MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. Russia will not tolerate the activities of undeclared officers of British secret services on its territory, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said in a commentary.
"We would like to emphasize in particular that Moscow will not tolerate the activity on Russian territory of undeclared officers of British secret services. Our uncompromising stance on this issue will be formulated in accordance with the interests of national security," she stated.
"We intend to continue to respond to any unfriendly actions by London in a tough and proportionate manner," Zakharova said. "We urge the British side to abandon its counterproductive and harmful hostile activities on the Russian track."
The Russian Foreign Ministry fully shares "the viewpoint expressed by the Federal Security Service (FSB) regarding the activities of British 'diplomats.'"
"The British embassy has gone far beyond the limits outlined by the Vienna Conventions. The most important thing, though, is not the formal side of the affair or inconsistency with the declared activities, but subversive actions aimed at harming our people," Zakharova said.
Retaliatory measure
"In May, the British government, acting in accordance with the logic of hostile steps aimed at restricting our diplomatic presence in that country, groundlessly and unilaterally imposed a restriction on the term of accreditation of Russian diplomats, thus forcing a number of Russian embassy officials to leave London ahead of time," Zakharova recalled. "This discriminatory decision of the British was obviously aimed at limiting the functional capabilities of the Russian embassy," she noted. "We have repeatedly warned London that any unfriendly actions will not remain without a proper response."
Zakharova recalled that in August this year the British side was informed that in a retaliatory measure following the forced termination of Russian diplomats' assignments the accreditation of six diplomatic staff members of the British embassy in Moscow was terminated starting from September 1.
"This decision was made based on the solid evidence at the disposal of the Russian authorities to activities of the mentioned persons had gone beyond the diplomatic bounds activities provided for by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961," Zakharova said.