The expulsion of 35 diplomats comes as a wave of European countries cut their ties with Moscow
The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Slovakia, seen in downtown Bratislava. Slovakia, April 22, 2021 © AFP / Vladimir Simicek
The Slovakian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday ordered Russia to remove 35 staff from its embassy in Bratislava, Reuters reported. Countries across Europe are making similar moves to cut Russia’s presence in their capitals.
The latest news comes two days after Russia removed three Slovakian diplomats from Moscow, a tit-for-tat response to Slovakia expelling three Russian diplomats earlier this month. Moscow called the expulsions “unjustified,” while Bratislava claimed the diplomats were involved in espionage.
Since Russia launched its military offensive in Ukraine last month, European governments have responded by whittling down Russia’s diplomatic presence in their countries. Belgium, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands on Tuesday expelled a combined 40 Russian embassy staff members, citing similar accusations of spying.
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Russia has responded in kind. In a statement on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it had expelled ten diplomats from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, a week after these Baltic countries declared several Russian diplomats persona non grata.
Russia has fiercely protested the expulsions. Responding to Ireland’s decision on Tuesday, Russia’s embassy in Dublin slammed the move as “arbitrary” and “groundless,” adding that it would “only deteriorate further Russian-Irish relations, already damaged by the Irish participation in illegitimate EU sanctions against Russia.”
