The UK has summoned the Russian ambassador and revoked the accreditation of a Russian diplomat in response to Moscow’s recent expulsion of a British diplomat, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has said.
The move follows what the UK described as Russia’s decision last month to expel a member of British diplomatic staff, alongside accusations made against UK personnel. The FCDO said the action taken on 2 February was reciprocal and intended to signal that intimidation of embassy staff would not be tolerated.
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified decision to expel a British diplomat last month and its baseless accusations against our staff.”
During the meeting, a senior FCDO official told the Russian ambassador that the UK regarded the expulsion as unacceptable and had therefore decided to withdraw accreditation from a Russian diplomat in London. According to the department, the step was taken to uphold the principle of reciprocity in diplomatic relations.
The spokesperson added: “Summoning the Russian Ambassador, a senior FCDO official made it clear that the UK will not stand for intimidation of British Embassy staff and so we are taking reciprocal action today, revoking the accreditation of a Russian diplomat.”
The UK also warned against further moves by Moscow that could deepen the dispute. “It is deeply disappointing that Russia continually seeks to disrupt the work of the UK’s diplomatic missions and deter our support for Ukraine,” the spokesperson said, adding that “any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly.”
