"It is impossible to be so, I used to say, indifferent, today - unprofessional. I would like to understand the decision-making mechanism by the office of this representative, which situations to respond to, which not. Is this done, perhaps, biased? Maybe there are some some leverage?" Zakharova said at a briefing.
"We call on the OSCE media freedom office to take the position of an honest broker, although I'm not sure if the word 'broker' is the best in this case, but still [take the position] of a real manager who was hired by members of the organization in order for these managers to control the situation. They have a mandate," she added.
The Russian side failed to find any of her statements in connection with the harassment and slander campaign against RT in Germany and other countries, she said. At the same time, Zakharova noted, Moscow's response to actions against Russian media causes a flurry of indignation from the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.
The Permanent Mission of Russia to the OSCE said on Friday that it was outraged by Ribeiro's reaction to Moscow’s measures against Deutsche Welle (DW) and called it unprofessional.
"We read with outrage the statement of OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro regarding the retaliatory measures taken by the Russian side against Deutsche Welle. There is an obvious selectivity in reading the mandate and a demonstration of extreme unprofessionalism, as well as frank political bias in assessing the situation," the mission said in a statement, adding that it will "draw some serious conclusions".
On the same day, Ribeiro tweeted that she "denounces" Russia’s measures against DW and said that they go against OSCE "principles and commitments". The mission also mentioned that Ribeiro remained quiet when RT DE faced a ban in Germany.
German media regulator MABB officially banned broadcasts by RT DE in Germany on February 2, claiming that the organizers did not have the necessary permission. RT DE received a broadcasting license in Serbia, which under the European Convention on Transfrontier Television accords RT the right to broadcast in most EU countries, including Germany.
In response to the ban, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow would close the DW bureau, annul the accreditation of its employees, and terminate DW satellite and other broadcasts. Meanwhile, the ministry's official told Sputnik that if Germany revisits its position on RT DE, Moscow will respond in kind. The source also noted that during the visit of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Moscow last week, solutions to the RT DE dispute were proposed, but Berlin refused to discuss them.