Kremlin defends Russia’s expulsion of EU diplomats

The Kremlin has thrown its weight behind Russia’s expulsion of European Union diplomats during their high-profile visit to the country, but insisted that Moscow remained interested in reviving relations with Brussels.

Russia announced on February 5 the expulsion of three diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden during a rare meeting in Moscow between EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the three diplomats had taken part in unauthorized demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg on January 23 and had been declared persona non grata. They had been ordered to leave Russia at the earliest.

The declaration of the three foreign diplomats as persona non grata was a "consequence of the actions of some diplomatic missions in Moscow against the backdrop of illegal riots," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday.

Russia, he added, “has clearly demonstrated it does not intend to tolerate this.”

“Russia has been, and remains interested in reviving relations between Moscow and Brussels.”

Peskov underlined that Moscow did not initiate “the collapse” of the relationship.

Russia expels diplomats from three EU countries over Navalny protests

Russia expels diplomats from three European Union (EU) countries for taking part in unauthorized protests in support of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

Borrell condemned Russia’s decision to expel the diplomats during the meeting with Lavrov, but said there were no immediate plans for new European sanctions against Moscow.

Tens of thousands of Russians demonstrated for two consecutive weekends in January, demanding the release of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, a Kremlin critic who was sentenced to nearly three years in prison last week.

Navalny was jailed on February 2 after a Russian court ruled he had violated the terms of a suspended sentence in an embezzlement case on December 30, 2014.

The Russian government had earlier declared the gatherings as “illegal,” and “unauthorized.”

Russia slams foreign diplomats’ presence at Navalny hearing as meddling

Russia says the presence of foreign diplomats at a court hearing for Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is evidence of Western meddling in Moscow’s internal affairs.

EU expels three Russian diplomats in tit-for-tat move

In a retaliatory and coordinated move on Monday, Germany, Poland and Sweden expelled three Russian diplomats for the expulsion of their diplomats by Moscow.

Germany's Foreign Office, in a statement regarding its expulsion of a Russian diplomat, said the German diplomat expelled by Moscow was only "carrying out his task of reporting on developments on the spot in a legal fashion."

Sweden echoed the German stance, calling the expulsions by Moscow "unacceptable.”

Poland's Foreign Ministry also said it had ordered the expulsion of a member of Russia's consulate in the city of Poznan "in accordance with the principle of reciprocity and in coordination with Germany and Sweden."

Moscow swiftly censured the tit-for-tat move.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on state TV that the retaliation was "unjustified, unfriendly and a continuation of the same series of actions the West is taking against our country, which we qualify as interference in internal affairs.”

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