Russia: Zakharova assures Moscow will respond to diplomats’ expulsion from Berlin

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova assured Moscow would respond to Berlin with symmetrical measures since two Russian diplomats were declared ‘persona non grata,’ speaking from Moscow on Thursday.

“As you said yourself, [measures will be] symmetrical. As we said, [they will be] adequate,” said Zakharova, adding, “If Berlin made such a decision, then… and not only that, they also linked it, for some reason, quite incomprehensibly, to the Russian diplomats’ expulsion, then, well, we will have to respond.”

The Supreme Court of Berlin on Wednesday sentenced Russian citizen Vadim Sokolov to life in prison for the murder of Chechen-born Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in August 2019. According to the court’s decision, the murder was allegedly committed on behalf of the state structures of the Russian Federation. After the verdict was announced, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock declared two employees of the Russian embassy persona non grata.

Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday issued a statement rejecting Berlin’s accusations.

“We strongly reject the unfounded and completely disconnected from reality accusations of the involvement of Russian state structures in the murder of the terrorist Z. Khangoshvili, who lived in Germany with the consent of German authorities, which [accusations] were constructed with the assistance of foreign special services and structures affiliated with them,” said the statement.

SOUNDBITES:

SOT, Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson (Russian): “As you said yourself, [measures will be] symmetrical. As we said, [they will be] adequate. For sure as we have never concealed our principled approach to such a development in such a case. You know, nobody cancelled principle of mutuality in international relations. We may like it or not but it is one of the instruments in force in international relations today. So, Berlin made such a decision, and we see that the court decision was politicised and not based on the consideration of real facts, real data. Once again I would like to draw attention to the statement made by the lawyer of the Russian citizen. However, if Berlin made such a decision, then… and not only that, they also linked it, for some reason, quite incomprehensibly, to the Russian diplomats’ expulsion, then, well, we will have to respond. I think we will be issuing an official statement on this in the near future with more information. As you see, our practical response will take some time. But I can assure you, we will respond.”

SOT, Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson (Russian): “As I see you are a citizen of Germany. Do you feel threatened by the Russian media? German citizens should answer this question in the first place. And not only German citizens, but also citizens of other countries who speak German, who watch Russia Today in German. Well, so let them respond. The most paradoxical thing is that they seem to have already answered. And we can see this [their answer], based on the ratings of Russia Today. As I said, it [channel] broadcasted through the website, online before this. We see it through ratings of other Russia Today channels, which broadcast in other languages. People like it. I don’t know, it may not be their only source of information. But it’s an alternative, additional one, that provides some other point of view and allows one to look at events from a different angle. What is the danger here, what is the threat here? In my opinion, on the contrary, if you read all the documents of the OSCE, the Council of Europe, [you will see statements] about pluralism of opinions, about freedom of information dissemination, about democracy, which is based on freedom of speech, about the safety of journalists, which ensures this freedom of speech. So what kind of threat is that? If you don’t agree, well, first of all, you don’t have to watch. Secondly, you can use other sources of information if you want to double-check. Most importantly, if those who say Russia Today is threatening, let’s say, as they say, spreading unreliable information, then present this unreliable information, prove that this information is unreliable. So far, the opposite happens.”

#Zakharova #Germany #Russia

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