Tit for Tat as Russia Expels German Diplomats in Retaliatory Move

Russia has announced that more than 20 German diplomats will have to leave Moscow following an earlier move by Germany which ordered the expulsion of Russian embassy staff from Berlin. 

The disclosure was made on Saturday by a Foreign Ministry official in Moscow who also accused Berlin of destroying ties with Russia.

Spokeswoman for the ministry, Maria Zakharova, “more than 20” German diplomats would have to leave.

According to her statement, Russia decided to mirror Berlin’s hostile actions by expelling German diplomats from Russia,” the foreign ministry said.

Her statement is coming on the heels of the ministry's denunciation of what it termed “another mass expulsion of employees of Russian diplomatic missions in Germany”.

It noted that in addition to the expelled German diplomats, Russia is also limiting the maximum number of employees in German diplomatic missions in Moscow, pointing out that the German Ambassador, Geza Andreas von Geyr, has been notified of the measures way back on April 5.