MOSCOW, (Reuters) –Russia will retaliate at Germany for banning the German language service of Russian broadcaster RT. This will affect German media licensed in Russia as well “intermediaries” on the internet, the foreign ministry stated Wednesday.

Germany’s MABB Media Watchdog and Commission for Licensing and Supervision of Media Institutions (ZAK), both stated Wednesday that RT DE required a license that was compliant with Germany’s State Media Treaty and that it could not be replaced with a new one.

In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry claimed that the move “deprives us from any choice but to take retaliatory steps against German media accreditation in Russia, and against internet intermediaries which have voluntarily removed accounts of the television channel from their platforms.”

RT stated that it would sue Germany for its decision.

YouTube removed RT DE in December because it was inconsistent with community standards. The MABB media watchdog Berlin and Brandenburg ruled that RT DE could not be broadcast in Germany due to licensing issues.

Eutelsat removed RT Deutsch, a broadcaster that was broadcast via satellites from its list, from its broadcasting channel. However the broadcaster continued streaming content from its website.

RT DE had to reply to the proceedings by the 2021 end. It stated on its website, that it was granted a Serbian license that permitted it to broadcast in Germany as part of a European Convention on Trans-frontier Television.