Zakharova responded to Germany's decision to close the Russian House

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to Germany’s decision to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the “Russian House” in Berlin. She made her statement on September 1, and her remarks were quoted by Russian state media. Zakharova stated that Moscow allegedly views Berlin’s decision as yet another escalation in relations between the two countries. “Both the ‘Russian House’ and our Consulate General in Bonn have long been a thorn in the side of the ruling elite. Now they’ve come up with a pretext. Well, they’ll get a fitting response,” she said.

The Russian spokeswoman did not specify exactly which measures she was referring to. At the same time, she stated that Moscow would respond to all German decisions it considers anti-Russian. “Moscow will respond to all anti-Russian decisions,” Zakharova said.

Berlin’s decision is linked to an incident in Germany that German authorities are viewing in the context of Russian hybrid activities. Last month, an incident involving a drone—which was reportedly equipped with explosives—occurred near a Ukrainian cargo plane at the Leipzig/Halle Airport. Following this, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadepuhl announced retaliatory measures. Among them are the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the “Russian House” in Berlin.

In addition, Germany plans to push for the inclusion of new individuals on the European Union’s sanctions lists. Berlin views these steps as a response to Russian hybrid activities. This refers not only to possible drone attacks but also to a broader range of actions that German authorities link to Russian activities.

Zakharova, for her part, denied the Russian accusations and stated that Germany had allegedly failed to provide sufficient evidence. “As always, no evidence that is even remotely convincing or serious has been presented. There simply isn’t any, and there can’t be! They’ve made up a pretext,” she said. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also accused Berlin of straining relations with Moscow and leveled a series of accusations against Germany. In particular, she claimed that Berlin was allegedly involved in “fanning the flames of the Ukrainian conflict” and other actions against Russia.

These statements reflect the position of the Russian government. Germany, for its part, justifies its decisions by citing the need to respond to threats it associates with Russia. The closure of the “Russian House” and the Russian Consulate General marked yet another step in the deterioration of relations between Berlin and Moscow. Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany tightened sanctions against Russia and scaled back a number of cooperation initiatives with the Russian side.

So far, Moscow has not announced exactly what its response to Berlin’s decision will be. Zakharova merely hinted that the Russian authorities are preparing countermeasures.