UPDATE 2 - Russia expels 6 British diplomats on spying allegations

UPDATES WITH KREMLIN SPOKESMAN'S COMMENTS

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia on Friday revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow on spying allegations.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) in a statement said it acquired documents confirming that the Directorate of Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the British Foreign Office made its main task "to inflict strategic defeat" on Russia.

The FSB said that after the beginning of the Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022, the directorate was transformed "into a special service," working against Russia.

"The revealed facts give grounds to consider the activities of British diplomats sent to Moscow through the directorate as threatening the security of the Russian Federation.

"On the basis of documents provided by the FSB of Russia, as well as in response to numerous unfriendly steps by London, the Russian Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with interested departments, terminated the accreditation of six employees of the political department of the British Embassy in Moscow, whose actions signs of intelligence and subversive work were found," it said.

The FSB warned of further action if similar actions by employees of the British diplomatic mission are uncovered.

The withdrawal of the accreditation means the diplomats have no official ground to stay in Russia and must leave the country.

Commenting on the matter, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said diplomats from the British Embassy in Moscow had been involved in activities "intended to harm the Russian people."

"We fully share the assessments provided by the FSB regarding the actions of British diplomats," Zakharova emphasized.

"The British Embassy has overstepped the boundaries set by the Vienna Conventions. More importantly, this is not just about formal violations or discrepancies in their declared activities, but about deliberate actions aimed at causing harm to our people," she added.

The intelligence service also released a photo of all six individuals, an unusual move.

Meanwhile, speaking at a news conference in Moscow on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia does not plan to break diplomatic relations with the UK following the incident.

"There is no talk about this," he told reporters in Moscow, responding to a question.

According to media reports, Russia declared Jessica Davenport, Callum Andrew Duff, Grace Alvin, Catherine McDonnell, Blake Patil, and Thomas Stevennet as persona non grata.