BERLIN, December 5. /TASS/: A deputy chairman of the Free Democratic Party of Germany’s parliamentary faction, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, believes that his country’s authorities have made a hasty decision when they expelled two Russian diplomats from the country.
"It’s hard to understand without any clear information why the government expels two Russian diplomats when the investigation is still ongoing," the lawmaker, whose party is part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, told AFP. "Evidence that justifies this step must be presented."
The lawmaker called upon the Berlin government to "immediately enter the crisis dialogue" with the Russian government.
He said that if Russia’s involvement is confirmed in the course of the investigation, it "must have consequences."
Germany’s Federal Prosecution Office on Wednesday took over an investigation into a Georgian’s killing that had taken place in Berlin in early August. "There is enough reason to believe that the killing of Tornike K. was ordered by either Russian state bodies or the authorities of the Chechen Republic, which is part of the Russian Federation," the office said in a statement. The German Foreign Ministry, in turn, announced the expulsion of two Russian embassy employees, citing insufficient cooperation from Moscow.
Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed allegations about Russia’s involvement in the murder as "absolutely groundless."
A 40-year-old Georgian national was killed in the German capital on August 23. The Berlin prosecution said later that same day that a 49-year-old Russian suspect had been detained.
