The UK Foreign Office has revoked the accreditation of a Russian diplomat and his wife in response to the expulsion of two British embassy staff in Moscow this week.
On Wednesday, the UK Foreign Office said it was taking immediate retaliatory measures after Russia accused two British diplomats of espionage and gave them two weeks to leave the country.
“Over the past 12 months, Russia has carried out an increasingly aggressive and coordinated campaign against British diplomats,” the Foreign Office said in a statement. “It is clear that the Russian state is actively seeking to close the British embassy in Moscow and is oblivious to the dangerous escalating consequences of this,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The expulsions of diplomats have become more frequent since Russia invaded Ukraine. In the past year alone, Russia has expelled seven British diplomats over spying allegations, which Britain denies. Last May, the United Kingdom expelled Russia’s defense attaché in London, claiming he was an intelligence officer, and closed several Russian diplomatic facilities, claiming they were used for espionage.
Moscow responded by expelling Britain’s defense attaché. And last month, London stripped another Russian diplomat of his credentials in retaliation for a similar move by Moscow in November.
