Berlin denies closing Russian propaganda TV station

The government and the bodies that issue accreditations to foreign journalists did not issue orders to close the bureau of the Russian propaganda TV channel, as Moscow claims.

This was stated at a briefing in Berlin on Wednesday by German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagner, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

«The Russian allegations are untrue. The federal government did not close the bureau of this broadcaster, as Russia claims. Russian journalists can work freely and without hindrance in Germany», – said Wagner and reminded that a number of representatives of the Russian media are accredited to the government.

At the same time, the diplomat suggested that the issue may be in the legal sphere regarding the residence permit (visa), and advised to seek comment from the relevant structure of the federal state of Berlin, which makes its decisions «absolutely independently of the federal government».

Wagner also reminded that «Channel One» has been under EU sanctions since December 2022, but this applies to a broadcasting ban in Europe.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that Berlin is watching with great concern the repressions that the Russian state is applying against its own media outlets and foreign journalists. He warned that if the reports about the ban on journalists from the German ARD television channel from working in Russia turn out to be true, Berlin will express its «strong protest». The «retaliatory measures» that Moscow is threatening are called incompatible here and they promise to protest them.

Earlier, the Berlin correspondent of the Russian state propaganda broadcaster «Pervyy Kanal» Ivan Blagoy reported in a five-minute report that the German side had ordered the bureau to be closed and was forcing him and the cameraman to leave Germany in the first half of December. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told TASS that this step would be followed by «retaliatory measures». There have been reports of the possibility of expelling two ARD journalists from Russia.

As reported, in February 2022, shortly before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany banned the broadcasting of the Russian propaganda resource RT, to which Moscow responded by closing the German foreign service Deutsche Welle. Since then, Western journalists have been forced to renew their residence permits every three months.

«Channel One» defends the Russian invasion of Ukraine, constantly spreads anti-Western rhetoric, disinformation, and openly calls for nuclear strikes on the West. Ivan Blagoy «distinguished» with a scandalous report about «the girl Lisa», which led, among other things, to mass protests in Germany against migrants.