Eight EU countries proposed to ban Russian diplomats from free movement in the Schengen zone

Eight EU foreign ministers have called on the EU to ban the free movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen area and limit it to countries where they are accredited, according to a letter to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. the free movement of passport holders in the Schengen area facilitates harmful activities," Reuters quoted the ministers as saying. It noted that intelligence, propaganda and possible subversive activities "are the main workload for a large number of Russian 'diplomats' in the EU." The letter the heads of foreign affairs of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania signed it. At the end of May, Warsaw introduced restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats through the territory of the republic. According to Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, the decision was made because the Kremlin is waging a "hybrid war" against the European Union and Poland. Sikorski explained that Russian Embassy employees will be allowed to move only in the Mazowiecki Voivodeship in the east of the country, while consular employees can be free. stay only in those areas where they perform their duties. An exception will be made only for Ambassador Sergey Andreev. Sikorsky added that some other countries have introduced such restrictions in the past. He called on the rest of the allies to follow suit. Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said that Moscow will respond to Warsaw's new restrictive measures in such a way that "the Russophobic Polish elite will greatly regret it."