Although the Moscow correspondent of Germany’s ZDF TV (second national public channel) had been invited for the Dec. 26 press conference of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, he explained that his management had actually forbidden him to take part.
The affair prompted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to point to the anti-Russian bias in German mainstream media, declaring that “it is not as if the German press is not interested in news from Russia and statements from official Russian representatives, but it does give the impression that information from Russia is simply being blocked.”
Zakharova rejected media charges that Russia was obstructing the work of German journalists: “How is Moscow supposed to obstruct the work of German journalists, when it is actually their own editorial offices that are prohibiting their own media representatives from carrying out their direct journalistic duties? Where is the independence of German journalists if they are forbidden to do their job? What are German journalists in Moscow dealing with at all if an interview with the head of the foreign office of their accreditation state is not supposed to be a meaningful occasion for them to report?”
“I would like to emphasize this explicitly: This is a shining example of a German journalist’s work in Russia being restricted by his own editorial team. Under the pretext of the Christmas program, he was banned from attending a press conference held by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This is a case of self-censorship by the German media and a ban that German journalists have imposed on themselves in order to avoid taking part in really lively media events in the format of a direct exchange. This is a clear example of the restriction of freedom of expression.” (quotes as per press release by Russian embassy in Berlin)
