Russia expels two German journalists in tit-for-tat retaliation, ministry says

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it has revoked accreditation of two employees of the German ARD broadcaster and ordered them to leave the country, in what it described as a retaliation to German authorities’ move targeting two journalists from Russia’s state TV. Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that it may issue accreditations to other ARD employees if German authorities allows journalists from Russia’s Channel One to work in Berlin. German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christian Wagner said the federal government hasn’t shut Channel One’s office, as the Russian broadcaster has claimed. He added that federal authorities in Germany don’t deal with issues regarding the Russian journalists’ residence status.