MOSCOW, Dec. 12 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday declared two employees of the German embassy in Russia "personae non gratae" and demanded they leave Russia within seven days in retaliation for Germany's expulsion of two Russian diplomats earlier this month.
German Ambassador to Russia Geza Andreas von Geyr was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and received a note about the expulsion of the German diplomats.
The Russian side protested against the "groundless decision" of the German Federal Foreign Office on Dec. 4 to expel two members of staff at the Russian embassy as "the Russian authorities have not cooperated sufficiently" in the investigations into the murder of a Georgian national.
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, 40, a Georgian male of Chechen descent, was killed in a Berlin park on Aug. 23.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied knowledge of any Russian involvement in the incident, but said that the man was wanted by police for murdering at least 98 people and organizing a terrorist attack in the Moscow metro.