MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/. Germany’s new Ambassador to Russia Alexander Graf Lambsdorff on Wednesday presented credentials to Head of the State Protocol Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry Igor Bogdashev at a ceremony in Moscow.

At the ceremony, Russia’s diplomatic agency urged the new German envoy to refrain from "reckless Russophobia" in Berlin and pointed to Germany’s confrontational actions in various spheres, the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, "Russia underscored the confrontational and unfriendly nature of Germany’s actions in various spheres of bilateral relations. <…> [The Russian side] noted the dangerous nature of Germany’s reckless support for the Kiev regime and moves to supply it with German weapons." The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that Moscow would build its relations with Berlin based on its national interests, depending on Germany’s willingness to pay heed to those.

Russia also urged "the German side to refrain from reckless Russophobia being imposed at the state level."

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on June 21 that Moscow had given its consent to the appointment of Lambsdorff as German ambassador. His predecessor, Geza Andreas von Geyr, left Moscow after four years in his post in late July. He described his tenure in the Russian capital as "exciting, frustrating, happy and sad, but never boring."

Lambsdorff of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) is a leading foreign policy expert and is known for his harsh criticism of Russia. He insisted that the West "stand united" in its support for Ukraine and urged Western officials to prevent Russia "from exerting more pressure on its neighbors."