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22 Dec 2021, 20:19

Kremlin spokesman calls situation with blocking Russian media abroad ‘cowboy reality’

Dmitry Peskov noted that Russia must react to such outbursts

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the situation with the blocking of Russian media abroad a "cowboy reality," commenting on the German media regulator’s decision to remove the RT DE channel from air.

Speaking on TV, he noted that Russia must react to such outbursts, because "a blocking of an entire mass media outlet in Europe contradicts the very spirit of Europe, all OSCE norms and principles, everything you can imagine."

"But, unfortunately, nobody in Europe or in the US has been paying attention to these minute details, and they do anything they want. This is a kind of ‘cowboy reality,’ and, in this reality, we must act firmly, carefully and insistently so that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, while making it clear to our opponents that we categorically disagree with it, we don’t welcome it and we will not leave it without consequences," Peskov said.

According to RT, German media regulator MABB forced Eutelsat 9B satellite broadcasting operator to remove the German-speaking RT DE channel, broadcasting from its studio in Moscow. RT underscored that the regulator’s actions were illegal and expressed its hope that this decision will be changed in court proceedings.

On December 17, the media reported that the German regulator initiated an investigation ovr suspicion of RT’s violation of broadcasting rules in Germany. According to DPA, the investigation may result in a broadcast ban or even fine of up to 500,000 euro.

On December 16, RT announced that YouTube blocked its German account, RT Deutsch. This happened on the day of the account’s launch. On December 17, Russian IT watchdog demanded that Google removed the ban on YouTube.