Russia bans Germany’s Deutsche Welle after Russian channel blocked

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia on Thursday banned Germany’s Deutsche Welle from broadcasting in the country, in a retaliatory move against Germany’s decision to block Russia’s RT DE television channel.

In a written statement on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it ordered closure of Deutsche Welle's office in Moscow, cancellation of accreditations of all its correspondents, and stop of any kind of broadcasting in Russia.

In addition, the ministry said, the relevant bodies will initiate the procedure of recognizing Deutsche Welle as a media "carrying out functions of a foreign agent in Russia."

The ministry said this is the first stage of Russia's response, noting that it started drafting a list of individuals and organizations involved in barring of RT DE from broadcasting in Germany.