Germany threatens to expel Russian ambassador over war commemoration plans

The German Foreign Ministry warned that Russia’s Ambassador to Berlin, Sergey Nechayev, could be “forcibly removed” if he continued with his plans to attend German commemoration ceremonies related to World War II.

The ministry had issued a directive stating that Russian and Belarusian diplomatic representatives should not attend commemoration events for the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in 1945, in order to prevent the countries responsible for the ongoing aggression against Ukraine from “instrumentalizing” the commemorations.

However, the issue turned into a diplomatic tension when Russian Ambassador Sergey Nechayev gave a defiant response. Nechayev said he could attend the relevant events even if not invited.

Nechayev told the dpa agency, “We do not need a special invitation to honor the memory of Soviet liberators and victims of Nazism in public places.”

The tension could escalate during the commemoration events for the anniversary of the liberation of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Brandenburg on May 4.

In light of Russia’s comments, regional authorities announced that they would comply with the ministry’s directive and exercise their right to control access to public monuments “in coordination with security forces” to prevent Nechayev from attending the event.

A ministry spokesperson said yesterday, “If someone is not invited and is standing at the door, one must consider how to deal with that.”

The spokesperson added, “One option is to use residency rights and not let the person in.”

Notably, the Berlin Municipality also later intervened, stating that they also expected Russian representatives to stay away.

Three frequently visited monuments for the Red Army are located in the capital on May 9, the anniversary of Germany’s surrender according to Moscow time.

Nechayev, however, signaled that he was not afraid of confrontation. Despite not being invited, he had attended the commemoration ceremony for the four-day Battle of the Seelow Heights last week, where the Red Army besieged Berlin in April 1945. He had been welcomed by local authorities.