Russia expels 34 French diplomats, and Paris "strongly condemns"

On Wednesday, Paris "strongly" condemned Moscow's expulsion of 34 French diplomats, saying the decision was not based on "any legitimate basis".

"The Russian side presents this decision as a response to France's decisions" taken in April when it expelled "dozens of Russian agents" suspected of being spies, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The work of diplomats and employees of our embassy in Russia is otherwise entirely within the framework of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations," she added.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the French ambassador in Moscow, Pierre Levy, was summoned to the ministry on Wednesday and handed a note stating that "34 employees of the French diplomatic missions in Russia were considered persona non grata."

She added that they have two weeks to leave the country.

France announced in April the expulsion of 41 Russian diplomats who, according to it, were engaged in espionage activities, explaining that the decision was part of "European efforts."

On Wednesday, Russia also announced the expulsion of 24 Italian and 27 Spanish diplomats.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news