According to a May 31 statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry , cited by Interfax, Moscow will take commensurate retaliatory measures after Berlin demanded that Russia close four of its five consulates in Germany. “We consider the German Foreign Ministry’s request to close the Russian consulates in Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Frankfurt by December 31, 2023, in the context of Germany’s decision to reduce its consular presence in Russia, as an unfriendly step aimed at further undermining the decades-long, multifaceted, rich, and mutually beneficial Russia-Germany relationship,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Germany has recently carried out mass expulsions of its diplomats, imposed restrictions on some staff of foreign missions, and delayed visa issuance. The ministry stressed that Russia's retaliatory actions were only taken as a response and "on the basis of the principle of reciprocity," and called on Germany to cease actions that escalate tensions with Russia.

The Russian Embassy in Berlin (Germany). Photo: TASS

Earlier, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger said Berlin had informed Moscow that four of the five Russian consulates in Germany needed to be closed. This was a tit-for-tat move after Russia imposed limits on the number of staff at the German embassy and related offices in Russia. Burger said this measure would create a "structural and personnel balance" between the two countries. Recently, Russia demanded that Germany reduce the number of officials working in the country to 350, including those working in cultural institutions and schools.

Besides its embassy in Berlin, Russia has five consulates general in Germany, located in Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Frankfurt, and Bonn. Therefore, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry's announcement, its consulates general in Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Frankfurt have been ordered to close. Germany, for its part, will close its consulates in Kaliningrad, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg. The German embassy in Moscow and the consulate in St. Petersburg will remain open.

This development marks a new escalation of tension in relations between Russia and Germany. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated rapidly since the conflict in Ukraine broke out. Both sides have repeatedly expelled each other's diplomats. According to RIA Novosti, at the end of April this year, Berlin declared more than 20 Russian diplomats "persona non grata." Moscow responded by expelling staff from the German embassy and demanding a maximum staff limit for German institutions in Russia.

Germany was previously heavily reliant on Russian gas supplies. Now, Berlin has sought to reduce this dependence as the West imposes sanctions on Moscow's energy sector in connection with the conflict in Ukraine. Furthermore, Germany is also one of the Western countries providing significant military aid to Kyiv. Russia has repeatedly criticized Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing that they only prolong the conflict.

LAM ANH