London — Britain expelled a Russian diplomat on Wednesday in retaliation for Moscow’s recent expulsion of a British official and the subsequent smear campaign.
Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it summoned the Russian ambassador to its office in London to inform him about “reciprocal action.” The tit-for-tat moves reflect growing tensions between Moscow and the West.
“This behavior is completely unacceptable and we will not tolerate harassment or intimidation of our diplomatic staff,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
This step came after Russia Last month a British diplomat was expelled On spying allegations which Britain rejected as “complete nonsense”.
Russia’s top domestic security and counter-intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, said the British diplomat had sought to gather “sensitive information” about the Russian economy in “informal meetings” with Russian experts. The diplomat was ordered to leave Russia within two weeks.
Russia and NATO member countries have carried out this Multiple rounds of mutual elimination The number of diplomats has declined since the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, sending diplomatic ties down to their lowest level since the Cold War.
