London (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The UK said it would cancel the accreditation of a Russian diplomat, in response to a similar action made by Russia last year.
Moscow said last November that it was expelling a UK diplomat for spying. London denounced the accusation. Britain’s Foreign Office said it was summoning the Kremlin ambassador to announce its decision, saying it was in response to “Russia’s unprovoked and baseless decision to strip the accreditation of a British diplomat in Moscow in November”.
Any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly,
the statement said.
The statement further said the UK “will not stand for intimidation of our staff in this way,” calling its action a reciprocal measure.
What were the espionage accusations against Edward Pryor Wilkes?
Russia expelled a British diplomat, Edward Pryor Wilkes, on November 26, 2024, for alleged espionage. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Wilkes with submitting false information while entering Russia and engaging in “intelligence and subversive activities” under diplomatic cover.
This was considered a threat to national security. His diplomatic accreditation was cancelled, and he was asked to leave Russia within two weeks. He had come to Moscow in August to take up the place of one of six British diplomats already expelled on similar charges.
The tensions had been piling up between Russia and the UK in regard to the war in Ukraine. Relations have worsened significantly since it began its invasion in Ukraine in February 2022. The British government dismissed Russia’s allegations against British espionage as baseless. The British were considering their response but had not announced any retaliatory measures taken against Russia’s diplomats at that time.
