BERLIN, April 22. /TASS/. Russia is expelling 34 out of about 90 German diplomats working in Moscow, Germany’s Bild tabloid newspaper reported on Saturday, citing its own sources.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the diplomats were being expelled in response to "Berlin’s hostile steps." The maximum number of staff members of the German diplomatic missions in Russia will also be considerably reduced.
Germany’s DPA news agency reported that a Russian plane IL-96-300 departed from Moscow on Saturday to land in Berlin. It was claimed that the flight had special diplomatic clearance. Initially, no details about either the cargo or passengers were reported. However, as the DPA said, it can be assumed that the flight was related to diplomats.
On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS that German authorities had opted to expel Russian diplomats on a massive scale. The Foreign Ministry added that by doing so, Berlin was pursuing a policy of ruining a whole array of Russian-German relations. The ministry pointed out that Germany, despite its multiple assurances of unwillingness to make the story public, had broken its promises by spilling the beans to the media representatives that are regularly used for "controlled leaks" and fake news.
The Russian Foreign Ministry clarified that in response to Berlin’s hostile steps, Moscow has decided to expel reciprocally German diplomats from Russia, as well as to considerably reduce the maximum number of employees of German diplomatic missions. On April 5, the Russian Foreign Ministry officially notified German Ambassador to Russia Geza Andreas von Geyr of this decision.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the Zvezda TV channel that more than 20 German diplomats would be expelled from Russia in response to Berlin’s steps.
Expulsion of Russian diplomats
On March 25, Germany’s Focus media outlet said, citing sources in the German Federal Foreign Office, that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock planned to declare more than 30 accredited Russian diplomats personae non gratae. According to the Focus, German security agencies claim that these diplomats use their diplomatic status as a cover to illegally obtain political, economic, military, and scientific information for subsequent use in acts of sabotage and dissemination of disinformation.
On March 27, German Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Andrea Sasse did not confirm media reports about the alleged expulsion of diplomats. A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia would give a tough response to such steps.
On April 21, media reports said that Berlin had allegedly taken steps to reduce Russia’s diplomatic presence in Germany. A spokesman for the German foreign ministry told TASS, "The federal government is in contact with the Russian side about issues regarding the personnel of corresponding foreign missions.".