[German Foreign Ministry: Russia asks hundreds of German civil servants to leave the country] the German Foreign Ministry said on 27 May local time that according to the request of the Russian side, hundreds of German civil servants working in German offices in Russia will leave the country in the next few days. A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia's move is a response to Germany's previous expulsion of Russian diplomats. According to the German side, the Russian Foreign Ministry decided in April to limit the number of staff of German missions and agencies in Russia, which began in early June and "requires all our agencies in Russia to significantly reduce the number of personnel." According to a report in the South Deutsche newspaper earlier in the day, Russia lowered the limit on the total number of staff of German institutions in Russia to 350.