Russia’s Lavrov accuses Germany of moving towards war with it

MOSCOW – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Germany of moving towards a direct confrontation with Russia as he criticised Berlin’s decision to close some diplomatic offices after a drone incident at Leipzig airport.

“In general, this is, broadly speaking, kind of the beginning of a real war,” Lavrov said in comments published on Telegram by Russian state TV channel Vesti. 

“I remember that before the start of World War II, the Great Patriotic War, the Germans also closed their diplomatic missions,” Lavrov said. “They want war again.”

Germany blamed Russia after a drone carrying an explosive device was discovered at the Leipzig airport in August.

Russia denied the claim, with President Vladimir Putin instead accusing Germany of planting evidence.

Moscow has been ramping up its confrontational rhetoric as part of a campaign to increase pressure on the West, and Lavrov is known for being particularly combative. 

Germany ordered the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the Russian House, which had been a symbol of relations with postwar Germany.

The government in Berlin said last week that an investigation found that Russia was behind a failed drone attack.

The country will also tighten border controls for Russian nationals. 

In retaliation for the shuttering of the Russian facilities, the Kremlin said it will close branches of Germany’s Goethe Institut. 

European Union officials have warned that Russia’s escalating hybrid attacks represent one of the bloc’s most significant strategic threats.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is “essentially moving to declare war on us”, Lavrov said. Russia’s leadership “will draw the appropriate conclusions”. BLOOMBERG