Russia shuts DW’s local office, pulls staff accreditations

By DASHA LITVINOVA and GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it is shutting down the Moscow office of German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle and is withdrawing its staff’s accreditations, in retaliation for a German move against Russian state RT TV. A ministry statement Thursday said the decision was “the first stage” of measures taken in response to Germany ordering RT to cease broadcasting its German-language programs in the country earlier this week. The statement said Deutsche Welle will stop broadcasting in Russia, and authorities will “initiate the procedure” of declaring it a “foreign agent” — a designation that carries additional government scrutiny and strong pejorative connotations aimed at discrediting the recipient.