Russia warns Germany not to escalate Deutsche Welle broadcast ban

After banning German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) from working in Russia this week, Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Germany on Friday against further escalations to the situation.

"If Germany is bent on escalation, then we will respond accordingly," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, adding that, if Germany opted to normalize the situation instead, then Russia would be likely to respond in kind.

The Foreign Ministry effectively ended the news organization's work in Russia on Thursday, revoking the accreditation of DW journalists and announcing the network's Moscow bureau would be closed.

DW has had a broadcasting licence in Russia since 2005. A total of 19 employees at DW's Moscow bureau were having their accreditation withdrawn, the Foreign Ministry said, including three employees with non-Russian citizenship.

Moscow's move has been widely seen as retaliation for a decision on Wednesday by Germany's Commission for Licensing and Supervision (ZAK), the agency responsible for regulating media outlets. It banned Russian state-owned TV channel RT DE from broadcasting in Germany due to its lack of a licence.

Russia's move against DW has sparked international criticism, with the European Union foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano condemning the decision on Friday, and saying the move was "unacceptable and lacks any justification."

Stano said the German regulator's decision to ban RT DE due to a lack of licence could be compared to DW's work in Russia.

"The reaction of the Russian authorities regrettably illustrates yet again their continuous violations of media freedom and disregard for independence of the media," he said.

Deputy German government spokesperson Wolfgang Büchner told reporters in Berlin on Friday: "We appeal very urgently to the Russian side not to misuse the licensing problems of the RT broadcaster to restrict press freedom and free speech," adding that the measures taken against Deutsche Welle were completely unjustified.

Under the heading "Press freedom" DW made the following statement on its website on Friday: "The office of Deutsche Welle in Moscow is closed. The German foreign broadcaster is thus complying with the broadcast ban issued by the Russian government."