Sweden considered Russia’s expulsion of five Swedish diplomats and the closure of the Consulate General in Saint Petersburg “very regrettable”, Moscow’s reaction to an identical measure taken by Stockholm a month ago.
“The Russian decision is very regrettable. Russia has decided to expel five Swedish diplomats who were acting within the framework of the Vienna Convention and carrying out normal diplomatic activities in Russia,” Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in a statement sent to TT News. agency. .
Billström stated that the consulate was a “driving force” of cooperation between the two countries “in its broadest sense”.
“Today’s decision is yet another confirmation of Russia’s negative political developments and its international isolation,” he said.
Moscow recalled the “incessant campaign of Russophobia in Sweden” and the expulsion, in April, of five Russian diplomats, which aggravated the situation of bilateral relations, “which have never been at such a low level,” according to a statement from the Ministry. . of Russian Foreign Affairs.
Russian diplomacy today announced the closure of the Consulate General of Sweden in Saint Petersburg and of Russia in the Swedish city of Gothenburg from September 1, in response to Stockholm’s “confrontational policy”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also announced the expulsion of five Swedish diplomats in response to a similar action against Russian diplomats in April.
“The Russian side decided, in retaliation, to declare five Swedish diplomats ‘persona non grata’, including three subordinates of the defense attaché at the Swedish embassy in Moscow,” the ministry said in a statement quoted by the French agency AFP.
At the end of April, Sweden decided to expel five Russian diplomats for “activities incompatible” with diplomatic status.
“These actions by the Swedish authorities have only aggravated the state of bilateral relations, which have deteriorated to an unprecedented level, mainly due to a ruthless Russophobic campaign in Sweden,” the ministry justified.
Sweden is a candidate country for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a decision made after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. For the same reasons, Finland became NATO’s 31st member. April 4 of this year.
The processes of the two Nordic countries took place simultaneously, but Sweden has not yet obtained the agreement of Turkey and Hungary to join the Atlantic Alliance.
The entry of a new country must be ratified by all NATO member states, created in 1949. Portugal is one of the 12 founding countries of NATO. In addition to Sweden, Ukraine, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have also applied to join NATO.
One of the Russian objectives to justify the invasion of Ukraine was to prevent the neighboring country from joining NATO and, consequently, the expansion of the Atlantic Alliance.
Before the invasion, Moscow demanded that NATO guarantee, in the form of a treaty, that Ukraine and Georgia would never become part of the alliance, as well as the withdrawal of the Atlantic Alliance to the positions prior to 1997, before the extension of the organization east from Europe. NATO rejected both demands.
Russia’s war against Ukraine plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of civilian and military casualties after 15 months of fighting is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have admitted that it will be considerably high.
Source: TSF
