The German Government has noted with regret the decision by the Russian Government to declare two members of staff of the German Embassy in Moscow personae non gratae. This sends the wrong signal and is unwarranted.

On 4 December, the Federal Foreign Office declared two staff members of the Embassy of the Russian Federation personae non gratae. The German Government was thereby responding to the fact that, despite repeated high‑level demands, the Russian authorities have not cooperated sufficiently in the investigations into the murder of Tornike K. In the German Government’s view, credible and immediate cooperation on the part of the Russian authorities remains imperative. This is required all the more urgently given the fact that the Federal Public Prosecutor General has taken over the investigations in this case as there are sufficient grounds to believe that the killing was carried out either on behalf of state authorities of the Russian Federation or of those of the autonomous Chechen Republic as part of the Russian Federation. The German Government reserves the right to take further steps in this matter as the investigations proceed.