Russia summons German Charge d'Affaires amid diplomatic escalation over Leipzig drone incident

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. German Charge d'Affaires in Moscow Bernd Finke was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry amid anti-Russian actions and statements by German authorities.

He left the ministry building an hour later, a TASS correspondent reported.

TASS has compiled the main information available at this point.

Summoning of German Charge d'Affaires to the Russian Foreign Ministry

- On September 2, German Charge d'Affaires in Moscow, Bernd Finke, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to a message posted on the Foreign Ministry’s Telegram channel.

- He was summoned amid anti-Russian actions and statements by German authorities.

- The German Charge d'Affaires left the building an hour later, a TASS correspondent reports.

Russian Foreign Ministry’s Statement

- Finke was told that Russia resolutely rejects Germany's completely trumped-up accusations regarding the incident in Leipzig, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

- The decision to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin was a step "towards the final destruction" of relations between Russia and Germany, the Foreign Ministry noted.

- Berlin deliberately carried out a provocation aimed at escalating bilateral relations, the Ministry emphasized.

- Germany's anti-Russian actions "will entail a harsh response."

Germany's Actions

- The German Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev in connection with the UAV found at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced on September 1.

- The German government has decided to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn as of September 18, he announced.

- A decision has also been made to denounce the agreement on the activities of the Russian House in Berlin.

- Furthermore, German authorities will tighten entry controls for Russian citizens, Wadephul stated.

- The German foreign minister also asserted that pressure will be increased on the so-called shadow fleet.

- Another step Germany will take, he said, will be to initiate the creation of new sanctions lists for Russians in the EU.

Russia's Response

Russia will respond to Germany's closure of its Consulate General in Bonn "as it deems necessary." The process "will be very swift," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters.

Germany will receive a proper response to its decision to close the Russian House in Berlin and the Russian Consulate General in Bonn, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS.

Russia’s ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev resolutely rejected Germany's accusations of Russia's involvement in the drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport, calling them unsubstantiated and absurd.

Nechayev also told the German side that the measures it announced in connection with the incident constitute an unprecedented escalation and will have consequences.

He later stated that Berlin's measures against Russia make it impossible to organize a polling station for the State Duma elections on the premises of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn. Nechayev noted that Russian-German relations, at the initiative of the German side, are currently "at the freezing point."

The incident in Leipzig is a dirty provocation in the interests of the bankrupt Kiev regime and the European "war party," which is seeking at any cost to drag NATO and the EU into a direct confrontation with Russia, said Russia’s ambassador to Belgium Denis Gonchar, when summoned to the Foreign Ministry regarding the incident, the Russian embassy reported to TASS.

Gonchar stated that Russia will not fall for the duplicitous calls of the EU and NATO for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.