Sweden expels five Russian diplomats, suspects them of spying

Stockholm: Sweden on Tuesday expelled five Russian diplomats for carrying out activities incompatible with their diplomatic status, the Swedish foreign ministry said hinting that the five were suspected of spying. It further said that the government had taken the security threat posed by Russian intelligence gathering very seriously.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said the alleged activities of the five Russians were “incompatible” with their diplomatic status. Billström added that Russia’s ambassador to Sweden, Viktor Tatarintsev, had been informed of the expulsions.

The Swedish Security Service, which is known by the acronym SAPO, recently received a list of names of a number of suspected Russian intelligence officers, Swedish broadcaster SVT reported.

Russia and other Western countries have for some time now engaged in tit-for-tat expulsions since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. From its inception, Russia has called the invasion a “special military operation”.

“Five people who are employed at the (Russian) embassy have been asked to leave (Sweden) as a result of activities that are incompatible with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations,” a Swedish foreign ministry statement said. The ministry refused to specify the activities involved, but said the Swedish security service had reported that Russia had continuously engaged in intelligence gathering in Sweden.

“This is a security threat that the government takes very seriously,” it said in an emailed statement. Sweden’s Security Service said it has long warned that Russia used diplomats to spy on Sweden.

Concerns have grown in many countries over Russian intelligence activities, with Swedish security police singling out Russia as a serious threat to the security of the Nordic country, which is in the pipeline for membership of NATO.

Earlier this month, Norway expelled 15 Russian embassy officials it described as intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover.

Sweden expelled three Russian diplomats in April last year, while Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium also expelled officials a year ago over alleged spying.

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