Moscow is expelling 20 German diplomats, citing the forced departure of Russian diplomats from Berlin. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in Moscow that it was a reaction to “hostile actions” by Berlin. There was talk of a “mass” expulsion of Russian diplomats.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova initially announced a “mirror-fair” reaction. She then announced on state television that more than 20 Germans had to pack their bags. Exactly how many Russians were affected remained open.
The Foreign Office in Berlin was taciturn on Sunday when asked again about the expulsions and referred to a statement from the previous day. The authority initially only confirmed that the federal government had held talks with Russia in the past few weeks on the presence at the respective foreign missions “with the aim of reducing the Russian intelligence presence in Germany”. It also said on Saturday: “Today’s departure of Russian embassy staff is related to this.”
Even when asked, the foreign office did not provide any information as to whether it was an expulsion. German authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of using diplomats for secret service activities. Russia rejects this.
Russian machine with special permission
Presumably to pick up the diplomats, a Russian government plane landed in Berlin on Saturday with a special permit and then returned to Russia. The Ilyushin Il 96-300 plane arrived back in the Russian capital at Vnukovo Airport in the afternoon. Initially, however, there was no confirmation from either Moscow or Berlin that the Russian diplomats were on board the aircraft.
In Moscow, Zakharova accused the German side of lying. The plans for expulsion to the media had already been canceled weeks ago. There was no confirmation of this from the Federal Foreign Office at the end of March. “Such a measure is currently not planned. Should there be any corresponding decisions, the public would be informed at the appropriate time,” said the Federal Foreign Office a month ago. The “Focus” reported at the time that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) wanted to expel more than 30 diplomats.
The public has not yet been informed of a decision, which is why Zakharova spoke of German lies. Germany first denied it and now pushed through with the expulsion, she criticized. “We strongly condemn this action by Berlin, which continues to demonstratively destroy the entire range of Russian-German relations, including their diplomatic dimension,” the foreign ministry statement said.
Foreign Office taciturn
There will be a “significant limit to the maximum number of employees in German diplomatic missions” in Russia, Zakharova said. The German Ambassador Géza Andreas von Geyr in Moscow was informed about this earlier this month. Based on previous expulsions, between 80 and 90 German diplomats are likely to remain.
“We reject the statement by the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry,” it said on Saturday from the Foreign Office in Berlin – it was unclear exactly which statement was rejected, even when asked. The statement was made in connection with the reference to the talks to reduce the number of Russian intelligence officers in Germany.
In the course of their serious tensions in the past, Germany and Russia have repeatedly expelled diplomats from each other. The representations have already been severely thinned out, the services for German citizens are significantly reduced or are associated with longer waiting times, for example when documents are issued. The situation worsened significantly with the start of the Russian war against Ukraine.
Reaction follows reaction
In April last year, Russia declared 40 German diplomats “undesirable persons” and thus ordered their expulsion. At that time, more than 100 Germans were affected because family members also had to leave the country. A year ago, that figure alone represented about a third of the German diplomatic corps in Russia. This, in turn, was a reaction to the expulsion of 40 Russian diplomats at the beginning of April 2022, who, according to Berlin, were said to have acted as spies in Germany. Since the Russian war of aggression began, the EU and Russia have each expelled hundreds of diplomats.
Even before the war, the federal government had repeatedly expelled Russian diplomats as a sanction. In December 2021, for example, as a consequence of a Berlin murder conviction against a Russian, she declared two employees of the Russian embassy “undesirable persons” and thus forced them to leave the country. Russia always reacts to such expulsions, as Moscow says, “in a mirror-fair manner.”
The flight of the Russian government aircraft aroused interest on Saturday and was discussed on social media. The aircraft had a so-called diplomatic clearance, said a spokesman for the Air Force on Saturday at the request of the German Press Agency. He gave no information about the cargo or passengers. After the EU closed EU airports and airspace to all Russian airlines in February 2022, Russian planes are rare. Russia has also closed its airspace to flights from the EU. Exceptions are possible with special permits.
