German Foreign Ministry: the expulsion of two diplomats from Russia is unreasonable, it will complicate relations
Photo: Joachim Herrmann / Reuters
The German Foreign Ministry (MFA) responded to the expulsion of two of its diplomats from Russia, which was a reaction to the corresponding decision by Berlin. The German Foreign Ministry believes that it is unfounded. TASS reports.
This move did not come as a surprise, but from the point of view of the federal government, it is completely unfounded.
German Foreign Ministry
The German ministry noted that such a move by Moscow would complicate relations between Russia and Germany. At the same time, the representative of the department noted that Berlin will continue to strive for an equal dialogue with Moscow.
Persona non grata
On December 15, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock announced that Germany was declaring two Russian diplomats persona non grata. This decision is connected with the conviction of the Russian citizen Vadim Sokolov (Krasikov) in the case of the murder of Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin in 2019. Killed – a former field commander who fought against Russia during the second Chechen war on the side of Shamil Basayev's militants.
In response to this, the Russian Foreign Ministry on December 20 made a decisive protest to the German ambassador in Moscow, Gese Andreas von Gaire, and declared two diplomats from Germany persona non grata. German diplomats will be expelled from the country in retaliation.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that Moscow will respond proportionately to any unfriendly steps by Berlin in the future. The Foreign Ministry also rejected “out of touch with reality” accusations of the involvement of Russian state bodies in the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
Khangoshvili's verdict
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Georgian citizen of Chechen origin, was shot in the head in a park in Berlin on August 23, 2019. Against the background of the investigation of what happened between Germany and Russia, a diplomatic scandal erupted.
On December 15, 2021, the High Court of Berlin sentenced a 49-year-old Russian citizen to life imprisonment for this crime. He appeared in court materials under the name Vadim Krasikov. The court pointed out the gravity of the deed and gave the Russian a life sentence without the right to early release.
The judge of the Berlin Regional Court, Olaf Arnoldi, in passing the verdict, said that the motives of the Russian state were revenge and retaliation. “Moreover, such a crime was supposed to be a public signal. This is nothing more than state terrorism, ”he stressed.
Berlin's position
In Germany, it is believed that the Russian who committed the murder was connected with the Russian special services and could act “on state orders.” The new German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, called the decision of the German Foreign Ministry to expel two German diplomats correct. He noted that the verdict in the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili is “clear evidence that bad things have happened here.”
German Ambassador to Moscow Geza Andreas von Geir said that the Russian citizen was sentenced by an independent German court and that no political influence was exerted on the court's decision. The ambassador also added that the federal government reacted to what happened with the measures taken, that is, the expulsion of Russian diplomats. “And what happened is a serious violation of the sovereignty of my country,” he stressed.
Moscow's reaction
The Russian ambassador to Berlin, Sergei Nechaev, pointed out that the verdict refers to the Russian state structures allegedly behind the murder. Because of this, he called the court's decision biased and politically motivated, “seriously aggravating the already difficult Russian-German relations.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova supported similar rhetoric and also announced an adequate response to Berlin's actions. At the same time, she stressed that the Russian side is still open to dialogue and cooperation with the new German government.
The press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin strongly disagrees with the decision of the court in Germany in the case of the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
Who is Khangoshvili?
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was a militant of the Caucasus Emirate (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) , he fought against Russia on the side of Chechen militants Shamil Basayev, Abu al-Valid and Aslan Maskhadov. In 2002, he was put on the wanted list on suspicion of terrorism. Khangoshvili was also suspected of banditry and illegal arms trade. In 2020, the Investigative Committee of Russia closed a criminal case against him in connection with the death of a suspect.
According to Russian law enforcement agencies, Khangoshvili participated in attacks on Russian servicemen as part of detachments commanded by associate Shamil Basayev and Khattab, and was also involved in organizing a terrorist attack in the Moscow metro in 2004, preparing a hostage-taking at a Beslan school and sending militants to the Syrian Arab Republic. …
