Dozens Of Diplomats Expelled, Russia Reminds Western Countries: Damaging Bilateral Relations

Dmitry Medvedev. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - A senior Moscow official said Russia would respond proportionally to the expulsion of dozens of its diplomats by Western countries, calling the move damaging to bilateral relations.

Russia will respond proportionally to the expulsion of its diplomats from several Western countries, the former Russian president and deputy head of the security council Dmitry Medvedev said late Monday.

"Everyone knows the answer, it will be symmetrical and damage bilateral relations", Medvedev said in a post on his Telegram channel.

"Who have they punished? First of all, themselves", he stressed.

It is known, that France and Germany decided to expel dozens of Russian diplomats, related to the Red Bear Country's invasion of Ukraine.

"If this continues, it will be appropriate, as I wrote back on February 26, to slam the doors of Western embassies", Medvedev said.

"It will be cheaper for everyone. And then we will end up just looking at each other in other ways than through gunfights."

Germany and France yesterday announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the territory of their countries. Germany has expelled large numbers of Russian diplomats in what Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called, in response to the extraordinary brutality the Kremlin has unleashed on Ukraine.

According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report published late Monday, the move involved 40 envoys, following similar moves by European partners in recent days in reaction to Russia's war on its neighbor.

"The pictures from Bucha speak of the incredible brutality by Russia's leaders, as well as by those who follow its propaganda with a boundless desire to exterminate", Baerbock said, referring to a city near Kyiv where dozens of bodies were found in mass graves or littering the streets, reports Daily Sabah.

France on Monday said it decided to expel some Russian diplomatic staff over the war in Ukraine, echoing similar measures taken by Germany, while Moscow said it would respond to the move.

"Their actions are against our national security interests. This move (expelling diplomatic staff) is part of a European initiative", the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

A ministry source, who asked not to be named, said 35 Russian diplomats would be expelled, according to AFP.

"Our first responsibility is always to ensure the safety of the French and Europeans", the ministry said in a statement.

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