Russia has declared a military attache at the German Embassy in Moscow persona non grata. It called the move a response to Germany expelling a diplomat and accusing them of espionage, a charge the Kremlin rejects.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that it had summoned the German Ambassador’s representative to inform them that it had declared a staff member at the German Embassy persona non grata.
The ministry linked the move to a decision by the German government to expel an employee of the Russian Embassy in Berlin last month on espionage allegations which Russia rejects.
It called Thursday’s move a “symmetrical response” and said that Germany bore “full responsibility for the new escalation in bilateral relations.”
Foreign Minister Wadephul calls expulsion ‘completely unacceptable’
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, meanwhile, criticized the move as “completely unacceptable” and said it was lacking in factual basis.
“While our diplomats adhere to the law, Russia relies on escalation and espionage under the guise of diplomacy,” Wadephul said.
He said the German government would continue to respond firmly to Russian activities and that it reserved the right to take further measures if it saw fit.
Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to Brunei, Wadephul said that the affected staff member was part of the military attache staff at the embassy in Moscow.
This appears to correspond to information reported by German new agency dpa, which had cited sources saying that the Russian diplomat expelled on January 22 was the deputy military attache in Berlin. That case was connected to the arrest of a Ukrainian national in Germany accused of gathering sensitive information and passing it to Russia.
Security services across Europe have warned of a growing threat of Russian espionage since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and a series of similar reciprocal expulsions involving a number of NATO member states have taken place in recent years.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
DW News
