Russian extremist Vladimir Zhirinovsky headed back to Moscow on Wednesday after Germany followed Bulgaria's example and said the far-right nationalist leader was unwelcome.
Zhirinovsky's much-publicized tour of European countries came to an abrupt halt after Bulgaria on Tuesday accused him of insulting the president and interfering in the nation's internal affairs. Bulgaria gave him 24 hours to leave.Zhirinovsky planned to travel to Berlin, but German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel on Wednesday rejected his request for a visitor's visa. Chancellor Helmut Kohl also was involved in the decision, said Dieter Vogel, Kohl's spokesman.
Dubbed the "Russian Hitler" by some German news media, Zhir-i-nov-sky has made a number of trips to Germany, where he is idolized by right-wing extremists because he says land forfeited by Germany after World War II should be returned.
Vogel said in a television interview that Zhirinovsky "represents totally extreme views, for example on borders in Europe, which aren't good under any circumstances."
The Russian Foreign Ministry distanced itself from Zhirinovsky on Wednesday, chiding him for "making statements violating generally recognized rules of etiquette" while abroad, according to the Interfax news agency.
Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party was the top vote-getter in the Dec. 12 elections and will have 65 seats in the lower house of Russia's new parliament but is unlikely to form a governing coa-li-tion.
Zhirinovsky drew the ire of the Bulgarian government by suggesting that President Zhelyu Zhelev should be replaced and that Bulgaria could expand its territory to include the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia.
He previously had met with right-wing leaders in Austria.
Veselin Koshev, leader of the Bulgarian Liberal Democratic Party who hosted Zhirinovsky in Bulgaria, said the Russian planned to visit Austria again on Jan. 5.
Koshev said Zhirinovsky expected to meet Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Sunday.