Russia Not Involved in Khangoshvili’s Murder, Believes Sokolov Innocent, Foreign Ministry Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian state structures are not involved in the murder of Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin, and Moscow believes that Russian citizen Vadim Sokolov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, is innocent, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"We strongly reject the unfounded … accusations of the involvement of Russian state structures in the murder of the terrorist Z. Khangoshvili, who lived in Germany with the knowledge of German authorities, with the assistance of foreign special services and structures affiliated with them," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also said that it considers Sokolov "innocent" and the case to be "politically motivated."

"We are deeply disappointed that the German government decided to carry out, under the pretext of the aforementioned court verdict, another unfriendly action against Russia, declaring two diplomatic employees of the Russian Embassy in Germany personae non gratae, who had nothing to do with Khangoshvili’s case, and the German authorities are well aware of that," the ministry added.

On Wednesday, the Berlin High Court found Russian citizen Sokolov (Krasikov) guilty of the murder of Khangoshvili and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The defence insists on the lack of evidence base, the decision on the appeal has not yet been made. After the verdict, the German Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Sergey Nechaev and announced the expulsion of two Russian diplomats, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.