Russia calls German spy charges 'ridiculous', vows response

kremlin

• Germany expelled a Russian diplomat accused of espionage and handling a suspected spy.
• Russia vowed retaliation, calling the allegations a provocation
• Russia demands consular access for citizen arrested in Berlin

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Russia's embassy in Berlin on Thursday vowed retaliation after Germany expelled a diplomat accused of being an intelligence officer who worked as the handler of a woman arrested on spy charges.

In a statement to AFP, the embassy called the allegations "a ridiculous, hastily concocted provocation" and added: "We made it clear that Berlin's unfriendly actions would not go unanswered."

The German foreign ministry earlier announced it had summoned the Russian ambassador, Sergei Nechayev, to inform him of the expulsion of a diplomat "who spied for Russia".

According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, this member of a Russian intelligence service officially worked as a deputy military attache at the embassy.

German prosecutors contend he served as the case officer for a German-Ukrainian businesswoman -- partly identified as Ilona W. -- who was arrested in Berlin on Wednesday on allegations of spying for Russia.

The Russian embassy, however, dismissed the allegations as a "clearly fabricated pretext" to "further aggravate Russian-German relations".

The embassy contended that the information the alleged spy is accused of collecting in Germany is publicly available.

Details of German military aid to Ukraine, for example, "were until recently regularly published on the website of the German Ministry of Defence" and are still "reported in detail by German media".

The embassy also reacted to the separate arrests Wednesday of two men suspected of providing cash and support to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.

Russian diplomats on Thursday made clear to the German government that "we see Berlin's approach as criminalising any contact with the residents and organisations of Donbas, including humanitarian ones," the embassy told AFP.

One of the two suspects is a Russian citizen, and the embassy said it had demanded consular access to "clarify the situation" and "protect his rights and interests".