UK revokes accreditation of Russian diplomat and spouse

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office stated that over the past year, Russia has conducted an increasingly aggressive and coordinated campaign of harassment against British diplomats and has made "malicious and completely baseless" accusations regarding their work.

The statement noted that Russia's expulsion of a British diplomat and their spouse this week has further escalated tensions, adding that the accusations leveled against these individuals are entirely unfounded and were fabricated to justify Russia's increasing harassment of British diplomats.

The statement said, "It is clear that the Russian state is actively seeking to close the British Embassy in Moscow and is disregarding the dangerous escalatory effect of this."

The statement noted that Russian Ambassador Andrey Kelin was summoned to the UK Foreign Office, emphasizing that a senior ministry official clearly stated to Kelin that the UK would not tolerate the intimidation of embassy staff and their families.

ATTENTION DRAWN TO RUSSIA'S ACTIONS

The statement reported that the UK has taken reciprocal action by immediately revoking the accreditation of a Russian diplomat and their spouse, adding, "We do not take this decision lightly, but we have always made it clear to Russia that we will respond if they escalate tensions. The depths to which Russia has sunk can only be met with strength."

The statement noted that despite the tensions with Russia and the difficult bilateral relations, the British government believes it is important to maintain diplomatic communication channels and relevant diplomatic missions, emphasizing that it is "deeply disappointing" that this is being made consistently more difficult by Russia's actions.

The statement concluded, "We have drawn a line under this incident and we demand that Russia does the same. Any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and will be responded to accordingly."

ACCREDITATIONS OF TWO BRITISH DIPLOMATS REVOKED

In a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry on March 10, it was announced that the accreditations of two British diplomats had been revoked on the grounds that they had violated the law.

Furthermore, Russia had revoked the accreditation of 6 British diplomats last year on suspicion of espionage and posing a threat to national security.