Russia on Wednesday revoked the accreditation of two journalists associated with the German ARD broadcaster and ordered them to leave the country in what is seen as a tit-for-tat move against the German government “targeting two Russian journalists” from Russia’s state TV.
Ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a briefing in Moscow that it may issue accreditation to other ARD employees if German authorities allow journalists from Russia’s Channel One to work in Berlin.
German foreign ministry spokesperson Christian Wagner, however, dismissed the claim that the federal government had shut Channel One’s office, as the Russian broadcaster has claimed.
“The federal government has not closed the office of this broadcaster,” Wagner told a news conference, according to news agency AP.
“Russian journalists can report freely and unhindered in Germany.”
“I can only surmise that this has to do with questions of residence status,” but those are not dealt with by federal authorities in Germany and state authorities make their decisions independently, Wagner added.
Channel One has been under European Union sanctions since December 2022 as tensions inflated between Moscow and the West over Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
The EU sanctions prevent it from broadcasting in Europe but don’t affect the presence of staff who work for it in Berlin.
Responding to Moscow’s move, the German foreign ministry condemned the expulsion by Moscow of two journalists.
“The expulsion of ARD employees by Russia is unacceptable,” the foreign ministry said in a post on social media platform X, adding that the Russian journalists had been subject to “immigration decisions”, which they could appeal.