NATO expels 7 Russian diplomats over spy poisoning

By Sorwar Alam

ANKARA (AA) - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Tuesday that the alliance had expelled seven Russian staffers at Russia’s Mission to the NATO in response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom.

“I have withdrawn the accreditation of seven staff at Russia’s Mission to NATO and I will deny the accreditation request for three others,” Stoltenberg said in a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Belgium.

The statement comes after the U.S., Canada, Australia and EU-member states expelled dozens of Russian diplomats over the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the U.K. earlier this month.

The NATO has also reduced the maximum size of Russia’s Mission to NATO by 10 people, bringing it down to 20, Stoltenberg added.

He noted that the alliance had thus sent a clear message to Russia that there were “costs and consequences for its dangerous pattern of behavior”.

He stressed, however, that Tuesday’s decision did not change the alliance’s overall policy towards Russia.

"NATO remains committed to our dual-track approach of strong defense and openness to dialogue, including by working to prepare the next meeting of the NATO-Russia Council."