Russia on Friday revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats, accusing them of espionage, marking what is seen as the latest in a string of incidents escalating the East-West tensions.
The UK has dismissed the accusations as “completely baseless,” attributing the move to recent diplomatic actions taken in response to Russia’s behaviour.
According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the British diplomats’ accreditations were withdrawn due to alleged intelligence-gathering and subversive activities. The FSB claimed that the diplomats were sent by a division of the UK’s Foreign Office, aimed at inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.
The six diplomats were reportedly involved with independent media and rights groups labelled as “foreign agents” by Russian authorities.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the diplomats for engaging in “subversive actions,” asserting that their activities went beyond the limits outlined by the Vienna Conventions.
The expulsion coincides with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington, where a key topic on the agenda is the potential provision of long-range missiles to Ukraine, that could strike deep into Russian territory.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated that breaking off diplomatic relations with the UK is not currently being considered. The UK Foreign Office responded, saying the expulsions were linked to Britain’s prior action in May to revoke the credentials of a Russian attaché and limit Moscow’s diplomatic activities in London. “The Russian authorities revoked the diplomatic accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia last month, following action taken by the UK government in response to Russian state-directed activity across Europe and in the UK,” the Foreign Office said. “We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests.”
Russian state TV named the six diplomats and broadcast their photographs.
Earlier in the year, the UK expelled Russia’s defence attaché in London, accusing him of being an undeclared intelligence officer and closing several Russian diplomatic properties. Russia reciprocated by expelling Britain’s defence attaché.
Diplomatic expulsions have become more frequent since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to the Russian news outlet RBC, Western countries and Japan expelled a total of 670 Russian diplomats between early 2022 and October 2023, while Moscow expelled 346 diplomats in response.
On Thursday night, President Putin warned that using Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia would place NATO countries “at war with Russia.” In response, British PM Keir Starmer, speaking during his visit to Washington, stated, “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away. Ukraine has the right to self-defence.”
The discussions between Biden and Starmer are expected to cover Ukraine’s request for long-range missile use against deeper Russian targets, although significant policy changes are not anticipated. Ukrainian officials have reiterated their request during recent visits by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Blinken mentioned he had “no doubt” that the topic would be addressed and noted that the US would adapt as necessary in response to changes in Russia’s battlefield strategy.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
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