Russia expelled a German diplomat this Thursday in response to Berlin's decision to expel a Russian official last month over alleged espionage activities, accusations that Moscow considers unfounded.
The episode represents a new escalation in the already deteriorated relations between the two countries and is part of a broader context of growing tensions between Russia and several European states since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that it summoned a representative of the German embassy in Moscow to express a formal protest and to notify him that a member of the German diplomatic staff had been declared persona non grata.
According to the official statement, the measure constitutes a "symmetrical response" to the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Berlin in January, a decision that Russia categorically rejects.
Moscow stated that the espionage accusations made by the German authorities against the Russian diplomat were false and fabricated, and it accused the German government of promoting an "espionage mania."
The ministry described the case as a "low-level provocation" and maintained that Berlin is fully responsible for the new deterioration of bilateral relations.
From Germany, the Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, condemned the Russian decision and described it as "completely unfounded and totally unacceptable." In statements made during an official trip to Brunei, Wadephul accused Moscow of resorting to unjustified reprisals instead of seeking diplomatic solutions. He added that the German government reserves the right to adopt new measures in response to the expulsion.
Wadephul specified that the affected German diplomat was part of the staff of the military attaché's office at the embassy in Moscow. This information matches data published by a German news agency, which cited sources according to which the Russian diplomat expelled from Berlin on January 22 was the deputy military attaché.
