Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Friday it was expelling diplomats from Sweden, Poland and Germany for attending a rally in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The announcement came as the European Union’s top diplomat told Russia’s foreign minister that the treatment of Navalny represents “a low point” in the relations between Brussels and Moscow.
The ministry said diplomats from Sweden and Poland in St. Petersburg and from Germany in Moscow took part in what it called “unlawful” rallies on Jan. 23. Tens of thousands of people across Russia took to the streets that day to protest the arrest of Navalny, the Kremlin’s most prominent critic.
The diplomats were declared “persona non grata” and were required to leave Russia “shortly,” a ministry statement said.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, who met earlier Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said before the session that “our relations are under a severe strain, and the Navalny case is a low point in our relations.”…
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