BERLIN: Germany said on Wednesday it will drastically reduce Moscow’s diplomatic presence on its soil in response to a similar move from Russia, in the latest escalation of tensions over the war in Ukraine.

Berlin has ordered four of Moscow’s five consulates in Germany to close, a foreign ministry spokesman told a regular government press conference.

“This was communicated to the Russian foreign ministry today,” the spokesman said.

The move comes after Moscow put a limit of 350 on the number of German personnel allowed in Rus­sia, according to the spokesman.

This will mean that hundreds of civil servants and local employees working for German institutions in Rus­sia will have to leave the country, according to the German foreign ministry.

“This unjustified decision forces the government to make very substantial cuts in all areas of its presence in Russia,” the spokesman said on Wednesday.

This will include closing the German consulates in Kaliningrad, Yekaterin­b­u­­rg and Novosibirsk, with operations to be considerably reduced and discontinued by November, he said.

Germany’s embassy in Moscow and its consulate in St Petersburg will not be affected.

“For the Russian presence in Germany, our decisions apply reciprocally... in order to ensure a balance of the mutual presences both in terms of personnel and structure,” the spokesman added.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2023