EU countries expel Russian diplomats in tit-for-tat move as Alexei Navalny row worsens
- Germany, Poland and Sweden coordinate expulsion of Russians over Navalny spat
- Reports on Russian state TV presented diplomats at protests as criminals
Germany’s Foreign Ministry declared the Russian embassy employee persona non grata, similarly to Poland, which said the move was in response to the “groundless expulsion” of a Polish diplomat in Russia.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Twitter that her country’s decision was “a clear response to the unacceptable decision to expel a Swedish diplomat who was only preforming his duties”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had expelled the three EU envoys on Friday, claiming they participated in unauthorised protests in support of jailed dissident Alexei Navalny.
Berlin, Stockholm and Warsaw reject the allegations, saying their representatives were at the protests as observers, not participants.
Reports on Russian state TV presented the diplomats as criminals, broadcasting surveillance footage of the protests with the diplomats’ faces encircled, together with their full names and functions.