Berlin and Moscow have been arguing for a long time about Russian propaganda stations in Germany.
Now Moscow warns against "harassment" of Russian journalists.
Munich – About a month before Russia's Ukraine war began, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
At the press conference, there was an open exchange of blows about the blocking of the Russian state broadcaster RT in Germany.
The debate about Russian media in Germany has been burning under Moscow's fingernails ever since.
Now the next warning came from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Russian media in Germany: Zakharova attacks Berlin and warns of "harassment"
If Russian journalists are "harassed" or put under pressure in Germany, retaliatory measures will be taken against German journalists in Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to Moscow's state news agency
TASS
.
During her visit to Moscow, Baerbock assured that Germany would not intervene in reporting.
However, German media would certainly publish information on behalf of the authorities, said Zakharova.
The German state determines the content of the media and in return pays them for it, Lavrov's spokeswoman also claimed: "They did it in the past and still do it today."
Russian media in Germany: Lavrov spokeswoman accuses Baerbock of "lying".
According to Zakharova, this shows that Baerbock "lied" at the press conference with Lavrov.
"We heard lies from Ms. Baerbock in Moscow," said the diplomat.
She said, for example, that the German state has no connection to the independent press.
"Now it turns out that they even pay them," she pointed out.
Zakharova threatened that Russia would intervene if Western governments, including Berlin, did not guarantee the protection of Russian journalists.
She also warned Western governments not to participate in campaigns that would target Russian media and journalists.
A Year of Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia
A Year of Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia
"In full bloom": Zakharova sees "censorship and manipulation" in German media
Already on Tuesday (March 21) she had accused Germany of “censorship and manipulation” in the media in the short message service Telegram.
Background: Since 2018, the federal government has paid journalists fees of 1.47 million euros for moderation, texts, editing, training, lectures and other events.
This emerges from a question from the AfD parliamentary group, which the Bundestag reported on.
Zakharova took this information as an opportunity to accuse the German government of an "information and propaganda campaign".
In addition, she referred to the information in the Bundestag report that the fees paid by the Federal Intelligence Service were not included in the answer.
The cooperation of the BND is "particularly worth protecting", it said in the communication of the Bundestag.
"That means German security forces pay journalists," Zakharova wrote on Telegram, adding: "Censorship and manipulation of the media in Germany are in full bloom." Meanwhile, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's secret service is apparently forcing patriotic songs to be sung in Russian bars.
(bb)
