Berlin has stuck to a familiar pattern in blaming Moscow for a recent drone incident despite a lack of evidence, Karin Kneissl has told RT
Germany appears to be seeking a pretext for further confrontation with Russia by accusing Moscow without evidence over a recent drone incident, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has told RT.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the German authorities had concluded that Russia was behind the August 4 incident in which an explosive-laden drone was found between Ukrainian Antonov cargo planes at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
Berlin subsequently announced the imminent closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin, as well as tighter border controls for Russian citizens.
Moscow has rejected the allegations, with President Vladimir Putin suggesting they were being used as a smokescreen to distract Germans from domestic political and economic problems.
Speaking to RT on Wednesday, Kneissl said Berlin had followed a familiar Western pattern of blaming Russia before presenting any hard evidence. The latest allegations are “not based on facts,” but merely assumptions, she said.
“There is no evidence, there are no facts, it’s just an allegation.”
Kneissl suggested that the speed with which Berlin blamed Moscow could signal that the German leadership is “ready to confront Russia.”
She also described the decision to shut down the Russian House in Berlin as a “very deplorable measure,” noting that cultural institutions were rarely targeted even at the height of the Cold War.
Speaking on Tuesday, Putin accused the German authorities of having “planted the evidence” to frame Russia. He also called Berlin’s confrontational stance a “gross mistake” that runs counter to the interests of the German people.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the German authorities had long sought to target both the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin, and had concocted an “absolutely trumped-up and far-fetched” pretext to further damage bilateral relations.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia would respond to Germany’s moves by shutting down the Goethe Institute centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Ekaterinburg, which promote German language and culture.
