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Moscow to respond to termination of lease for Russian Embassy’s land in Kiev — Kremlin

On February 22, 2022, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced that all diplomatic agencies in Ukraine would be evacuated to ensure the safety of staff

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. Moscow will respond to Kiev’s decision to terminate the lease agreement for the land the Russian Embassy sits on, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing on Friday.

"Certainly. There is also land here under the Ukrainian Embassy and so on. So it is obvious that relevant measures will be taken," the Kremlin official said replying to a question as to whether Russia will react to such moves.

The proposal to terminate the lease agreement for the Russian Embassy’s land was put forth before the Kiev city council by the pro-presidential People’s Servant party in early April. It also suggested that the Ukrainian government nationalize the diplomatic agency’s building.

On February 22, 2022, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced that all diplomatic agencies in Ukraine would be evacuated to ensure the safety of staff. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24, 2022, that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." Later that same day, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky severed diplomatic relations with Russia while the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced the evacuation of diplomats. Since then, the respective embassy buildings in both capitals have stood empty.

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