Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Tuesday charged that that Russian diplomats are subjected to the pressure of mass sanctions in Western nations.
Speaking to Russia 24 TV channel, she warned that the expulsion of Russian Foreign Ministry representatives from those countries “has nothing to do with long-standing diplomatic realities.”
Zakharova recalled that the declaration of persona non grata sometimes closes the opportunity for a diplomat to work in the same direction for many years.
She explained that in the usual practice, such a measure is applied to officials who combine diplomatic work with activities not commensurate with the powers conferred on them.
She stressed that such a decision should be supported by evidence of the facts with which they are charged.
“What facts can we talk about when Russian diplomats are expelled from countries in dozens – 30, 40, 50 people at a time? And then a dozen or two more are expelled a week later,” she said, according to TASS news agency.
Zakharova stressed that such measures are not aimed at preventing incompatible activities with the declared status.
“This is the imposition of sanctions on Russian diplomats so that they do not have the opportunity to work and to block them completely,” she said.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry representative, these actions are accompanied by “a terrible campaign aimed at intimidation, blackmail, threats” by these countries, including physical attacks on Moscow’s diplomatic missions abroad.
Since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24, Western countries have declared more than 300 Russian diplomats persona non grata.
Prensa Latina
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