“The entry into force of discriminatory measures initiated by certain EU member states against our diplomats accredited in their territory cannot be ruled out.
We are closely monitoring this situation,” Maslennikov said in an interview with Sputnik this Tuesday.
He added that the threat to restrict the freedom of movement of Russian diplomats is “a clear confrontational measure that, if implemented, will entail calculated, appropriate, and, most importantly, inevitable responses from Russia.”
In late August, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told Politico newspaper that he would propose “ending the free movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen area.”
If implemented, this measure would be added to the 23,960 individual and sectoral sanctions on Russia applied since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, according to statistics from the Castellum.AI database.
Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains that the policy of containment toward Russia is part of the West’s long-term strategy, whose sanctions deal a severe blow to the global economy.
abo/iff/lam/gfa
