The list of countries fearing espionage by Russia is growing. In Europe, more and more of them are dismissing diplomats suspected of being intelligence agents. Thus, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Ireland announced on Tuesday March 29 the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats, in a coordinated action.
Other countries, such as the United States, Poland and the Baltic countries have already announced that they have expelled Russian intelligence agents since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin on February 24. Regarding the Baltic countries, Russia announced in retaliation on Tuesday the expulsion of ten diplomats from these countries.
- Belgium: 21 deportees
The head of Belgian diplomacy, Sophie Wilmès, announced that 21 people working for the Russian embassy and consulate will have to leave Belgian territory insofar as they are suspected “of espionage and influence operations threatening the national security”.
The Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs relayed on her Twitter account an announcement just made before a committee of Parliament, where she specified that the 21 people concerned will have to leave Belgian territory within 15 days.
These are staff from the Russian embassy in Brussels, and from the consulate located in Antwerp, again according to the minister’s services. The Belgian government has no jurisdiction over diplomats accredited to the European Union (EU) and NATO, institutions which have their headquarters in Brussels.
- Netherlands: 17 evictions decided
Belgium and the Netherlands are carrying out these expulsions in a concerted manner, said the office of the head of Belgian diplomacy. In the Netherlands, the 17 deportations are also decided within the framework of national security policy.
The Hague took this decision on the basis of information from the Dutch intelligence services according to which the persons concerned, “accredited as diplomats at the Russian representations in the Netherlands, are secretly active as intelligence officers”, according to the Dutch Foreign Ministry.
The Dutch government decided to deport these people “because of the threat to national security posed by this group” (of intelligence officers), and while “the current attitude of Russia at large makes the presence of these junk intelligence officers,” the Foreign Office in The Hague said. After the departure of these 17 people, there will remain 58 Russian diplomats in the Netherlands, according to the Dutch press agency ANP.
- Ireland: four Russian diplomats asked to leave the country
Ireland has also announced the expulsion of four Russian diplomats on the grounds that their activities “do not correspond to international standards of diplomatic behavior”. The Russian ambassador in Dublin was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be told “that four high-ranking officials have been asked to leave the country”, said Irish diplomacy in a press release. “This is because their activities do not correspond to international standards of diplomatic behavior,” it added.
Dublin says it wants to “keep the diplomatic channels open”, deeming this “important in the context of conveying our firm views on the war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which we consider to be a serious violation of the law international”.
Ireland is a member of the European Union, which has sanctioned Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began more than a month ago. Dublin, however, refused to supply lethal weapons directly to Ukraine, citing its military neutrality.
- Czech Republic: Russian diplomat has three days to leave
The Czech Republic gave a Russian diplomat 72 hours to leave. “Together with our allies, we are reducing the presence of Russian intelligence services in the EU,” the Czech Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.