Germany will close four of the five Russian consulates in the country
This may be a response to the expulsion of hundreds of German citizens working in the fields of culture and education from Russia
Four out of five Russian consulates will be closed in Germany, according to Russian media. According to German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christopher Burger, the Russian Embassy in Berlin will continue to operate in addition to the one remaining consulate.
The German authorities took this action in response to Russia's decision to reduce the presence of German government employees in the country to 350 people.
The German missions in Kaliningrad, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg will be closed. At the same time, German consulates general in Moscow and St. Petersburg will continue to operate.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced that a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry is expected in the near future in connection with Berlin's decision.
On May 27, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on the expulsion of hundreds of German citizens working in the fields of culture and education from Russia. It will affect teachers of the Friedrich Josef Haas School at the German Embassy, employees of the Goethe Institute, as well as diplomats and cultural mediators.
According to the German newspaper's source, the German Foreign Ministry tried to dissuade the Russian side from taking such measures, but in the end, Moscow still made the decision to expel them, which Berlin considers "unilateral, unreasonable and incomprehensible."
In April, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from Germany.
This step was explained in Berlin by the need to reduce the activity of Russian special services in the country. Prior to that, there were reports that the German authorities suspected dozens of Russian diplomatic staff of espionage.
Background. In Helsinki, the authorities seized property and land of the Russian Center for Science and Culture, which was a front for spies.
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