Lavrov threatened to close all branches of the Goethe-Institut in Russia following Germany's decision
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced his intention to close all three branches of the Goethe-Institut in Russia following Berlin’s decision to terminate the agreement governing the operation of the “Russian House” in Germany.
According to Lavrov, Moscow plans to close all three branches of the Goethe-Institut in Russia. These include the branches in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Novosibirsk.
“Of course, they will be closed—after our cultural center was expelled from there. Otherwise, we would not respect ourselves,” the Russian foreign minister said.
Thus, the Russian government’s decision will be a response to the closure of the “Russian House” in Berlin.
The Russian minister claimed that Berlin’s decision regarding the “Russian House” allegedly signifies the end of Germany’s cultural presence in Russia.
“They deliberately took a step that unequivocally signifies the end of their cultural presence in the Russian Federation—a presence that had been maintained despite all the Ukrainian-related twists and turns in our relations with the West,” Lavrov said.
The Russian minister’s statement came after Germany’s decision to close the “Russian House” in Berlin in response to the drone incident in Leipzig.
If Lavrov’s statement is carried out, the Goethe-Institut is expected to cease operations in three Russian cities at once.
This was reported by DW.
Germany will terminate the agreement under which the Russian House on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin operates. This was announced by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. The decision was one of several measures in response to the attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4, which the German side links to Russia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova threatened Germany with retaliation following Berlin’s decision to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the “Russian House” in Berlin. She stated that Moscow had allegedly not received convincing evidence of Russia’s involvement in the hybrid attack, which prompted Germany to take these steps.
