Russia declared two German diplomats persona non grata. The information was made public after the German ambassador was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“They were instructed to leave the territory of our country in the next seven days. A corresponding note was handed over to the Ambassador of Germany,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The step taken was a reaction to the recent decision of the German government. Then two employees of the Russian Embassy in Berlin were declared undesirables.
The Russians’ withdrawal has apparently resulted from the murder of the former Chechen warlord Zelimkhan Khangoshvili that took place in Berlin. The German authorities lay the blame on Moscow for not providing any assistance in the investigation of the crime. In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry considers the accusations to be ‘groundless’.
Previously, President Vladimir Putin announced a tit-for-tat response to the expulsion of the Russian diplomats.
