Dozens of diplomats from Belgium and the Netherlands have to leave the country. It is a retaliatory measure, argues Russia.
Russia expels 36 European diplomats, including four from Austria. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow announced on Tuesday that 21 diplomats from Belgium and 15 more from the Netherlands had been declared undesirable. It was in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian diplomats in connection with Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
According to the Reuters and dpa news agencies, four Austrian embassy employees are also affected by the punitive measures. Ambassadors from all affected countries were also summoned to the Moscow Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the ministry, 14 staff at the Dutch Embassy in Moscow and an employee at the Dutch Consulate General in St Petersburg are among those affected. They would have to leave Russia within two weeks, the ministry said. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said he “regrets” Moscow’s decision.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Luxembourg ambassador was summoned on Tuesday to protest “decisively” against the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Luxembourg. Russia reserves “the right to retaliate” for this “unfriendly and unfounded” measure, the ministry said.
Numerous countries affected by similar measures
In recent weeks, several European countries, including Austria, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, have expelled dozens of Russian diplomats. In some cases this was explicitly justified with the Russian military operation in Ukraine, in other cases it was allegations of espionage. In turn, Moscow reacted by expelling dozens of European diplomats.
In such cases, Russia reacts by repeatedly expelling a similar number of diplomats. In early April, Germany declared 40 Russian diplomats “undesirable”. Moscow has not yet responded to this.
(APA/AFP/dpa/Reuters)