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Russia expels Canadian diplomats | Russia expels Canadian diplomats |
(20 minutes later) | |
Russia has expelled two Canadian diplomats working for Nato's Moscow office in response to an "unfriendly act" by the military alliance. | Russia has expelled two Canadian diplomats working for Nato's Moscow office in response to an "unfriendly act" by the military alliance. |
Last week Nato expelled two Russian envoys from its headquarters in Brussels, reportedly due to spying. | Last week Nato expelled two Russian envoys from its headquarters in Brussels, reportedly due to spying. |
The diplomatic spat comes as Nato begins military exercises in Georgia, seen by Russia as a "provocation". | The diplomatic spat comes as Nato begins military exercises in Georgia, seen by Russia as a "provocation". |
Last August Russian and Georgian forces clashed in a brief war over breakaway pro-Moscow Georgian territories. | Last August Russian and Georgian forces clashed in a brief war over breakaway pro-Moscow Georgian territories. |
Nine months after the war in Georgia relations between Russia and Nato were supposed to be getting back on track, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow. | |
Instead, they have taken a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse, our correspondent says. | |
'Counterproductive' | |
Ottawa's ambassador to Russia, Ralph Lysyshyn, was summoned to the foreign ministry where he was told Moscow felt it had been forced into the move. | Ottawa's ambassador to Russia, Ralph Lysyshyn, was summoned to the foreign ministry where he was told Moscow felt it had been forced into the move. |
"In response to the unfriendly act on Nato's part... the Russian side has taken the forced decision to revoke the diplomatic accreditation " of the two Nato staff, a foreign ministry statement said. | "In response to the unfriendly act on Nato's part... the Russian side has taken the forced decision to revoke the diplomatic accreditation " of the two Nato staff, a foreign ministry statement said. |
The Canadian diplomats being expelled are the director of the Nato information office in Moscow and her deputy. | |
The Canadian embassy in Moscow said the decision to expel its diplomats was "counterproductive". | The Canadian embassy in Moscow said the decision to expel its diplomats was "counterproductive". |
This latest round of tit-for-tat expulsions stems from a spy scandal in Estonia in which thousands of pages of sensitive data were handed to Russian agents. |