News agencies cited an unnamed government source in Berlin on Saturday, who confirmed a report first published in the online edition of the “Spiegel” newsmagazine.
The source said the female embassy worker had already complied with the Russian government’s order to leave the country. It described the move as “unjustified” and “retaliatory” in nature and said Berlin had communicated its displeasure to the government in Moscow.
The Spiegel report quoted a source in Germany’s foreign office, who said that in previous similar cases, there had been no retaliatory measures. “This is a policy of needle pricks,” the unnamed source said. “We don’t know where this is leading.”
pfd/sb (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
