Russia said on Thursday it was expelling nine diplomats from Finland, Russia’s neighbour and NATO’s newest member, in a tit-for-tat measure.
Russia had also decided to close the Finnish consulate in St Petersburg, the Russian Foreign Ministry statement said, accusing Finland of pursuing a “confrontational” policy towards Moscow.
“It was noted that the currently discussed parameters of Finland’s entry into NATO pose a threat to the security of the Russian Federation, and encouraging the Kyiv regime to go to war and pumping it with Western weapons amount to clearly hostile actions against our country,” the Russian statement said.
“This line of the Finnish authorities cannot remain unanswered,” the statement added In June, Finland said it was expelling nine Russian diplomats, accusing them of working on intelligence missions.
Source: Qatar News Agency
