٠٠:٠٠:٢٠German Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Lambsdorff, left the Russian Foreign Ministry building on Monday, amid an ongoing row over a leaked audio recording of his country's military officers discussing the potential use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine.
Footage shows the diplomat exiting the ministry building and getting into a car, surrounded by journalists.
While the Russian media claimed he had been 'summoned', the German authorities denied it, saying that the meeting was a 'long-scheduled appointment'.
On Friday, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four German senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Kerch Bridge.
"This is a real audio [in which] four Bundeswehr officers, citing, most strikingly, the experience of the Luftwaffe [German Air Force], discuss how it is possible to bomb our Crimean bridge like this and how many missiles would be enough - 10 or 20, and do it in such a way that no one understands anything and so that [German Chancellor] Scholz can continue to claim that he is not involved in the conflict and NATO is not involved in the conflict and that's not his headache," the RT's editor-in-chief said.
The audio also included the claim that the UK had 'people on the ground', which the country has repeatedly denied.
According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.
The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt'. Deputy Head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that it proved Germany was 'preparing for war against Russia'.
Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.
The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.
The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.
Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.
German ambassador leaves Russian FM following row over bombshell leaked audio recording
German Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Lambsdorff, left the Russian Foreign Ministry building on Monday, amid an ongoing row over a leaked audio recording of his country's military officers discussing the potential use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine.
Footage shows the diplomat exiting the ministry building and getting into a car, surrounded by journalists.
While the Russian media claimed he had been 'summoned', the German authorities denied it, saying that the meeting was a 'long-scheduled appointment'.
On Friday, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four German senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Kerch Bridge.
"This is a real audio [in which] four Bundeswehr officers, citing, most strikingly, the experience of the Luftwaffe [German Air Force], discuss how it is possible to bomb our Crimean bridge like this and how many missiles would be enough - 10 or 20, and do it in such a way that no one understands anything and so that [German Chancellor] Scholz can continue to claim that he is not involved in the conflict and NATO is not involved in the conflict and that's not his headache," the RT's editor-in-chief said.
The audio also included the claim that the UK had 'people on the ground', which the country has repeatedly denied.
According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.
The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt'. Deputy Head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that it proved Germany was 'preparing for war against Russia'.
Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.
The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.
The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.
Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.
German Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Lambsdorff, left the Russian Foreign Ministry building on Monday, amid an ongoing row over a leaked audio recording of his country's military officers discussing the potential use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine.
Footage shows the diplomat exiting the ministry building and getting into a car, surrounded by journalists.
While the Russian media claimed he had been 'summoned', the German authorities denied it, saying that the meeting was a 'long-scheduled appointment'.
On Friday, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four German senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Kerch Bridge.
"This is a real audio [in which] four Bundeswehr officers, citing, most strikingly, the experience of the Luftwaffe [German Air Force], discuss how it is possible to bomb our Crimean bridge like this and how many missiles would be enough - 10 or 20, and do it in such a way that no one understands anything and so that [German Chancellor] Scholz can continue to claim that he is not involved in the conflict and NATO is not involved in the conflict and that's not his headache," the RT's editor-in-chief said.
The audio also included the claim that the UK had 'people on the ground', which the country has repeatedly denied.
According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.
The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt'. Deputy Head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that it proved Germany was 'preparing for war against Russia'.
Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.
The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.
The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.
Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.