Russia has expelled a British diplomatic staff member from Moscow after accusing him of working for UK intelligence services, escalating long-running tensions between the two countries.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that Gareth Samuel Davies, a secretary at the British Embassy in Moscow, was operating as an undeclared intelligence agent. Russian authorities ordered him to leave the country within two weeks.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed it had summoned the UK’s chargé d’affaires, Danae Dholakia, to lodge a formal protest and deliver the expulsion order. In a statement, the ministry said Russia would not tolerate the activities of covert agents linked to British special services and reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on threats to national security.
Dholakia declined to comment to reporters as she entered and left the Foreign Ministry earlier in the day.
Relations between Moscow and London have been strained for years, with both sides repeatedly expelling diplomats over espionage allegations. Russian officials have also accused the UK of playing a central role in sustaining the conflict in Ukraine, claiming Britain has pursued a long-standing strategy aimed at confronting Russia.
Why not an extended holiday in Siberia?
Gulag is nice at this time of year.
For Putin!