Zakharova warns Germany to immediately stop harassing Russian citizens! Practice | German Customs | Russia
According to today's Russian television website, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova said on July 12 that Berlin must immediately take "mandatory measures" to stop harassing Russian citizens visiting Germany, and explain why the German side has been detaining Russian private cars. This requirement was raised at a time when the staff of the German General Administration of Customs continued to implement this practice at the country's borders.
Zakharova told a reporter from the Russian magazine "International Life" that the actions taken by the German authorities "go even further than the absolutely illegal demands in the anti Russian sanctions regulations.".
Earlier, Russian and German media reported that German customs officials had already begun confiscating private vehicles with Russian license plates when they arrived in Germany. This sometimes happens to Russian tourists traveling in Europe using private passports.
Zakharova said that the Russian Embassy in Berlin has lodged a protest with the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and added that the Russian side has demanded that German customs immediately stop such practices and demand financial and mental compensation for the affected individuals.
Zakharova said, "Whether this is pure legal ignorance by some German officials... or Berlin's deliberate policy of aligning with the EU's endless calculation of the confiscation of Russian assets on quasi legal grounds, such actions will face legitimate countermeasures."
So far, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented on this matter.