The Russian government will close Goethe-Institut branches across the country in response to Germany's planned closure of the Russian House in Berlin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
The Goethe-Institut is Germany's international cultural institute and has its main Russian branch in Moscow as well as sites in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.
Lavrov said the closures were a response to Berlin's decision to shut the Russian House of Science and Culture in the German capital, according to the Interfax news agency. The state-funded centre promotes Russian language and culture.
"Of course they will be closed after our cultural centre was expelled
from there [from Berlin]," Lavrov said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
The German government announced the closure after an explosives-laden drone was found at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August.
On Tuesday, Berlin said publicly for the first time that it holds Moscow responsible for the attempted attack, a claim Russia has firmly rejected. The drone, which was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane, failed to detonate.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced punitive measures, including the closure of the Russian House and the Russian consulate in Bonn.
Lavrov argued that German authorities did not provide evidence, saying they had seen a drone and concluded that it looked Russian.
Moscow has described the incident as a "provocation" serving only the interests of militaristic circles in Europe and Ukraine.
Lavrov said Moscow's response to what he described as the German government's anti-Russian sanctions was a matter of self-respect. He also accused the West of continuing to rely on sanctions and pressure rather than negotiations in the conflict over Ukraine.
Despite tensions with the West over Russia's war against Ukraine, the Goethe-Institut had until now been able to continue operating. It is one of the last German institutions still active in Russia.
Russia has declared numerous foreign foundations and organizations "undesirable," effectively banning them from operating in the country.
The Goethe-Institut has significantly scaled back its activities in Russia because of the conflict over Ukraine, but has continued to organize cultural events.
On Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the chargé d'affaires of the German Embassy in Moscow to protest against Berlin's measures announced on Tuesday.
The ministry said the diplomat had been summoned over what it described as Berlin's anti-Russian actions and statements by the German leadership.
Moscow rejected what it called unfounded allegations of Russian involvement in the Leipzig incident. In a statement issued after the meeting, it accused Berlin of an open provocation aimed at undermining Russian-German relations and warned that the German government's actions would be met with a tough response.
Russia has also promised to take further retaliation, potentially including the closure of the German consulate general in St Petersburg.
The two countries have previously closed each other's consulates as part of tit-for-tat measures that have also involved the expulsion of diplomats and their families.