Russia kicks out five staff from Portuguese embassy in Moscow

Five employees of the Portuguese embassy in Moscow on Thursday received an order of expulsion from Russia, following what has happened with other European countries this week, a measure that the Portuguese government has already repudiated, the Portuguese diplomatic service said.

The expulsion, which will have to take place within 14 days, was announced this morning to Portugal’s ambassador in Moscow, Madalena Fischer, the Portuguese foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

“The Portuguese government repudiates the Russian authorities’ decision, which has no justification other than simple retaliation” for the similar measure imposed by Portugal on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, the ministry said in the same statement.

However, said the ministry headed by João Gomes Cravinho, “unlike the Russian officials expelled from Portugal, these national officials carried out strictly diplomatic activities, in full compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

On Wednesday, Russia announced the expulsion of 27 Spanish, 24 Italian and 34 French diplomats in retaliation for similar measures adopted by those countries following the invasion of Ukraine.

The announcement of the expulsion of the Spanish, Italian and French diplomats was made by the Russian foreign ministry, a day after it decided to expel two Finnish diplomats.

The number of Spanish, Italian and Finnish diplomats now considered personas non gratas is identical to the number of Russian diplomats the governments of these European countries decided to expel from their respective territories in April.

In France’s case, the expulsion of 34 diplomats is in response to an identical measure taken by Paris that targeted 41 Russian diplomats posted on French territory.

 

The Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, reacted to the decision announced by Moscow, considering it a “hostile act”, but calling for all diplomatic channels with Russia not to be cut, while the Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, said he had been expecting this decision in relation to Spain.

The French foreign ministry also criticised the order to expel its diplomats, noting that “the work of the diplomats and employees of the [French] embassy in Russia falls fully within the scope of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations” and implying that the same is not true for the Russians.

Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine has killed more than 3,000 civilians, according to the UN, which warns that the actual number is likely to be much higher.

The war in Ukraine, which entered its 85th day today, has already caused more than 14 million people to flee their homes – some eight million internally displaced and more than 6.1 million to neighbouring countries – according to the latest figures from the UN, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).

Also the United Nations said that about 15 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.