Were the eight diplomats expelled from the Russian mission to NATO kicked out merely for being Russian? NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, during a press conference yesterday following a meeting of NATO national security advisors, frankly admitted that the Russians didn’t do anything in particular to prompt their expulsion. “This decision is not linked to any particular event, but we have seen over some time now an increase in Russian malign activity, and therefore we need to be vigilant, and of course, we need to act when we see that members of the Russian delegation to NATO conduct activities, which are not in line with their accreditation,” he said. “Therefore, their accreditation is withdrawn.”
Later, when asked about the decision and NATO-Russia relations in general, Stoltenberg remarked that the relationship between NATO and Russia is at its lowest point since the end of the Cold War. “And that’s because of the Russian behavior,” he asserted, reiterating the laundry list of accusations that have been made against Russia since 2014. “The decision to withdraw the accreditation of eight members of the Russian delegation to NATO was done based on intelligence, was done because these are undeclared Russian intelligence officers,” he went on. “And we have seen an increase in Russian malign activities, at least in Europe and therefore we need to act.”
