The head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry said there was no point in Russian embassies in Europe

There is “no point in keeping Russian embassies in Europe,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian ELTA agency reports.

“There is no point in keeping Russian embassies in any capital of Europe … In most cases, this is no longer a diplomatic organization, but a propaganda one,” said the Lithuanian minister (cit. according to RIA Novosti).

April 4, 2022 Landsbergis informedthat Lithuania has decided to expel the Russian ambassador to Vilnius, and the Lithuanian ambassador to the Russian Federation is being recalled from Moscow. In addition, Lithuania closed the Russian consulate in Klaipeda. The decision of Vilnius was made against the backdrop of events in the Ukrainian city of Bucha: on April 3, Reuters and AFP, as well as adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak, published footage from the city with evidence of the deaths of civilians. In Russia this information called unreliable.

At the same time, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said that the country also decided to reduce diplomatic relations with Russia. On March 10, Lithuania announced the expulsion of a number of Russian diplomats. On the same day, similar decisions were made by Latvia and Estonia. In addition, since April, Vilnius has refused to import Russian gas. Relations between Russia and the European Union began to deteriorate after the start of a special military special operation. After that, the US, the EU and many other countries imposed sanctions against Russia.

At the beginning of October 2022, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced persona non grata of the Charge d’Affaires of Russia in the country, Sergei Ryabokon. The diplomat had to leave the country within five days.