervision (ZAK) at the media authorities had prohibited the organization and distribution of the television program RT DE. The lack of a broadcasting license was given as the reason for the ban published on Wednesday.
At her meeting with her colleague Sergei Lavrov in Moscow in January, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock declared that state radio was not permitted in Germany. This also applies to the USA, for example. In Germany, the regulation also has historical reasons because of the role of the state media in National Socialism.
On the other hand, the Kremlin spoke on Thursday of an attack on freedom of expression and freedom of the press. “The situation is perfectly clear: a Russian mass medium, I would even say an international mass medium, is banned from broadcasting in Germany. This is nothing more than an attack on the freedom of speech,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax agency.
Critics accuse RT of Kremlin propaganda
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also criticized the fact that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said nothing about the broadcast ban on RT DE and did not advocate freedom of the media. Zakharova made it clear that she expected the OSCE to criticize the Russian countermeasures, but that criticism would then be worthless in view of the silence on RT DE.
RT – formerly Russia Today – also broadcasts in Spanish and Arabic in the USA and other countries and sees its German-language program as a contribution to the diversity of opinion in Europe. Critics accuse RT of Kremlin propaganda and disinformation.
RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan proposed on Wednesday to take action against Deutsche Welle in Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly threatened measures against German media and correspondents in Moscow, but has so far left concrete steps open.
Source: Stern
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