Russia on Friday expelled a total of 59 diplomats from 23 countries and reserves the right to take action against four more countries in response to the mass coordinated expulsion of Russian diplomats due to the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom, for which London blames Moscow.
Moscow announced that it is responding, in its opinion, to unfounded demands for dozens of Russian diplomats to leave mostly Western countries that joined London and Washington in isolating Moscow over the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.
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The day before, Moscow ordered the expulsion of 60 American diplomats and the closure of the American consulate in St. Petersburg in response to the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats since the Cold War.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday summoned representatives of the embassies of Australia, Albania, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Croatia, Ukraine, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and the Czech Republic.
“They (the diplomats) were handed protest notes and were told that in response to the unjustified demands of the relevant countries regarding the expulsion of Russian diplomats… the Russian side declares ‘persona non grata’ the corresponding number of staff working in the embassies of those countries in the Russian Federation,” the ministry announced.
Belgium, Hungary, Georgia, and Montenegro decided at the “last minute” that they would also expel Russian diplomats, so Moscow reserves the right to act against them as well.
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The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs announced earlier on Friday that Russia is denying hospitality to one Croatian diplomat, who is a former employee of the Croatian embassy in Moscow.
Croatia decided to express solidarity with London and deny hospitality to one diplomat from the Russian embassy in Zagreb after the European Council meeting on March 23, where British Prime Minister Theresa May informed other European leaders about the findings of the investigation into the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.
Russian diplomats have been expelled by 16 member states of the European Union, the United States, Canada, as well as countries like Macedonia and Ukraine.
“By declaring one Russian diplomat persona non grata, the Croatian government has aligned itself with allies and partners in the EU and NATO and clearly condemned any threat to international law and European and global security,” the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs stated on Friday.
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The United States and other Western countries are expelling nearly 130 Russian diplomats, and Moscow claims that its response precisely mirrors those decisions.
German Ambassador Rudiger von Fritsch emphasized upon leaving the ministry that Russia must answer some questions regarding the Skripal case, but it is in “Germany’s interest to have good relations with Russia. We remain open to dialogue.”
The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday after the announcement of the Russian countermeasures that it reserves the right to further respond, asserting that the list of diplomats that Russia will expel shows that Moscow is not interested in diplomacy.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed this stance on Friday and emphasized that Putin still wants to improve relations with other countries, including the U.S.
