Tit-for-tat expulsions could hit local Russian embassy staff
THE Russian foreign ministry yesterday gave Britain one month to reduce its diplomatic staff to match that of Russia’s team in the UK, as the fallout from the Salisbury poisoning intensified.
The latest development could see scores of employees in the British embassy in Moscow, and consulates in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg dismissed from their jobs. Laurie Bristow, Britain’s ambassador to Moscow, was summoned to the foreign ministry yesterday morning and told his staff should mirror the exact number of Russia’s diplomatic teams remaining in the UK. Although the Foreign Office refused to say whether this meant Russia was effectively increasing the 23 diplomats it had already expelled, a spokeswoman described the move as “regrettable” but “anticipated”.
In a statement, the Russian ministry said it had handed the British ambassador a note of protest, adding that Britain’s “provocative actions” had led to the decision by Western governments to expel scores of Russian diplomats.
The UK has blamed Russia for the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury – a claim that President Vladimir Putin vehemently denies.
Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats, prompting 29 countries, including the US, to expel 145 Russian diplomats, a move Theresa May described as a concerted effort to dismantle their spy network. In response, the Kremlin announced it would expel 150 Western diplomats, including 23 from the British Embassy, and close the US consulate in St Petersburg.
Yesterday, a steady stream of ambassadors from Western countries, including Germany, Poland, Canada, Ireland and Australia, arrived at the Russian foreign ministry to be told that some of their diplomats were being ordered to leave.
Emerging from his meeting at the ministry, Mr Bristow refused to go into detail about the discussions, but said: “We will study what we have been told and make our decisions accordingly. It is important to remember why this crisis has arisen in the first place. The use of a chemical weapon on the streets of the UK has threatened the lives of a number of people in my country.”
A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “Russia is in flagrant breach of international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Actions by countries around the world have demonstrated the depth of international concern.”
In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry labelled the expulsions of its diplomats as “unjustified”. It said the number of personnel employed by the British mission in Russia must be brought into parity with the number of employees in the Russian Embassy in London and its consulate in Edinburgh.
However, the Russian and British diplomatic missions function very differently. While Moscow only employs diplomats and people on diplomatic passports, the UK diplomatic staff work alongside local Russian employees who often take on administrative roles. Consequently, the latest move may not see more British diplomats expelled from the country; instead, Russian nationals on the embassy payroll could lose their jobs or be suspended.