Russia responds to mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from Germany
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the German authorities have decided on a mass expulsion of Russian diplomatic mission staff in Germany.
Source: European Pravda, citing a statement made by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday, 22 April
Details: The Russian ministry stated that although the German side had repeatedly assured it of their "reluctance to make this story public", it had broken its promises and informed media representatives "which it regularly uses to arrange ‘controlled leaks’ and disinformation ‘dumps’".
Quote: "In response to Berlin's hostile actions, the Russian side has decided on a ‘mirror’ expulsion of German diplomats from Russia, as well as on a significant restriction of the maximum number of employees of German diplomatic missions in our country, of which Geza Andreas von Geyr, Germany's ambassador to Russia, was officially notified during a conversation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia on 5 April 2023."
It is not known how many expelled German and Russian diplomats the Russian ministry is talking about, or the extent of the restrictions on the activities of the German embassy in Moscow.
Background: At the end of March, the German news magazine Focus reported that Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, said more than 30 Russian diplomats were to be expelled from Berlin due to suspicions that they were conducting sabotage operations and disinformation campaigns.
The German Foreign Ministry subsequently denied that there were plans to expel dozens of Russian diplomats.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
