MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russia views an
attempt to expel two Russian diplomats from NATO's headquarters
in Brussels as "a vulgar provocation," the Foreign Ministry
said Thursday.
The Russian ambassador to NATO said Moscow's reaction to
NATO's cancelation of accreditation for the two officials from
Russia's NATO delegation and their possible expulsion from
Belgium would be firm.
"The response will be clear and tough," Dmitry Rogozin
said.
The Foreign Ministry said NATO was attempting to expel the
diplomats on "an absolutely far-fetched pretext," and urged all
NATO member states to think over the consequences of the action.
"The scandalous move runs counter to NATO leaders'
statements on their readiness to improve relations with
Russia," it added. "Naturally, we will draw our own conclusions
about this provocation."
Rogozin confirmed that one of the two diplomats facing
expulsion is the son of Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador
to the EU.
The Financial Times reported Thursday that NATO had acted
in response to the spy scandal involving Estonian official
Herman Simm, who was convicted in February for passing NATO
secrets to Russia.
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