Russian diplomats stripped of NATO accreditation

NATO has withdrawn the accreditation of eight Russian diplomats in Brussels because they were “undeclared intelligence officers,” an official from the trans-Atlantic alliance told dpa on Wednesday.

The unnamed spokesperson also said that the maximum staff levels of Moscow’s NATO delegation would be halved from 20 to 10 due to the suspected espionage.

“NATO’s policy towards Russia remains consistent,” the official said in a written statement. “We have strengthened our deterrence and defence in response to Russia’s aggressive actions, while at the same time we remain open for a meaningful dialogue.” The move is to take effect at the end of the month, the source said, without disclosing further details on how the revelations emerged.

The alliance made a similar move back in 2018, expelling seven diplomats in response to a nerve agent attack in Salisbury, Britain, on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. It also denied three open accreditation applications, and reduced the size of the delegation to 20 staff members. Moscow denies responsibility for the Salisbury attack.

Before 2018, Moscow’s diplomatic representation to NATO had already been restricted to 30 staff, in response to Russian interference in Ukraine. The chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, condemned NATO’s actions on Wednesday, saying the espionage accusations were unfounded.

“We have not been shown any evidence,” Slutsky said in Moscow. He said he expected an “adequate response” from the Russian Foreign Ministry.