Several European countries – both members of the EU and non-EU states – decided to expel Russian diplomats on March 27, while several others are still considering whether to take action following the alleged Russian involvement in the poisoning of an ex-spy on British soil.

A day earlier, the US, Canada, sixteen EU states and several other countries agreed on a coordinated response to Russia’s suspected involvement, expelling more than 100 Russian diplomats, with Washington alone evicting around 60. 

Nato has now decided to expel seven Russian diplomats. “I have today withdrawn the accreditation of seven staff at the Russian Mission to Nato. I will also deny the pending accreditation request for three others. And the North Atlantic Council has reduced the maximum size of the Russian mission to Nato by ten people, in line with my decision,” Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference.

“This sends a clear message to Russia that there are costs and consequences for its unacceptable and dangerous pattern of  behaviour,” he added.

In tiny Moldova, the government also joined the coordinated action, with multiple expulsions. Its foreign affairs ministry announced that three Russian diplomats have been declared persona non-grata and have to leave the country within seven days. The move again brought the question of the country’s external orientation — towards Russia or the West — to the fore, and pro-Russian Moldovan President Igor Dodon reacted briefly on Facebook, condemning the decision and calling the Moldovan government’s move “an anti-Russian provocation.”

“I fully declare that I will do everything possible so that the Moldovan-Russian relations, mostly the agreement reached during my informal meeting with Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, at the end of last year, but also during the recent visit of Mr. [Grigory] Karasin [Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia] to our country should not be affected by the anti-Russian provocation of Moldova’s government,” the president added.

In a more token step, Hungary and Brussels have each said they will expel a diplomat, while EU candidate country Macedonia will also declare one diplomat persona non-grata.

Hungary’s decision was based on “what was said at a meeting of the European Council”. The country’s government condemned the nerve agent attack 12 days after it had happened in a short statement, without even citing the names of the victims or Russia. The foreign ministry considered the attack a breach of international norms as well as the Chemical Weapons Convention and expressed its solidarity with the UK.

In Macedonia, the foreign affairs ministry said that the government has decided to expel one diplomat after consultations with its “allies and partners in EU and Nato and in solidarity with the UK”.

Bulgaria undecided

Current EU rotational chair Bulgaria is still uncertain which side to take. On March 27, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov talked to Bulgaria’s ambassador to Russia, Boyko Kotsev, and recalled him to Sofia for consultations, according to statement on the government’s website.

A day earlier, Borissov said that his government will not join the actions of EU members until it gets solid proof that Russia was involved in the poisoning of Sergey Skripal. Local analysts warned that this indecisive position will not be well accepted by either the EU or Nato. However, Bulgaria is highly dependent economically by Russia and this could be one of the reasons for Sofia’s hesitation.

EU candidate Montenegro is expected to decide what steps to take on March 28. Pro-EU Prime Minister Dusko Markovic indicated that the Adriatic country should follow EU’s policy and show solidarity with Nato members.

Tensions between Moscow and Podgorica have been rising since 2015 when the Adriatic country was formally invited to join Nato. Russia has been accused of attempting to interfere with Montenegro’s internal policy, supporting a coup attempt that aimed to seize power following the October 2016 general election and to help the Democratic Front, a pro-Russian opposition party, take over parliament and form government.

Bosnia & Herzegovina, which hopes to get EU candidate status, will not expel Russian diplomats for the moment, the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Igor Crnadak said. However, the country said it is supporting the position of EU in the Skripal poisoning case.

“Provocative gesture”

In a statement on the foreign ministry’s website, Russia protested the decisions by EU and Nato member states.

“We consider this as an unfriendly step that is not consistent with the goals and interests of establishing the underlying reasons and searching for the perpetrators of the incident that occurred in the town of Salisbury on March 4. The provocative gesture of the so-called solidarity of these countries with London, which blindly followed the British authorities in the so-called “Skripal case” and which never got around to sort out the circumstances of the incident, is a continuation of the confrontational policy to escalate the situation,” the March 26 statement reads.

It added that Russia will respond to these actions, but did not elaborate further.