The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that it “withdraws consent for the operation of the General Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Saint Petersburg,” and added that the consulate “must cease its work no later than September 18, 2026, and all its staff must leave the Russian Federation no later than this date.”
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This was announced after Berlin accused Moscow last Tuesday of attempting to carry out an attack at Leipzig and Halle airports last month and announced the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn and the so-called Russian House cultural center in the German capital.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that cultural centers belonging to Germany’s Goethe Institute will be closed across the country.
On Monday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that Goethe Institute staff must leave by September 13.
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Germany is one of Ukraine’s main allies, and European countries are concerned about what they call hybrid attacks on their territory.
The European Union (EU) stated that the incident at Leipzig and Halle airports involving a drone loaded with explosives had all the signs of “state-sponsored terrorism.”
Russia denies the accusations.
Over the weekend, S. Lavrov accused Berlin of “wanting war again.”
