Tit-for-tat expulsions continue
The crisis between Russia and the West over the poisoning of a former double agent in Britain has heightened, with Russia ordering new cuts to the number of British envoys in the country and summoning 23 foreign ambassadors to inform them that some of their diplomats will be expelled, after ordering 60 US diplomats to leave and demanding that Washington’s consulate in St Petersburg close.
The massive expulsion of diplomats on both sides, including two Australians, has reached a scale unseen even at the height of the Cold War.
Two dozen countries, along with Nato, ordered out more than 150 Russian diplomats this week in a show of solidarity with Britain over the nerve agent poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, an attack London has blamed on Russia.
Moscow has vehemently denied involvement, and yesterday announced the expulsion of the same number of diplomats from each nation. Scores of foreign ambassadors streamed into the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow yesterday to receive the expulsion notices.
The ministry escalated its response yesterday, saying it has ordered Britain to reduce the number of its diplomats in Moscow to the level that Russia has in London. The exact number wasn’t immediately clear, but state news agency RIA Novosti quoted an unidentified Russian diplomat as saying the number of British diplomatic personnel in Moscow exceeded the number of Russian envoys in Britain by more than 50.
The ministry said it had summoned the British ambassador to hand him a protest over the ‘‘provocative and unsubstantiated actions by Britain, which instigated the expulsion of Russian diplomats from various nations for no reason’’.
Adding to the tensions, the ministry said a plane belonging to Russian state airline Aeroflot was searched by police in London, in ‘‘the latest provocation’’.
A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said: ‘‘It’s regrettable, but in light of Russia’s previous behaviour, we anticipated a response. However, this doesn’t change the facts of the matter: the attempted assassination of two people on British soil, for which there is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian state was culpable.
‘‘Russia is in flagrant breach of international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention, and actions by countries around the world have demonstrated the depth of international concern.’’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted yesterday that ‘‘Russia didn’t start any diplomatic wars’’ and ‘‘remains open for developing good ties’’. He added that Russia had called a meeting of the international chemical weapons watchdog next week to press for an ‘‘unbiased and objective investigation’’.
The Foreign Ministry said it told the British ambassador yesterday that Moscow was ready to cooperate in the investigation.
Earlier this week the ministry alleged that British special services could have been involved in the poisoning, and claimed that Britain, the United States, the Czech Republic and Sweden had researched the class of nerve agent that London said was used to poison Skripal. Britain and its allies have rejected the claims.
The countries informed yesterday by Russia of diplomat expulsions were Australia, Albania, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia. The Foreign Ministry said it would also consider mirror expulsions of diplomats from Belgium, Hungary, Georgia and Montenegro.
Bulgaria announced that it would not expel any Russian diplomats. The country is heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies and tourists.
Australia this week expelled two Russian diplomats who the government says were undeclared intelligence officers. A joint statement by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said the retaliatory expulsions were ‘‘disappointing’’ and unjustified.
In response to the US move earlier this week to close the Russian Consulate in Seattle, Moscow has shut the US Consulate in St Petersburg, giving the Americans until today to vacate the premises.
Some passersby near the consulate cheered the move. ‘‘Let them get out of here,’’ said 61-year-old retiree Viktor Fedin. ‘‘You won’t put Russia on its knees.’’
Others were more cautious, worried that the closures would affect visa processing for Russians.
‘‘The Russian government has to respond to the hostile actions against Russia,’’ said 32-year-old researcher Yelena Bogomazova. ‘‘But the escalation is bad. The closure of the consulate will make it difficult for people to get US visas. They will have to go to Moscow.’’
After Russia expelled several dozen US diplomats, the waiting list for US visa applications in Russia has increased to weeks, if not months. The US Embassy in Moscow said it was unable to process visa applications faster because of the staff shortage.
In a statement that reflects the soaring tensions, Moscow also accused Washington of trying to recruit the Russian diplomats it has expelled as spies. The Russian Foreign Ministry said US special services had engaged in ‘‘frantic efforts’’ to make cooperation offers to the expelled Russian diplomats, which had failed. It described the alleged overtures as ‘‘cynical and disgusting’’.