Russia to close Goethe-Institut after Germany’s closure of Russian House

MOSCOW ― Russia will close Goethe-Institut branches in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg in response to the German authorities’ closure of the Russian House in Berlin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

The Goethe-Institut branches will be closed after the Russian House was shut down in Berlin, Lavrov said on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum being held in Vladivostok.

“They found a drone at an airport in Leipzig, Germany. They claimed the drone resembled models used by Russia, although they still cannot draw a definitive conclusion to that effect. On the basis of these assumptions, speculations and guesswork, they decided to close our last remaining consulate general in Bonn and our Russian House in Berlin,” he said.

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The German government on Tuesday blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig Airport on Aug 4, and decided to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn on Sept 18. Other retaliatory measures included termination of the lease for the Russian House in Berlin and stricter entry controls for Russian nationals.