Nato bars eight Russian diplomats over spying accusations
- The ‘undeclared intelligence officers’ were stripped of their accreditation, and the number of positions in the Russian mission was cut from 20 to 10
- The mission has been downsized once before, when seven members were ejected in the wake of the 2018 Novichok poisoning of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal
Nato said on Wednesday it had stripped eight members of the Russian mission to the alliance of their accreditation, calling them “undeclared Russian intelligence officers”, meaning spies.
A Nato official giving the information said that “we can also confirm that we have reduced the number of positions which the Russian Federation can accredit to Nato to 10”, down from 20 previously.
“We can confirm that we have withdrawn the accreditation of eight members of the Russian mission to Nato, who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers,” the official said, confirming information first reported by Britain’s Sky News.
“Nato’s policy towards Russia remains consistent. We have strengthened our deterrence and defence in response to Russia’s aggressive actions, while at the same time we remain open for a meaningful dialogue,” the official, who refused to be named, said.
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The decision on halving the Russian mission will take effect at the end of the month and is understood to have been approved by all 30 Nato member countries.