A man walks along a bridge in front of a Kremlin tower and the Russian Foreign Ministry building on the background in downtown Moscow on Jan 12, 2021. (ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP)
MOSCOW – Russia said on Monday it would halt the activities of its diplomatic mission to NATO after the Western military alliance expelled eight Russians in a row over spying.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that in return, staff at NATO's military mission in Moscow would be stripped of their accreditation from Nov 1, and that the alliance's information office in the Russian capital would be shuttered.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that in return, staff at NATO's military mission in Moscow would be stripped of their accreditation from Nov 1, and that the alliance's information office in the Russian capital would be shuttered
"If NATO members have any urgent matters, they can contact our ambassador in Belgium on these questions," Lavrov told a news conference.
NATO said on Oct 6 it had expelled eight members of Russia's mission to the alliance who it said were "undeclared Russian intelligence officers".
Moscow said at the time that the expulsions undermined hopes that relations with the US-led alliance could normalize.
"NATO is not interested in equitable dialogue and joint work," Lavrov said on Monday, announcing the closure of the Russian mission.
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"If that's the case, then we don't see the need to keep pretending that changes in the foreseeable future are possible."
The dispute marks the latest deterioration in East-West ties that are already at post-Cold War lows.
Russia accuses NATO of provocative activity close to its borders, and recently staged major exercises of its own.
