03/29/2022 18:28 (act 03/29/2022 18:28)
Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium are expelling Russian diplomats. ©pixabay.com (icon image)
The three EU states, the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium, are expelling a total of dozens of Russian diplomats.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that 17 diplomats accredited to the Russian embassy, who had been exposed as intelligence officers by the Dutch secret service, were to leave the country. Belgium is expelling a total of 21 Russian diplomats on suspicion of spying, Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes told parliament and on Twitter.
Russian diplomats accused of spying
The stage was coordinated with the Netherlands, explained Wilmes. According to the Belgian news agency, the Dutch government accuses those affected of spying and endangering security. Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said he hoped the Moscow government would take appropriate countermeasures.
The diplomats are involved in “espionage and influence operations that threaten national security,” Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès said on Twitter. According to her, the diplomats work for the Russian embassy and consulate. You have to leave the country in 15 days, Wilmès said, according to the Belgian news agency. “This decision is not a sanction, but is solely related to our national security.” Diplomatic channels remained open.
Information collected under “diplomatic cover”.
According to information from the security services, the diplomats were spies, Hoekstra said on the radio. They would have collected information under the “diplomatic cover”. According to the minister, the Russian ambassador was summoned to Itamaraty and informed.
The expulsion was done with the aim of “Dutch security”, Hoekstra said. The changed international situation as a result of the war in Ukraine also played a role. The minister declined to give details about the allegations. The Russians would have to leave the country within the next two weeks.
Ireland also announces the expulsion of diplomats
Ireland has announced the expulsion of four senior officials from the Russian embassy in Dublin. Secretary of State Simon Coveney said they were involved in activities that do not correspond to diplomatic status. Earlier reports said that the Russian embassy had become a stronghold for spying and surveillance.
The Czech Republic expels a diplomat from the country
The Czech Republic expels a Russian diplomat from the country. The Foreign Ministry in Prague announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he had 72 hours to leave the country. “Together with our allies, we are reducing Russian intelligence presence in the EU,” the statement said.
Relations between Prague and Moscow had already collapsed before the war in Ukraine. In April 2021, the Czech government blamed Russia for a 2014 attack on an ammunition depot that killed two people. The Kremlin has vehemently denied this. As a result, both states expelled diplomats from each other.
Moscow is expelling diplomats from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania
In turn, Moscow announced the expulsion of a total of ten diplomats from the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. This is retaliation for the “unjustified” expulsion of Russian diplomats from the three countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. On March 18, the three countries withdrew the accreditation of a total of ten Russian diplomats.