Diplomatic scandal between Berlin and Moscow. Accused of 'espionage mania', Germany threatens 'further measures'

Moscow expelled a German diplomat on Thursday in a symmetrical response to what it called Berlin's unjustified expulsion of a Russian diplomat last month and accused Germany of being gripped by “espionage mania”, Reuters reports.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned the head of the German Embassy in Moscow to make an official protest about Berlin's treatment of the Russian diplomat. The ministry said Germany's allegation that the expelled Russian diplomat was engaged in espionage was false and constituted a “low-level provocation”.

“It was emphasized that the unfounded accusations of espionage brought against him by the official authorities in Berlin are completely unfounded and fabricated in the spirit of the “espionage mania” stirred up in Germany by the German authorities,” reads a statement sent by the ministry headed by Sergei Lavrov.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, speaking during a visit to Brunei, accused Moscow of resorting to unjustified retaliatory measures instead of diplomacy.

“The expulsion of a German diplomat from Russia is completely unfounded and totally unacceptable,” he said, adding: “We reserve the right to take further measures.”

Wadephul said the diplomat in question was a staff member of the military attaché at the German Embassy in Moscow.

Security services across Europe have warned of a growing threat from Russian intelligence that is trying to dissuade Western powers from helping Ukraine in its defense efforts against Russia.

Britain also expelled a Russian diplomat on Monday, in a move it described as reciprocal, after Moscow expelled a British diplomat last month, accusing him of being an undeclared spy.

Moscow has denied being behind what Western intelligence officials have described as a systematic campaign of acts of sabotage across Europe.