Russia has expelled a British diplomat on espionage charges. Russia’s action marks another setback in the already tense relations between the two nations.
Russia says a British diplomat was expelled on Tuesday on charges of alleged espionage. Russia’s security service, the FSB, said in a statement that the British diplomat had deliberately provided false information to enter the country.
According to the statement “During a counter-intelligence operation, the Russian Federal Security Service detected the presence of an undeclared British intelligence officer on the premises of the British Embassy in Moscow.”
The statement added that “The Russian FSB has identified evidence of intelligence and subversive activities by the diplomat, deeming them a threat to the security of the Russian Federation.”
The Russian security service identified the diplomat as Edward Wilkes and said he was a junior secretary, holding a junior diplomatic position. The British Prime Minister spokesperson Keir Starmer said he was unaware of the expulsion.
According to the FSB, the British diplomat had been appointed as a replacement for one of the six British diplomats expelled earlier this year over espionage allegations.
In response to the previous expulsion in September, Britain has rejected the espionage allegations against its diplomats as “malicious and completely unfounded” and said Russia’s behavior was completely unacceptable.
Relations between the UK and Russia have plunged to their lowest point since the start of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The UK has joined successive waves of sanctions against Russia and is supplying weapons to Ukraine.
