Britain, Canada and Australia have so far refused to expel Russian diplomats, citing 15 EU countries that have now expelled more than 200 in response to photos of war crimes committed in Ukraine.
Another 100 Russian diplomats have been expelled in the past two months.
Britain’s restraint came despite an effective warning from British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss that Vladimir Putin’s Western relations with Russia were over.
Trus said at a dinner of NATO foreign ministers that the NATO-Russia Founding Act, which is the basis of co-operation between Moscow and NATO, is coming to an end. She said: “The age of engagement is over. We need a new approach to security in Europe based on resilience, defense and deterrence.
“There is no time for false comfort. Russia is not withdrawing, but regrouping and repositioning to push harder for eastern and southern Ukraine.
Trus added that this would require a new approach to those countries that may be at risk of being trapped in the Russian network – Moldova, Georgia, Finland and Sweden.
This may require more diplomatic resources to be spent monitoring and analyzing Russia, and some diplomats say expelling Russian diplomats from the UK will only lead to the expulsion of an eye from the already-exposed Moscow embassy.
In 2018, Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats after Moscow refused to explain how a Russian nerve agent was used against Sergei Skripal, a former spy, in Salisbury. Russia has responded to the UK’s action by saying the British and Russian embassies must be the same size, requiring more than 50 British diplomats to leave. The United Kingdom has not disclosed the size of its embassy in Russia, but it is known that previous expulsions have deprived the United Kingdom of much political intelligence and research experience.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the Western leader who was most inclined to articulate the argument for continuing diplomatic relations, saying that if Canada expels the Russians, Moscow must take reciprocal measures – thus reducing the number of eyes and ears of Canada in Russia.
“I’m just not sure that the symbolic gesture of excluding Russian diplomats from what they are doing in Canada is worth the cost of losing our diplomats in Moscow,” he said.
In the last seven days, Poland has expelled 45 Russian diplomats, Germany 40, France 35, Slovenia 33, Italy 30, Spain 25, Belgium 21, the Netherlands 17, Denmark 15, Latvia 13, Greece 12, Portugal 10, Estonia 7, Ireland four, Sweden three, the Czech Republic one and Luxembourg one. Lithuania has said it is expelling the Russian ambassador. The expulsion came in two waves, some in mid-March, but a big harvest after the spread of photos of alleged Russian war crimes.
The UK’s continued refusal to join its European allies has already drawn criticism from the Labor Party, given the UK’s focus on solidarity with other Western embassies following Skripal’s poisoning. These expulsions were backed by Donald Trump, who ousted 60 Russian diplomats. A total of 29 Western countries are expelling 145 Russian diplomats.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said he wanted to maintain diplomatic relations with the West, but promised countermeasures. Grushko said European countries violating the work of Russian diplomats were hurting their own interests.
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