BERLIN: The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that hundreds of German citizens working in the cultural and education sectors are being expelled from Russia in the upcoming month.
According to BBC, Moscow had decided to plug the number of Germans from the start of next month. Reports said that school teachers in Moscow and Goethe Institute cultural association officials will leave Russia soon. The new move follows tit-for-tat expulsions of envoys and increasingly strained ties between Germany and Russia.
Hundreds of German citizens Will leave Russia in June
Earlier, Germany and Russia each declared as many as 40 staff members of their respective embassies personae non grata and ordered them to leave the countries. According to German media that the recent move to expel teachers and cultural staff from Moscow will affect a “low-to-mid three-digit number” of officials, including ambassadors.
The German Ministry for Foreign Affairs told the media, “In view of this unjustified, unilateral, and inexplicable act, the Government of Germany is now also concerned with ensuring a minimum presence of mediators in Moscow while also maintaining a diplomatic presence,”.
In making a decision on the maximum number of Russian citizens in Germany, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would aim at safeguarding actual balance in practice.
Several EU nations have also expelled Russian diplomats since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. Over forty diplomats suspected of spying were issued expulsion orders from at least 4 European Union countries in March 2022.
