Authorities in Germany took down the German-language Russian state channel RT from the air, a few days after the start of its broadcasts in the country. The channel is considered by most Western governments as a Kremlin propaganda tool, but Russia has reacted sharply
Authorities in Germany have decided to take down the German-language Russian state-run channel RT a few days after the country began broadcasting, claiming that the channel – which is considered the mouthpiece of Russian President Vladimir Putin – has not submitted a request for satellite broadcasting.
The announcement by the European company Eutelsat, which operates communications satellites, that at Germany’s request it had removed RT Deutsch from its channel list – provoked a protest from RT, where they said that the channel had received a broadcasting license from Serbia, which under a European agreement allows it to broadcast in Germany.
Despite the channel’s management’s claim, the German regulator said the Serbian license was not enough: “The channel speaks German, and the target audience is the German market. It did not apply for a broadcasting license and did not receive a license.”
Russia claims that the regulator has succumbed to political pressure, during a tense period between Moscow and Berlin, and President Putin yesterday called for an end to the “discrimination” against the channel, which was also blocked on YouTube a few days ago. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said he did not rule out the possibility that Russia would react to the German decision.
It should be noted that the RT channel – which began broadcasting in 2005, and over the years launched sites and channels in English, Spanish, Arabic and German – is considered by most Western governments as a Kremlin propaganda tool, and a media that is “dramatized” in reports of countries considered Moscow rivals.