Russia on Thursday condemned the German media regulator’s decision to ban the Russian channel Russia Today (RT) from German soil as an “attack on freedom of expression”. Retaliatory measures are announced.
The Russian state medium has been active in Germany since December 16. RT’s satellite broadcast was also previously banned.
The broadcast of RT in Germany has been banned because the television channel has neither requested nor obtained the necessary permit, the ZAK, the German federal commission that monitors the media, said on Wednesday.
“This is nothing but an attack on freedom of expression and we can only regret it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram that retaliatory measures would be announced on Thursday. She blamed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for its lack of response in the matter.
Russia believes the measures are “politically motivated”, citing tensions with the West over Ukraine.
RT is internationally regarded as a Kremlin propaganda tool and has caused controversy in several countries.
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