In response to Russia's restriction of the number of German civil servants on its territory, Germany revoked the work permit of four of the five Russian consulates in Germany.
This is reported by Spiegel.
The representative of the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin announced that Germany is responding to Russia's reduction in the number of all employees of German diplomatic missions and other organizations, such as the Goethe Institute, to 350 people, and in response is closing four Russian consulates.
According to him, the Russian side was informed about the decision on May 31, and Moscow is asked to finally close the work of these consulates by December 31, 2023.
Another consulate general and the embassy of Russia will be able to continue their work.
The representative noted that this decision creates "structural and personnel parity."
At the same time, Germany has been closing its three consulates in Russia since November - in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk.
A representative of the German Foreign Ministry called Russia's decision an escalation. "This unjustified decision forces the federal government to resort to very significant cuts in all areas of our presence in Russia," he said.