• Bulgaria recalls ambassador to Moscow
NATO joined two dozen governments around the world yesterday in expelling Russian diplomats in response to a nerve agent attack on ex-Russian spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain, marking what London called a “turning point” in the West’s relations with Moscow.
The United States-led military alliance expelled seven Russian staff and denied accreditation to three more, bringing the total number of suspected Russian spies expelled to almost 150, including the 23 initially dispatched by Britain.
“This will send a clear message to Russia that there are costs and consequences for their unacceptable pattern of behaviour,” NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels. Ireland has said it will expel one Russian diplomat in response to the nerve agent attack. Ireland cherishes its neutrality and is not part of the U.S.-led NATO alliance, but Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said it was not neutral when it came to such an attack and that it was important to show solidarity with its nearest neighbour.
“Ireland is a neutral country, we do not join military alliances. However when it comes to terrorism, assassinations, the use of chemical weapons and cyber terrorism, we are not neutral one bit,” Varadkar told parliament. “We are joined of course in expelling diplomats with other countries that are neutral, including Finland and Sweden, who have taken the same course of action as us.”
Varadkar said the decision on whose diplomatic status was to be terminated was based on intelligence from police and defense forces. Ireland has expelled Russian diplomats before, most recently in 2011 in a row over the use of forged Irish passports.
Belgium has joined the growing list of countries to expel Russian diplomats over the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.
A spokesperson for Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said, “After coordinating with its partners in the EU and the NATO, Belgium decided to dismiss a member of the diplomatic staff of the Russian mission accredited to the Kingdom of Belgium.
“Given the gravity of the events in Salisbury and the high probability of Russia’s involvement in this attack, we consider this measure to be fully justified. The Russian ambassador will be notified about this decision within 48 hours. The person concerned will have 14 days to leave Belgium.”
Bulgaria, which has so far not made a decision to expel Russian diplomats, said it has recalled its ambassador to Moscow for “consultations.”