ISTANBUL

Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned German Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorff to Moscow to protest what it described as harassment of Russian journalists in Germany, the ministry said Friday.

According to the ministry, the ambassador was informed of retaliatory measures being taken by Moscow. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the reasons for the summons had been made public earlier.

She commented on remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said he did not know the reason for the summons, suggesting this was due to a lack of internal communication.

“The reason for the summons was stated a day earlier,” Zakharova said on Telegram. “But since, as it turned out, the German ambassador does not speak Russian and went to get a translator, it seems German diplomats did not convey this information to the chancellor.”

A diplomatic source told the Russian state-run Tass news agency that Lambsdorff did not understand the conversation due to language issues and left shortly to find an interpreter.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Germany of ignoring appeals to end what it calls arbitrary treatment of Russian media and to comply with its international obligations on press freedom.

Berlin has not issued a formal response to the incident or the accusations.