Moscow is forced to respond to Berlin's anti-Russian steps, while Russia is not the initiator of unfriendly actions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. The diplomat recalled that a lot of Russophobic steps are being taken against Russia, in particular, Berlin is spreading a "new lie" She recalled the case when Germany rejected reports of the expulsion of Russian diplomats, but then they went to Russia.
According to her, in this way the German Foreign Ministry acts secretly from the public.