Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained to his colleague from Finland Pekke Haavisto Moscow’s position on the expulsion of European diplomats. The joint press conference following the meeting in St. Petersburg was broadcast on the YouTube account of RT.
According to Lavrov, Haavisto touched upon the situation around Alexei Navalny (he is the founder of FBK, included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent) and the expulsion of European diplomats from Russia. “We explained to him in detail what motives are behind our position on these issues,” the minister said.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry added that Russia expressed its readiness for dialogue on the issue of human rights, but stressed that such discussions should be conducted in a “frank and comradely manner”.
On February 5, Moscow announced the expulsion of three foreign diplomats for participating in unauthorized rallies in support of Alexei Navalny. Diplomats from Poland, Sweden and Germany were summoned to the ministry and protested over their participation in the January 23 unauthorized actions.