Russia expels dozens of diplomats from France, Italy and Spain

Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it was expelling 34 “employees of French diplomatic missions” in Russia and gave them two weeks to leave the country.

Moscow made the announcement after summoning France’s ambassador to Russia, Pierre Levy, and telling him that the expulsion of 41 employees of Russian diplomatic missions was a “provocative and unfounded decision”, the statement said.

The ministry told Spanish ambassador Marcos Gomez Martinez that the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Madrid “would have a negative impact on Russian-Spanish relations”.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministry in Paris said France “strongly condemns” the expulsion of its diplomats by Russia, adding that this step from Moscow had “no legitimate basis”.