Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Ireland announced on Tuesday the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats suspected of spying, in a coordinated action amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The head of Belgian diplomacy, Sophie Wilmès, announced that 21 people working for the Russian embassy and consulate will have to leave Belgian territory because they are suspected of "espionage and influence operations threatening national security".

At the same time, Ireland will expel four Russian diplomats, the Netherlands has in its sights 17 accredited on its soil qualified as "Russian intelligence officers" and the Czech Republic has given 72 hours to a Russian diplomat to leave.

"Together with our allies, we are reducing the presence of Russian intelligence services in the EU," the Czech Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.

The spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, told AFP that Moscow will respond to these expulsions according to "the principle of reciprocity".

Belgium and the Netherlands are carrying out these expulsions in concert, the cabinet of the head of Belgian diplomacy, Sophie Wilmès, told AFP.

The Belgian minister relayed on her Twitter account an announcement just made before a committee of Parliament, where she specified that the 21 people concerned will have to leave Belgian territory within 15 days.

As announced in committee, Belgium has decided to expel 21 people working for the Russian embassy and consulate, who have been identified taking into account their involvement in espionage and influence operations threatening national security.

— Sophie Wilmès (@Sophie_Wilmes) March 29, 2022

These are staff from the Russian embassy in Brussels and the consulate located in Antwerp (in the north of the country), again according to the services of Sophie Wilmès.

The Belgian government has no jurisdiction over diplomats accredited to the European Union and NATO, institutions which have their headquarters in Brussels.

"Threat to National Security"

In the Netherlands, the 17 deportations are also decided within the framework of national security policy.

The Dutch government decided to deport these people "because of the threat to national security posed by this group" (of intelligence officers), and "the current attitude of Russia at large makes the presence of these unwanted intelligence officers," the Foreign Office in The Hague said.

After the departure of these 17 people, there will remain 58 Russian diplomats in the Netherlands, according to the Dutch press agency ANP.

Other countries, such as the United States, Poland and the Baltic States, have already announced that they have expelled Russian intelligence agents since the invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces on February 24.

Regarding the Baltic countries, Moscow announced Tuesday the expulsion of ten diplomats from these countries, in retaliation for a similar measure against representatives of Moscow.

With AFP

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