Russia revokes accreditation of six British diplomats over spying claims

UK Foreign Office calls allegations ‘completely baseless’ arsenic tensions escalate implicit warfare successful Ukraine.

Russia has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats successful Moscow accusing them of espionage and sabotage.

In its announcement connected Friday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said the diplomats carried retired “subversive activities and intelligence” gathering, adding that it has “documentary” impervious confirming the United Kingdom’s “coordination of an escalation successful the planetary governmental and subject situation” successful Ukraine.

The British authorities called the Russian accusations “completely baseless”.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said connected Friday that this was a tit-for-tat measurement aft Western moves against “Russian state-directed enactment crossed Europe and successful the UK”.

The six diplomats person already near Russia and been replaced.

“We are unapologetic astir protecting our nationalist interests,” said the overseas bureau statement.

The Russian announcement came hours earlier a planned gathering successful Washington, DC, betwixt British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden arsenic they are expected to sermon the Ukraine war.

The FSB, the successor of the Soviet-era bureau KGB, said the British overseas ministry’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia section was coordinating moves aimed astatine inflicting a “strategic defeat” connected Russia.

Reporting from Moscow, Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova said the latest expulsion was “not surprising”, adding that diplomatic relations betwixt the 2 countries are astatine “a historical low”.

In May, the UK announced it was expelling the Russian defence attache for spying, and removed diplomatic premises presumption from respective Russian properties.

It besides imposed a five-year bounds connected Russian diplomats’ postings, which led to galore of them leaving the country.

The Izvestia paper cited the FSB arsenic saying the British diplomats had recruited Russian teenagers, organised what it called provocations, and held talks successful the British ambassador’s Moscow residency with absorption figures.

The six diplomats were named connected Russian authorities TV, which besides showed photographs of them. Surveillance footage of them was released to Russian media, including covert video surveillance of 1 envoy gathering someone.

The spokeswoman of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said her ministry agreed with the FSB’s “evaluation”, adding that “the British embassy has mostly flouted the limits acceptable by the Vienna Convention”.

Since taking office, Starmer has reaffirmed his country’s enactment for Ukraine arsenic “unwavering”.

He is expected to sermon with Biden whether to fto Ukraine usage Western-supplied and made long-range weapons wrong Russia.

But concerns are already being raised astir the governmental and subject repercussions of specified a decision, said Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from London.

President Vladimir Putin warned connected Thursday that if Western nations let Ukraine to usage long-range weapons to onslaught wrong Russia past it volition mean NATO would beryllium “at war” with his country.

Source

:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies