Following Germany And France, Dozens Of Russian Diplomats Expelled From Italy And Denmark

Kedutaan Besar Russia in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Wikimedia Commons / Niels Elgaard Larsen)

JAKARTA - One by one Western country announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats from their countries, with Denmark and Italy being the two latest countries to confirm expulsions.

From Denmark, the government has decided to expel 15 Russian diplomats, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said in Tuesday's announcement.

"The government expelled from Denmark 15 Russian intelligence agents, they had to leave the country within the next 14 days", he said.

"This is a historic step, which we are taking here from the Danish side. But we are also doing this together with a large number of European countries because we want to ensure our security", he said.

However, according to the statement, Denmark does not want to cut diplomatic ties with Moscow. Thus, the ambassador and several other staff were not expelled.

Meanwhile, Italy expelled 30 Russian diplomats over security concerns, according to Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. This step follows similar steps taken by several European countries, related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Italy summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to seek clarification if their diplomats had been expelled from the country.

"The move is consistent with other European and Atlantic partners and is necessary for reasons related to our national security and in the context of the current crisis caused by the unjustified aggression against Ukraine on the part of the Russian Federation", Di Maio said in a statement, citing Reuters.

As previously reported, Germany and France yesterday announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the territory of their countries. Each number reached 40 people and 35 diplomats.

In addition to the two countries, Lithuania on Monday said it was expelling the Russian ambassador over Russia's aggression in Ukraine.