Following German audio leak, Moscow summons ambassador
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Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons German Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorff to its headquarters in Moscow, in light of the leaked audio recording.
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People walk past the German Consulate General building in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, June 1, 2023. (AP)
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned German ambassador Alexander Lambsdorff to Moscow on Monday in light of the audio leaks revealing that the German Bundeswehr was planning to destroy the Crimean Bridge.
The editor-in-chief of RT, Margarita Simonyan, revealed last Friday an audio recording containing a conversation that took place on February 19 between German officers discussing how to strike the Crimean Bridge in Russia via the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea.
Simonyan added that the conversation involved Frank Graeve, head of operations at the German Air Force Command, and Ingo Gerhartz, an inspector of the German Air Force, along with employees of the Wiesbaden Air Operations Center.
The conversation's transcript was published by Simonyan, who revealed that Graeve said, as part of the planning process to target the bridge with German Taurus missiles, "We need to break it down into stages. First, we start with the simple steps, then move on to the more complex ones," and he continued, "Or we could approach the British about the possibility of supporting us in the initial stage, and let them deal with the planning issues?"
In Russia's first reactions, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel, "We demand Germany explain what happened, and Berlin is obliged to provide this explanation immediately." She added, "We will consider attempts to avoid answering questions as an admission of guilt."
Germany accuses Russia of seeking to 'destabilize' with leaks
After German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced an investigation into what looked to be a recording of classified army meetings leaked and then broadcasted on Russian social media, Boris Pistorius, the German Defense Minister, stated earlier on Sunday, March 3, that preliminary results should be underway by next week.
During a special announcement, Pistorius expressed that he was not aware of any further leaks and remarked that final results were not yet available. "I expect them to appear within the first few days of next week."
The leak, which is 38 minutes long and dated February 19, reveals officers discussing the operational and targeting details of the homegrown Taurus long-range missiles, which Germany was mulling sending to Ukraine. Interestingly, the way it was being discussed insinuated that it had already been agreed upon.
The officers were also discussing means of maintaining plausible deniability so that Germany could tread as closely as possible to the "red line" of direct involvement without crossing it.
Vowing continued aid to Ukraine, Pistorius accused Russia of undertaking an "information war" explaining that this was intended to "reinforce the legend, the fairy tale that we are working on a war against Russia, which is completely absurd."
The German Defense Minister stated that the senior German commanders' conversation does not indicate a "green light" for the shipment of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Read more: Leaked German recording could deepen NATO rift: WSJ
