Eight EU members call for restricting Russian diplomats' movement - media

Eight foreign ministers of EU member states called on the EU top diplomat, Josep Borrell, to consider the ban on Russian diplomats’ free movement around the bloc, restricting it to countries of accreditation.

That's according to Reuters, Ukrinform reports.

"Free movement of holders of Russian diplomatic and service passports, accredited in one host state, across the whole Schengen area is easing malign activities," reads the letter.

Noting the importance of expulsions that have already taken place in some EU member states, the ministers admit that the threat remains in place as intelligence, propaganda "or even preparation of sabotage acts are the main workload for a large number of Russian 'diplomats' in the EU".

"We believe the EU should strictly follow the reciprocity principle and restrict the movement of members of Russian diplomatic missions and their family members to territory of a state of their accreditation only," diplomats said. "This measure will significantly narrow operational space for Russian agents."

The letter was co-signed by ministers from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Romania.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on May 27, the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Radoslaw Sikorski, said his country was introducing restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats across the country’s territory, which will apply to everyone except the ambassador.

Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, proposed to include restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats within the Schengen zone in the new package of EU sanctions against Russia.