Kremlin Condemns Expulsion Of Russian Diplomat: Short-sighted Move, Narrows Diplomatic Communication

Juru bicara Kremlin Dimitry Peskov. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation)

JAKARTA - The Kremlin spokesman views the recent expulsion of Russian diplomats from several countries as a short-sighted step that narrows diplomatic communications.

A number of countries have decided to expel diplomats as well as the Russian Ambassador, because of the invasion of Ukraine, as well as concerns about their domestic national security.

The expulsion of Russian diplomats from other countries is a short-sighted move, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

"We assess it negatively, we regret it," he said, commenting on the situation surrounding the expulsion of the Russian diplomat, quoted from TASS on April 6.

"This is a petty step to narrow the possibilities of diplomatic communication, diplomatic work in difficult conditions, difficult conditions, and unprecedented crises for response measures," Peskov stressed.

Several European countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Ireland, said on March 29 that they were expelling Russian diplomats amid Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

Notably, Belgium expelled 21 Russian diplomats, 17 Dutch diplomats, and 4 Irish diplomats. Several other EU countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, have also demanded Russian diplomats leave their countries.

On Monday, the Russian Ambassador to Germany was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry, to be notified of the expulsion of 40 Russian embassy employees. France's foreign ministry said on the same day France expelled several Russian diplomats. AFP said 35 Russian embassy employees had been declared personae non grata.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Swedish Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of three Russian diplomats, while the Spanish government decided to expel 25 Russian embassy employees.

Russian Ambassador to Italy Sergey Razov was summoned to the Italian foreign ministry to be notified of the expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats. Portugal followed with the repatriation of 10 Russian diplomats within two weeks. Meanwhile, Denmark repatriated 15 diplomats.

Wanting to maintain diplomatic relations with Russia, Denmark did not expel the ambassador and other staff. In contrast, Lithuania expelled the Russian ambassador on Monday, becoming the first among European Union countries.

"Related measures will be taken against the staff of the country's foreign office. Russia will provide an appropriate response to the expulsion," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

In this regard, 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 a number of Western countries, the former Russian president and deputy head of the security council Dmitry Medvedev said late Monday.