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🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

Diplomatic Retaliation: Moscow Closes Goethe Institutes and St. Petersburg Consulate

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Russia ordered all Goethe Institutes in the country to close and told their staff to leave by September 13, while Germany’s consulate in St. Petersburg must close by September 18.
  • Moscow described the moves as retaliation for Germany’s planned closure of the Russian House in Berlin and Russia’s consulate in Bonn.
  • The measures follow Germany’s attribution of an attempted explosives-drone attack near a Ukrainian transport aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport to Russian intelligence services, an allegation Moscow denies.

Moscow has ordered all Goethe Institutes in Russia to close and instructed their employees to leave the country by September 13. It also ordered the closure of Germany’s consulate general in St. Petersburg by September 18, with its staff told to depart.

Russia presented the measures as a response to steps Germany announced against Russian facilities in Berlin and Bonn. Berlin said it would close the Russian House in Berlin and the Russian consulate general in Bonn after blaming Moscow for an attempted explosives-drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport.

a serious mistake

· Vladimir PutinThe Russian president used the phrase to describe Germany’s sanctions.

Russia categorically denies involvement. President Vladimir Putin called Germany’s sanctions “a serious mistake” and said the evidence had been fabricated. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Germany’s accusations over the attempted attack as “the beginning of a real war.” He also compared the closure of Russia’s consulate in Bonn and its cultural institute in Berlin with the start of the Second World War, and was quoted as saying that the Germans apparently wanted war again.

the beginning of a real war

· Sergei LavrovThe Russian foreign minister used the phrase for Germany’s accusations over the attempted airport attack.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said German authorities had once again triggered another escalation in bilateral relations and that full responsibility for the consequences lay with the German government. The dispute follows an incident in early August, when a drone carrying an explosive device was found near a Ukrainian transport aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport. No explosion occurred, and two more drones were later found.

After a four-week review, the German government said in early September that Russian intelligence services were responsible. Berlin believes Germany is being targeted by covert Russian intelligence operations because of its support for Ukraine. The consulate closure also follows years of reciprocal restrictions. In 2023, Germany barred Russia from operating four of its five consulates general in Germany. Russia had earlier limited the number of German state employees in the country to 350, after which Germany closed its consulates in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk.

just the German authorities have once again triggered another escalation in bilateral relations

· Russian Foreign MinistryThe ministry blamed Germany for the latest deterioration in diplomatic ties.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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