LISBON, April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The government of Portugal has decided to declare ten Russian embassy staffers personae non gratae, the country’s foreign ministry said.
“The foreign ministry is announcing that the government of Portugal notified the Russian ambassador about its decision to declare personae non gratae ten staffers of this diplomatic mission, whose actions run counter to
national security,” the statement says.
The diplomats are to leave the country within two weeks.
“The government of Portugal reiterates its firm and decisive condemnation of the Russian aggression in Ukraine,” the ministry said.
MADRID: Spain’s foreign minister said his country will expel “around” 25 Russian diplomats over the Russian aggression in Ukraine, following similar moves by other EU countries.
“The unbearable images we have seen of the massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha after the withdrawal of the Russian army deeply outrage us,” Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told a news conference.
ATHENS: The Greek Foreign Ministry on Wednesday announced that 12 members of the Russian diplomatic and consular missions in Greece have been declared as personae non gratae.
The decision was made in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the Russian ambassador had been earlier notified of the decision.
The statement didn’t reveal any specific time schedule about the diplomats’ departure.
MOSCOW: The Kremlin responded calling the mass expulsions of Russian diplomats by a number of European countries a “short-sighted move” that will only complicate communication.
“Narrowing down opportunities for diplomatic communication in such an unprecedentedly difficult crisis environment is a short-sighted move that will further complicate our communication, which is necessary to find a solution,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“And this will inevitably lead to retaliatory steps,” he added.
Earlier Italy, Denmark and Sweden expelled Russian diplomats over the war in Ukraine, with more than 120 sent packing in the last 48 hours.
On Monday, France expelled 35 Russian diplomats, and Germany announced it had expelled a “significant number” of Russian envoys.
The expulsions come amid international outrage over killings in the town of Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where dozens of bodies were found over the weekend in mass graves or littering the streets. — NNN-AGENCIES
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an early morning
televised address that he had launched a special military operation in
Ukraine in response to a request for help from the leaders of the Donbass
republics. He stressed that Moscow had no intention of occupying Ukrainian
territories, the sole purpose of the operation, the leader stressed, is the
demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.
The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and some other
countries responded by imposing sanctions on Russian individuals and
companies.