Several hundred German civil servants working in the fields of education and culture are to leave Russia in the coming days at the request of Moscow, a German government source said on Saturday, according to AFP.

Moscow made the decision after ordering Germany to cut diplomatic staff and state institutions such as the Goethe Institute and the German School in Moscow by early June, the source said.

This source confirms the information of the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which refers to Moscow’s “declaration of diplomatic war” against Berlin.

After the recent reduction in the presence of Russian special services in Germany under pressure from Belin, the Russian Foreign Ministry set “in April a ceiling on the number of German diplomatic personnel and public organizations” allowed to remain in Russia, according to German foreign ministry sources.

“This limit, set by Russia since the beginning of June, involves major reductions in all areas of the (German) presence in Russia,” the same source reported.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia does not name the number of interested persons.

Berlin tried to convince Moscow to reverse the decision

However, a government source said the revelations by the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, which said several hundred people were involved, were “correct”.

In recent weeks, the German authorities tried to force the Russian Foreign Ministry to reconsider the decision, but without success, the newspaper reports.

Thus, German officials, diplomatic and consular staff, but especially cultural and educational workers, are going to pack their bags in the coming days.

Berlin will not sit idly by, but will ensure “balance” after the move, a quoted government source said.

In April, Moscow announced the expulsion of approximately 20 German diplomats in response to what Russian authorities said was a similar move by Berlin. (news.ro)

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