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Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz: "Clear information that bad things have happened here"
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
Before his first EU summit, Chancellor Olaf Scholz supported the de facto expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Germany because of the verdict in the so-called Tiergartenmord trial. The judge's verdict was "clear information that bad things have happened here, and therefore it is absolutely right that the Foreign Minister responded with a clear answer," said the SPD politician before the EU summit in Brussels.
Because of the shooting of a Georgian in the Kleiner Tiergarten park in August 2019, the Berlin Court of Appeal imposed life imprisonment on a Russian on Wednesday.
The victim, a Georgian of Chechen origin, fought against Russia as the leader of a Chechen militia during the Second Chechen War in 2000 and 2004.
He was considered an enemy of the state and was therefore killed in retaliation.
Two diplomats declared "undesirable people"
The judgment speaks of "state terrorism": The judges are convinced that the now 56-year-old acted on behalf of Russian state agencies.
Russia rejects the allegations.
As a consequence, the Foreign Office declared two diplomats from the Russian embassy in Berlin to be "undesirable persons". This is equivalent to expulsion. According to SPIEGEL information, the two are assigned to the Russian secret service FSB. Shortly after the verdict was announced, the Federal Foreign Office invited the Russian ambassador Sergei Netschajew to meet with him. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) spoke of a "serious violation of German law and the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Germany."
The EU summit will also deal with the deployment of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, which has sparked fears of an invasion.
Scholz again emphasized that the inviolability of borders "is one of the most important foundations of peace in Europe".
One will "do everything to ensure that this invulnerability actually remains".
muk / dpa
