Russia and Germany in fresh diplomatic row over media treatment

Russia's Foreign Ministry has announced it will summon the German ambassador and take retaliatory measures in response to what it claims is the mistreatment of Russian state media correspondents in Germany.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Berlin on Thursday of failing to uphold its obligations to protect press freedom and media plurality.

"That is why, as we promised, countermeasures are being worked out," she said. The measures will be formally conveyed to Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, who is to be summoned in the coming days.

Moscow has complained of harassment and expulsion pressures on its journalists in Germany. According to Russian media reports, the latest dispute centres on a representative of a Russian state media holding who is reportedly being forced to leave the country.

Zakharova claimed German authorities are doing "everything possible" to drive Russian journalists out, though she did not specify individuals or outlets.

The stand-off echoes a similar dispute in late 2024, when Moscow expelled two ARD journalists in retaliation after Germany declined to renew the residence permits of two Russian state TV employees in Berlin.

A tit-for-tat reaction is again expected, with the Russian Foreign Ministry widely anticipated to expel additional German journalists in response to the current developments.