BERLIN'S SPY ALLEGATIONS 'ABSURD,' RESPONSE COMING TO HOSTILE ACTIONS - RUSSIAN EMBASSY

BERLIN, Jan 23 (Bernama-TASS) -- The Russian embassy in Germany confirmed that Ambassador Sergey Nechayev was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry over the detention of a woman suspected of espionage for Moscow, Russian News Agency (TASS) reported.

An official protest was lodged with the Russian diplomat in connection with the detention by German law enforcement agencies of a female German-Ukrainian resident suspected of spying for Russia, the embassy said in a comment on Telegram, adding that an embassy employee was declared persona non grata for allegedly acting as her curator as well.

"We rejected those accusations as an absurd and hastily concocted provocation designed to discredit the Russian diplomatic mission in the context of an escalated `spy frenzy’ in Germany and pointed to the absurdity of the claims," the comment reads.

"We expressed our regret that Germany has chosen to further escalate tensions in Russian-German relations, using fanciful pretexts for that. We made it clear that Berlin’s hostile actions will not go unanswered," the Russian embassy emphasised.

Scandal around expulsion of Russian military attache Germany has moved to expel Russia’s deputy military attache for alleged spy activity, Der Spiegel reported. The embassy employee must leave Germany within 72 hours.

On Wednesday, the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany detained a woman with dual German-Ukrainian citizenship on suspicion of espionage for Russia, the German magazine wrote.

Earlier on Thursday, the German Prosecutor General’s Office authorised her arrest. Investigators say the woman had been maintaining contact with Russian special services, allegedly sending information concerning the Ukraine conflict, including about various political meetings in Germany.

-- BERNAMA-TASS