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Russia expels 2 German diplomats Russia expels 2 German diplomats
(31 minutes later)
Russia has declared two German diplomats personae non gratae. Monday’s move was intended as a response to a similar decision taken by Germany last week, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow explained.Russia has declared two German diplomats personae non gratae. Monday’s move was intended as a response to a similar decision taken by Germany last week, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow explained.
Moscow’s move comes days after it promised to retaliate after Berlin expelled two Russian diplomats on Wednesday. Reacting to the news, Germany’s foreign ministry has described Moscow’s Monday decision as “unfounded,” adding that the expulsion is likely to further strain bilateral relations. Moscow’s response comes just days after it promised to retaliate after Berlin expelled two Russian diplomats last Wednesday. 
Berlin showed two Russian diplomats the door after a German court had sentenced a Russian national to life in prison over the murder of a Chechen separatist, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, in 2019. Khangoshvili had been wanted in Russia on multiple charges. Three years prior, he had moved to Germany and applied for asylum there. Germany’s foreign minister reacted to the expulsion with a statement describing the step as “not surprising, and yet completely unfounded from the perspective of the German government.” However, Berlin insisted its own decision to boot out two Russian representatives was an “appropriate reaction” to a “major violation of Germany’s sovereignty.” The statement concluded by saying that Moscow’s decision would further “strain relations.”
After Khangoshvili was fatally shot in Berlin’s Tiergarten park, the German authorities were quick to point the finger at Moscow. Russia has denied any involvement in the murder.  Berlin showed two Russian diplomats the door after a German court had sentenced a Russian national to life in prison the same day over the murder of a Chechen separatist, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, in 2019. Khangoshvili had been wanted in Russia on multiple charges. Three years prior, he had moved to Germany and applied for asylum there.
Commenting on the court ruling, Germany’s new foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said the murder was “at the behest of a state,” and called it “a blatant violation of German law and sovereignty.” In response, Russian Ambassador Sergey Nechaev denounced the German court’s verdict as “politically motivated” and “biased.” After Khangoshvili was fatally shot in Berlin’s Tiergarten park, the German authorities were quick to point the finger at Moscow. Russia has denied any involvement in the murder. Russian Ambassador Sergey Nechaev denounced the German court’s verdict as “politically motivated” and “biased.”
DETAILS TO FOLLOW A statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website on Monday dismissed the court’s claims of Moscow’s involvement in the crime as “baseless and divorced from reality.”