London, Sept 14: ‘Spying’ in Russia
The UK on Friday attacked Russia for “completely baseless” claims that its diplomats were engaged in spying after Moscow revoked the accreditation of six British officials said to have left the country some weeks ago.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the UK remains “unapologetic” about protecting its national interests as it dismissed allegations made by Russia’s FSB security service.
The news comes as British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden about the war in Ukraine and whether to give President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the nod to fire Western missiles at targets inside Russia.
“The accusations made today by the FSB against our staff are completely baseless,” the FCDO said in a statement on Friday.
“The Russian authorities revoked the diplomatic accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia last month following an action taken by the UK government in response to Russian state-directed activity across Europe and in the UK. We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests,” it added.
The FSB said the six British diplomats had shown signs of conducting intelligence and were tasked with inflicting a “strategic defeat on our country”.
In a Telegram post, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow “fully share[s] the assessments” made by the FSB on the activities of the diplomats.
“The British embassy has gone far beyond the limits outlined by the Vienna Conventions [UN treaty on diplomatic relations],” she said.
An FSB officer told Russian media that “hints” to “stop this practice [of gathering intelligence]” were not heeded. The security service added that it would revoke accreditation from more British diplomats if they were found to be involved in similar activity. The diplomats involved were named and pictured on Russian state TV earlier on Friday.
The expulsion of diplomats on all sides has become common practice since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022.
According to rules set out by the United Nations (UN), diplomatic accreditation is given by a host nation to recognise the status of another country’s staff.
Diplomatic accreditation is essential for an official based as a diplomat in any country.
Earlier this week, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a first-ever joint visit to Kyiv as a precursor to the Starmer-Biden talks.
“The UK’s support to Ukraine is unwavering. Our commitment of over GBP 600 million worth of support is the latest instalment in our enduring support to Ukraine. This will provide vital support to Ukrainians as they continue to endure relentless Russian attacks,” said Lammy.
“Alongside the United States, we are committed to giving Ukraine what it needs to resist Russia’s illegal invasion. Their fight for freedom, liberty and democracy is also a fight for British, European, and global security. With the US, we stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said.
Since February 2022, the UK claims to have provided GBP 695 million in bilateral non-military support alongside USD 2.5 billion in fiscal support (loan guarantees), which will rise to USD 5 billion by 2027.
Ukraine is hoping to get the go-ahead to use British-made Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the country’s state television that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries would be “at war” with Russia if the West allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles against its territory. (PTI)
