BRUSSLES, 9 February, 2021 (TON): One Russian diplomat expelled by Germany, Poland and Sweden in a coordinated act of retaliation over the expulsion of three EU officials by Moscow while the bloc’s foreign policy chief was visiting last week.  

Expulsions on Monday underscored the volatility in east-west relations and an erosion of trust among former cold war enemies, as the west accuses Moscow of trying to destabilize it and the Kremlin rejects what it sees as foreign interference.

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday the removal of diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, who were accused by Moscow of taking part in protests last month against jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, took place a day before Borrell’s trip.

Germany’s foreign office, in a statement regarding its ejection of a Russian diplomat, said the German official booted out by Moscow was only “carrying out his task of reporting on developments on the spot in a legal fashion”.

Poland’s foreign ministry said it ordered a member of Russia’s consulate in the city of Poznan to leave “in accordance with the principle of reciprocity and in coordination with Germany and Sweden”.

The Swedish foreign minister, Ann Linde, said Stockholm’s action was a “clear response to the unacceptable decision to expel a Swedish diplomat who was only performing his duties”.

Russia’s foreign ministry said the EU countries’ action against its diplomats was “unjustified and unfriendly”, the Interfax news agency reported.

Pleas to Russia to halt the expulsions were ignored. The former Estonian defence chief Riho Terras, now an EU lawmaker, has started a campaign calling for the high representative’s resignation, Borrell stated on Sunday.

But the executive of European commission said it had no regrets over Borrell making his first trip to Moscow as the coordinator of EU foreign policy because Russia was set on a course towards confrontation.

It is observed that the European Parliament has called for sanctions to stop the completion of the Nord Stream 2 energy pipeline between Russia and Germany, while some EU states intensified urge for new western sanctions against Moscow.