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Russia’s decision to expel German diplomats unjustified, says German Foreign Office

Russia's decision came as a response to the expulsion of Russian diplomats by Germany

BERLIN, December 12. /TASS/. The German Federal Foreign Office considers Russia’s tit-for-tat steps to expel diplomats to be a "wrong signal" and regrets Moscow’s decision, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in Berlin on Thursday.

"The Federal Government regrets to take note of the Russian government’s decision to declare two employees of the German Embassy in Moscow personae non gratae. It sends a wrong signal and is unjustified," the Federal Foreign Office stated.

On December 4, Germany declared two Russian Embassy employees personae non gratae in the wake of a Georgian citizen’s murder in Berlin on August 23. A Russian national is allegedly a suspect in the case. Berlin says the decision was due to Russia’s insufficient cooperation with the investigation.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier dismissed these suspicions as utterly groundless, when asked whether Russia could have had something to do with the incident.