27 April 2021, Tuesday, 18:12 177

Foreign Ministry Expels Consul Of Russian Consulate General In Odesa From Ukraine In Response To Expulsion Of Ukrainian Diplomat From Russian Federation

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to expel the consul of the Russian Consulate General in Odesa from Ukraine in response to the expulsion of the Ukrainian diplomat from the Russian Federation.

Ukrainian News Agency learned this from a statement on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses a strong protest in connection with the announcement on April 26 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation of an employee of the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow persona non grata," the statement reads.

The Ministry denies accusations that the diplomat was allegedly engaged in activities incompatible with diplomatic status.

"An employee of the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow did not commit any actions that would go beyond the limits of his diplomatic and consular functions," the Foreign Ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry notes that the decision of the Russian Federation grossly violates the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations and regards this as a continuation of the anti-Ukrainian campaign and another manifestation of unfriendly actions against employees of diplomatic institutions of Ukraine.

"In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine declares the Consul of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Odesa an undesirable person to stay on the territory of Ukraine. He must leave the territory of Ukraine by the end of the day on April 30, 2021," the statement reads.

In the case that the Russian side continues provocations against Ukrainian diplomats, Ukraine reserves the right to take further actions in response.

Earlier, Russia warned the Ukrainian side that in the case of continuing hostile actions against its diplomats, it will take additional measures in the future with respect to the personnel of Ukrainian embassies, consulates general and consulates in the Russian Federation.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on April 17, officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation detained Ukrainian Consul, Oleksandr Sosoniuk, in Saint-Petersburg “when receiving information of a classified nature contained in the databases of law enforcement agencies, which is incompatible with the status of a diplomatic worker and is hostile towards the Russian Federation.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry recommended that he leave the country before April 22.

In response, Ukraine ordered the senior diplomat of the Russian embassy in Kyiv to leave the country before April 21.

Ukraine dismissed its ambassador to Russia, Volodymyr Yelchenko, in December 2015, and Russia dismissed its ambassador to Ukraine, Mikhail Zurabov, in July 2016.

In February 2020, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Ukraine can return its ambassador to Moscow, and Russia is also not opposed to returning its ambassador to Kyiv.

In response, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry assured that Kyiv does not plan to appoint an ambassador to Russia in the near future.