BRUSSELS, October 7. /TASS/. The NATO decision to expel eight Russian diplomats from Brussels was not caused by any specific event, but rather by Russia’s activity in general and the Alliance’s intelligence information, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press conference on Thursday.
"This decision is not linked to any particular event, but we have seen over some time now, an increase in Russian malign activity, and therefore we need to be vigilant, and we need to act when we see that members of the Russian delegation to NATO conduct activities which are not in line with their [diplomatic] accreditation, and therefore the accreditation is withdrawn," he said.
The Secretary General stated that this decision was made "based on intelligence," claiming that the expelled diplomats "were undeclared intelligence officers."
He noted that the relations between Russia and NATO are at their lowest point since the Cold War, claiming that the responsibility for this lies with Russia. However, he said that the Alliance is open to a dialogue with Russia, including holding the Russia-NATO Council meeting.
On Wednesday, NATO announced that it was cutting the Russian Mission to NATO from 20 to 10 people: the accreditation of eight diplomats was withdrawn, while two vacant positions were eliminated. The Russian diplomats were given until the end of October to leave Brussels.