Slovakia expelled 35 Russian diplomats accused of espionage

Slovakia, a member of the European Union, said on Wednesday that it had decided to expel 35 Russian diplomats based on information provided by intelligence services.

The move comes a day after other EU countries, Belgium, Holland, Ireland and the Czech Republic, announced the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats suspected of espionage, in a coordinated action taken in the shadow of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Other countries, including the United States and Poland, had also previously expelled Russian diplomats.

Slovakia “will reduce the staff of the Russian embassy in Bratislava by 35,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Juraj Tomaga told AFP.

“We regret that after the previous expulsions of Russian diplomats in the past two years, the Russian diplomatic mission has shown no interest in operating properly in Slovakia,” he added.

Slovakia had already expelled three Russian diplomats for espionage earlier this month.

In August 2020, Bratislava also expelled three Russian diplomats for “a serious crime”, and local media reported a possible link to the murder of a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park.

Two years ago, local media reports said that there were up to 45 officially recognized Russian diplomats in Slovakia. It's not clear how many are left today.

News in development...