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Russia Closes German Consulate in St. Petersburg Amid Diplomatic Tensions
Confirmed
In Short: Russia has announced the closure of the German consulate in St. Petersburg, escalating tensions following an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian plane.
Russia's Foreign Ministry announced on Monday the closure of the German consulate in St. Petersburg, part of a series of retaliatory measures following an attempted drone attack in Leipzig, Germany blamed on Russia.
The move comes after Germany closed both the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural center in Berlin, according to Russian officials.
Moscow denied involvement in the drone attack, labeling it a provocation and stating, 'All responsibility for the consequences lies entirely with the German government.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Germany of trying to distract from its own failings, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the closure of German cultural centers in Russia as a retaliatory measure.
What's confirmed
- The ministry said the German consulate must stop operations and its workers must leave Russia by Sept. 18.
- It reaffirmed the previously announced decision to shut German Goethe-Institut cultural centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg and said their employees must leave no later than Sunday.
- Germany said Russia was responsible for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4, when an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian plane.
- “All responsibility for the consequences lies entirely with the German government.” Western officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of conducting a campaign of sabotage and disruption in their countries with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations, accusations Russia has rejected.
What's still developing
- “It was the German authorities who once again provoked a new round of escalation in bilateral relations,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
- Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday announced Russia will close German cultural centres on its territory in a retaliatory measure reflecting the deepening tensions between Moscow and European countries that are helping Ukraine resist the Kremlin’s four-and-a-half-year-old invasion.
- He told an economic forum in the Far East city of Vladivostok that Germany “could not have failed to understand” that closing the centre in Berlin would “signify the end of their cultural presence in Russia”.
- A Norwegian court ordered the seizure as part of efforts by Naftogaz to recover a $4.22bn arbitration award stemming from Russia’s 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea and its seizure of Ukrainian energy assets, including gas fields and pipelines.
- Putin on Thursday compared it to “state terrorism”, and Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Norway’s ambassador to Moscow, Heidi Olufsen, to protest against the seizure of the vessel, which it said belongs to the state weather and environmental monitoring agency.
- Germany says it has become a “daily target” of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign.