The defense alliance wants to defend itself against Russian secret service employees.
(Photo: imago images / photothek)
Brussels NATO has withdrawn eight Russian diplomats from their defense alliance accreditation. The members of the Russian mission to NATO are secret service officials, the Alliance justified the move on Wednesday. In addition, it had been decided to reduce the maximum size of the Russian representation. Instead of 20, only 10 people should be accredited in the future. The decision will take effect at the end of the month.
It was initially unclear whether the Russian secret service officers at NATO were engaged in classic espionage or were simply not declared as secret service employees. The decision to withdraw accreditation is based on our own intelligence and we did not comment on such, said a spokesman.
At the same time, NATO stressed that it would remain ready for dialogue with Moscow despite the incident. “Our policy towards Russia remains consistent,” said a spokesman. The NATO-Russia Council remains an important platform for dialogue. More than 18 months ago a new meeting of the council had been proposed. The ball is now in the field of the Russians.
Meanwhile, the head of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, Leonid Sluzki, condemned NATO’s actions. The allegations are unfounded. “We have not received any evidence,” he said in Moscow. He expects an “equal response” to the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
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Most recently, in 2018, in response to the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, UK, seven employees of the Russian NATO mission were deported. In addition, it was decided at the time to reduce the maximum size of the Russian delegation to NATO from 30 to 20 people.
Targeted disinformation campaigns
In the attack in Salisbury in early March 2018, the former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were seriously poisoned. According to investigations in NATO countries, the perpetrators used the warfare agent Novichok developed in the Soviet Union. Russia to this day denies any responsibility for the attack.
There has been a frosty mood between NATO and Russia for years. For example, the alliance also accuses the country of disinformation campaigns and malicious cyber activities, attempted interference in elections and continued violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
In response to this, the allies recently committed themselves to implementing new military concepts and strategies. These are intended to strengthen NATO’s deterrent and defense capabilities. The alliance is working, for example, on a military reaction to the end of the INF treaty on the ban on land-based medium-range nuclear weapons. Among other things, it plans to improve air and missile defense. At the same time, NATO emphasizes that it remains open to political dialogue.
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