Four member states have accused Moscow’s envoys of espionage and of posing a threat to security, sending home more than 40 of them
Belgium, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands are to expel between them more than 40 Russian diplomats, having accused them of espionage.
Belgium is to expel 21 Russian nationals who worked at Moscow’s embassy in Brussels and its consulate in Antwerp. It alleges that, while they had all been accredited as diplomats, they were in fact engaged in spying and influencing operations, according to a spokesperson.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry has announced that it is expelling 17 Russian intelligence agents with diplomatic accreditation, acting on information from its security services. It added that the Netherlands was prepared for any retaliatory measures that Moscow might take.
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Meanwhile, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has expelled four senior officials who had worked at the Russian Embassy, saying their actions had “not been in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behavior.” It added that the government was nevertheless of the view that diplomatic channels between Ireland and the Russian Federation should remain open.
Later on Tuesday, the Czech Republic followed suit, its Foreign Ministry announcing on Twitter the expulsion of a member of the diplomatic staff at Russia’s embassy in Prague. It said he had been given 72 hours’ notice to leave, and that Czechia and its European Union allies were “reducing the Russian intelligence presence in the EU.”
