Germany German Foreign Office summons Russian ambassador

Following the expulsion of two ARD employees by the Russian authorities, the German Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador in Berlin.

"The expulsion of the ARD employees by Russia is unacceptable and the justification is simply wrong and a lie. We condemn this in the strongest possible terms," said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Berlin, explaining her decision.

The Green politician accused the Russian government of a "propaganda battle with false claims". "It is simply wrong that we have restrictions on press freedom in Germany or Europe," she said.

ARD journalists must leave Russia by December 16

On Wednesday, Russia ordered the expulsion of two ARD employees - a correspondent and a technician. They have until December 16 to return their accreditation and leave Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova explained that this was in response to the expulsion of Russian state television correspondents by German authorities. The TV station 1. Kanal had previously reported that it had been asked by German authorities to close its office in Berlin - but the German authorities disagree.

In response to a dpa inquiry, the responsible state office for immigration in Berlin said that the authority had denied residence permits to five people from several Russian media outlets, including four journalists and a wife. Some of the legal cases are reportedly still open. One of the reasons given for one of the cases was that the Russian media was spreading misinformation and propaganda to discredit the West and the EU. The authority also relied on the EU and a sanctions package that also affects Russian media.

Baerbock refers to constitutional procedure

Baerbock pointed out that this is a constitutional procedure and that the decision of the State Immigration Office could be appealed against.

The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry explained in Moscow that the Russian broadcaster's journalists had been harassed in Germany for over a year. Moscow had warned the German Foreign Ministry six months ago that this would result in a reaction, according to Zakharova. Russian Ambassador Sergei Netshaev will now remind the Foreign Office of this course of events.

Difficulties for foreign journalists in Russia

Russia has made it much more difficult for foreign journalists to work in Russia since the start of the war against Ukraine. Correspondents from so-called "unfriendly countries" are now only granted the necessary accreditation for three months instead of one year. The dangers of reporting have also increased: The Russian secret service FSB arrested "Wall Street Journal" correspondent Evan Gershkovich in March 2023 for alleged espionage - a Russian court had sentenced him to 16 years in prison for this. He was only released in a major prisoner exchange in the summer.

The Russian authorities had already closed Deutsche Welle's office in Moscow shortly before the war. Moscow justified this with a ban on broadcasting the German-language service of the Kremlin channel RT.

SDA