JAKARTA - Russia said the number of diplomats expelled from various countries reached hundreds, since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, it took a long time to recover.
This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Yevgeny Ivanov, at a meeting of the Russian Federation Council's Interim Commission for the Protection of State Sovereignty and Prevention of Interference in the country's Internal Affairs.
"Along with the introduction of all kinds of sanctions, Moscow's favorite method of punishment is the expulsion of Russian diplomats. It didn't start on February 23, it started earlier. Our (Western) colleagues have practiced this", Ivanov explained, quoted from TASS on April 26.
"Since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, about 400 employees of our overseas mission have been expelled from 28 Western countries. The leaders there are Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, France, Italy, and Spain", he said.
"The capacity of consular missions in many countries has also been reduced, of course. This is done to complicate the provision of any assistance, including to Russian citizens and our colleagues living in those countries. This also applies to press secretaries in several countries, so it is impossible to convey information", said Ivanov.
"The actual reduction of the apparatus of our diplomatic missions in several countries means that the West has moved on the path of isolating Russia on various fronts", he said.
"The West's hybrid war with Russia, which took place long before special military operations, has led to the fact that for many years our diplomats were unable to work fully in Western countries."
Total control of the Western security services significantly hampered communication with representatives. Local circles are fearful that their authorities will blame them for Russian connections. Constant expulsions, attacks on the part of local authorities on embassy schools and visa issuance, do not allow not only normal work but normal life", Ivanov said.
The diplomat also noted that the way out of this crisis will depend on further developments.
"In any scenario, the restoration of diplomatic relations with the West to previous levels will be, to put it mildly, long and difficult", he stressed.
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As previously reported, the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that the expulsion of its diplomats, which was carried out continuously lately, would not change its position in Ukraine.
"Why not declare everything (Russian diplomat persona non grata)? To make us change our position (on Ukraine)? No, we will not change it", said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
"And I will inform the French Foreign Ministry as follows: if you threaten Kyiv with sanctions for non-implementation of the Minsk agreement at least once, you will achieve peace and stability in Europe."
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