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Building of the Russian embassy on Unter den Linden in Berlin: the Federal Foreign Office reacted as expected
Photo: Britta Pedersen / DPA
It only took three days for the federal government to respond.
On Monday the Foreign Office announced in Berlin that a Russian diplomat at the embassy in Berlin had been declared a "persona non grata" - and therefore had to leave Germany.
Berlin reacted to an action by Russia on Friday, in which three diplomats from the EU countries - Germany, Poland and Sweden - had been asked by the Russian side to leave the country soon, according to a message from the Foreign Office.
The reason for the previous expulsion of the diplomats from three EU countries, so the Russian version, was their participation in illegal demonstrations in favor of the imprisoned Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
The Foreign Office had rejected this statement and also repeated its version on Monday, according to which the German diplomat concerned was solely responsible for the task provided for in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, "using lawful means to obtain information about developments on site."
Russia's decision "was in no way justified," the Foreign Office said on Monday.
The German step to expel the Russian diplomat, the Foreign Office continued, was "closely coordinated with Poland, Sweden and the European External Action Service".
The move on the German side does not come as a surprise.
Foreign Minister Heike Maas (SPD) had already declared on Friday: "If the Russian Federation does not reconsider this step, it will not go unanswered."
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) also reacted and called Moscow's measure "unjustified" and "another facet" of "something that can be observed quite far from the rule of law in Russia."
Nevertheless, one has to keep talking to Russia.
Last week, Moscow's measure caused outrage in EU circles mainly because it took place on the day of the visit by EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell to the Russian Foreign Minister.
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