Russian Foreign Ministry expels five Swedish diplomats and closes the Swedish Consulate General in St. Petersburg
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Russian Foreign Ministry today, May 25, called Swedish Ambassador to Moscow Malena Mard, announcing to her the withdrawal of her consent to the activities of the Swedish Consulate General in St. Petersburg from September 1, as well as the decision to expel five diplomats of the kingdom.
The Russian side called the declaration by Sweden at the end of April of five employees of Russian foreign missions “persona non grata” as an openly hostile step.
“These actions by the Swedish authorities have further aggravated the situation in bilateral relations, which have reached an unprecedented low level, including as a result of the ongoing Russophobic campaign in Sweden,” the report says.
In response, Moscow expels five Swedish diplomats, including three employees of the defense attache at the embassy of the kingdom. In addition, from September 1, the Russian Consulate General in Swedish Gothenburg will be closed.
“At the same time, the head of the Swedish diplomatic mission was informed about the withdrawal by the Russian side from September 1, 2023 of its consent to the activities of the Consulate General of Sweden in St. Petersburg,” the Foreign Ministry added.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats on April 25, explaining that their activities “were incompatible with their diplomatic status.”
The last time Sweden decided to expel three Russian diplomats was in April 2022 against the background of the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry of the country also pointed to the violation by the embassy staff of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
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