Russia responds to Germany’s ‘groundless’ expulsion of diplomats

Moscow says the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Germany over the allegation of killing a Georgian man in Berlin is “groundless” and “unfriendly.”

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the “politicized approach to the investigation is inappropriate” and promised to take “reciprocal measures.”

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the same day that there were “no serious suspicions there, and there can’t be.”

“What do Russian authorities have to do with it?” he asked, calling the allegation “absolutely groundless.”

Earlier in the day, the German government expelled the duo after state prosecutors announced they had “sufficient evidence” that Moscow or the Chechen government sanctioned the assassination of a Chechen separatist in Berlin.

The German Foreign Office informed the Russian ambassador to Berlin, Sergei Netschajew, that two of his employees were considered personae non gratae with immediate effect, citing the Kremlin’s refusal to cooperate in investigations into the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.

SS