Russia to close branches of Germany's Goethe Institute / Photo: Igor IVANKO - AFP
Russia to close branches of Germany's Goethe Institute
Russia will close multiple branches of Germany's Goethe Institute in response to Germany ordering the closure of a Russian cultural centre in Berlin, Moscow said Thursday, amid spiralling tensions between the two countries.
The Goethe Institute, funded by Germany's foreign office, is a nonprofit organisation that promotes the study of the German language.
The announcement comes after Germany imposed a raft of sanctions on Moscow earlier this week -- including the closure of a cultural centre in Berlin -- over an attempted Russian "hybrid attack" on Leipzig airport last month.
Russia has described Germany's allegations as unsubstantiated and "absurd".
"The Germans have branches of the Goethe Institute here... Of course, they'll be closed once our cultural centre has been forced out over there," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, according to the state TASS news agency.
He said the group's branches in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg would be closed, although the Goethe Institute does not list a branch in Yekaterinburg on its website.
Tensions between the two countries have soared since Berlin accused Moscow of being behind a drone incident at Leipzig airport last month.
Russia summoned Germany's charge d'affaires on Wednesday over what it called Berlin's "anti-Russian actions" in response to the incident.
M.Huber--HHA
