LONDON, September 18. /TASS/. The UK Foreign Office has obliged Russian diplomats to notify the British authorities about their travels about the country, UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Leo Docherty said in a written statement posted on the British parliament’s website.
"In response to Russia's decision to impose travel notification requirements on British diplomats in Russia, we have introduced commensurate reciprocal travel notification requirements for Russian diplomats accredited to the Russian Embassy in London and the Consulate-General in Edinburgh. This is in line with the concept of reciprocity in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," he wrote.
Russia’s foreign ministry said on July 20 that in response to London’s hostile policy Moscow was imposing travel notification requirements on British diplomats. Thus, accredited personnel of the British embassy in Moscow (except the ambassador, minister counselor, and the consular department head) and the consulate general in Yekaterinburg (except consul general) are required to notify about their trips outside the 120-kilometer zone of free movement at least five working day prior to such trips. The Russian foreign ministry stressed back then that any London’s attempts to demonize Russia and complicate the operation of Russian overseas missions would not remain unanswered.