Russia revokes accreditation of six British diplomats for alleged espionage

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Russia has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats it claimed were involved in espionage, RT reports.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said in a statement that the UK is “actively involved in escalating global tensions and undermining Russia’s stability.”

The intelligence agency said it obtained “documents confirming London’s coordination of the escalation of the international military-political situation.” Britain has also supported “subversive policies” in Russia in an attempt to inflict a “strategic defeat” on the nation, and these efforts have been spearheaded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate (EECAD), the agency added.

According to the FSB, after the start of the Ukraine conflict, the EECAD was essentially transformed into a special service working against Moscow, which means that Russia considers the activities of British diplomats working under the auspices of the office to be a “security threat.”

In light of this and other “hostile steps” by the UK, the Russian Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with relevant departments, “has terminated the accreditation of six employees of the political department of the British Embassy in Moscow, whose actions showed signs of intelligence and subversive work,” officials said, adding that Russia would demand the “early termination of their missions” in the country.

Speaking to TASS, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova fully supported the FSB’s assessment, claiming that British diplomats in Russia have in fact been involved in “actions aimed at harming our people.”

The British authorities have yet to respond to the allegations.