MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned German Ambassador to Moscow Geza Andreas von Geyr on Monday and handed him a note declaring 40 employees of German diplomatic missions in Russia personae non gratae, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

"On April 25, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Russian Federation Geza Andreas von Geyr was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry," the ministry informed, "The German ambassador received a note announcing 40 employees of German diplomatic missions in Russia personae non gratae as a symmetric response to <…> the decision of the German government."

The Russian diplomatic office also stressed that the Russian Federation considered unacceptable the statement of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, "in which this step of the German authorities was motivated by an absolutely false statement that the work of the mentioned employees was aimed at undermining 'German freedom' and 'the unity of German society,' and also insinuations about what is happening in Ukraine."