Garry Kasparov slams Germany over its support to Russia

A former world chess champion, opposition figure Garry Kasparov have slammed the German government's response to Russia's voting rights being reinstated in the Council of Europe.

"Russia belongs in the Council of Europe — with all the rights and obligations that entails," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement on Twitter. "This is good news for Russia's civil society."

In a series of tweets, Garry Kasparov issued a scathing critique of the decision, including offending Heiko Maas in English "on behalf of Russian civil society forced to live abroad".