MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/: Russia will take measures against German news media operating in Russia to respond to the decision by a German regulator to ban broadcasting by RT DE, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The verdict by the German media regulator is an unambiguous sign that Russian concerns have been blatantly ignored," the statement said. "The move leaves us with no other choice than to start implementing retaliatory measures toward the German media that are accredited in Russia, as well as the online intermediaries that removed the channel’s accounts, without any legitimate cause or motive, from their platforms."
The ministry said that the decision of the German regulator ordering the RT DE television channel to stop satellite and other broadcasting was made despite the fact that the news organization operated under a satellite broadcasting license issued by Serbia and in full compliance with the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, which Germany signed.
"It was repeatedly pointed out to Germany that it’s unacceptable to exert politically motivated pressure on the Russian media operator, and it was pointed out that retaliatory measures would be inevitable if Berlin refused to find a constructive solution to the problem it created with RT DE," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The German media regulator has banned RT DE from broadcasting in German in Germany due to lack of a license, the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday. According to the document, RT DE, which requires a broadcasting license under German law, was neither granted nor requested permission. It therefore ordered the channel to halt broadcasting on air, on the Internet, through the mobile app and through the satellite.
