The German consulate in St. Petersburg has until September 18 to close. Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced the deadline on Monday. It also gave the staff of every Goethe-Institut branch in the country until September 13 to leave.
The Goethe-Institut promotes German language and culture and is largely paid for by the German government. Russia had ordered its branches shut earlier.
Moscow presented both steps as an answer to Berlin. Germany had decided to close the Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural center in Berlin, a decision the Russian side called “unfriendly.”
“It was the German authorities who, once again, provoked a new round of escalation in bilateral relations,” the Foreign Ministry said. It added that the German government “bears full and complete responsibility” for the consequences.
The drone incident behind it
Germany took its measures after accusing Russia of an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport. German intelligence services said Russia was behind it and that the drone carried explosives. The European Union said the incident had all the signs of “state sponsored terrorism.” Leipzig is a major international freight hub, and it is also used to move supplies in support of Ukraine.
Moscow rejected the accusation as an absurd fabrication. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov went further and called Germany’s allegations “the beginning of a real war.”
Germany has also dealt with several suspected sabotage attempts against its power grid and defence contractors in the past two weeks. Berlin has not directly blamed Russia for them.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that he would “not budge a single millimetre” from his conviction that Germany must defend its freedom against Russia. At home, the pro-Russian Alternative for Germany party was the big winner in a recent regional election in Saxony-Anhalt, despite warnings from German intelligence agencies.
Sources
- Russia says it is closing German consulate in St. Petersburg
- Russia Orders Closure of German Consulate in Saint Petersburg Greek City Times
