Germany advises Russia to close consulates, Moscow to respond

The Germany Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it had asked the Russian foreign affairs department to close the four consulates by December 31.

The ministry statement added that it decided to stop work at three German consulates in the Russian regions of Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. It accused Moscow of closing down the German consulates in Russia saying that unjustified Russian measures coerced the Berlin government to lower number of its staff of all missions in Russia.

Russia's steps affect, in addition to diplomats, personnel working at a German cultural institute and a school in Moscow.

Russia said that it would respond to what it called Germany's "provocative" decision to shut down four out of five Russian consulates in the country by revoking their licences.

"There can be no doubt in Berlin that these ill-considered, provocative actions will not go unanswered by us," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.