EU calls Russia’s decision to expel European diplomats unreasonable

BRUSSELS (TASS): The EU regrets Russia’s decision to expel 18 European diplomats from the country, considering it “an unreasonable step.” This is stated in a statement released on Friday by the representative of the EU foreign service, Peter Stano. This decision was taken by the Russian Foreign Ministry in respo-nse to the expulsion from Brussels of 19 employees of the Russian Permanent Mission to the European Union.
“The EU regrets the unjustified and unfounded decision of the Russian Federation to expel 18 members of the EU mission in Russia from the country,” the statement says. “These EU diplomats performed their functions in full compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”
The EU representative called on Russia to stop the operation to denazify Ukra-ine and “return to the observance of international rules and to a cooperative appr-oach in international relations.”
Earlier on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry, in response to the expulsion of its employees from the Permanent Mission to the EU, declared 18 employees of the EU Delegation in Moscow persona non grata.
According to the ministry, the head of the EU Delegation in Moscow, M-arkus Ederer, was summo-ned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday, where he was strongly protested in connection with the unjustified declaration of persona non grata of 19 employees of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU on April 5. “The Russian side declared the responsibility of the EU for the consistent destruction of the architecture of bilateral dialogue and cooperation that had been created for decades. The need for strict compliance by the European Union with the requirements of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 was pointed out,” the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.