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Russia has complained about restrictions on its state medium "Russia Today" (RT) in Germany and, in return, threatened German media accredited in Moscow with consequences.
"We call on Berlin in all seriousness to ensure the normal functioning of RT," said the spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, Maria Sakharova, the German Press Agency in Moscow.
She complained that banks would refuse to open a business account for RT under pressure from the German authorities.
All restrictive measures for the medium must be ended immediately.
"In the other case, we feel compelled to take tough countermeasures for the German media working in Russia."
RT, formerly Russia Today, is repeatedly criticized in the West as the Kremlin's propaganda instrument for spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation on behalf of the Russian state.
Sakharova did not say what specific steps are planned against the German media in Russia.
"We still hope for an amicable solution."
An "escalation" should be avoided
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The aim is to avoid escalation, she said.
So far, Berlin has not responded to the criticism from Moscow regarding the handling of RT in Germany, complained the ministry spokeswoman.
Russia criticizes that RT's previous commercial bank will close its account at the end of May.
Dozens of German and international banks have also refused to work with RT, said Sakharova.
RT belongs to the Russian state group Rossija Segodnja (Russia today).
Russia complains of an increase in political pressure since RT DE recently announced that it would expand the program that was previously available on the Internet after six years of preparation into a fully-fledged German-language TV broadcaster.
In December, RT DE wanted to go live in Berlin, it was said.
According to reports, there is no license for this.