Russia’s foreign ministry summons UK embassy representative after diplomat expulsions on espionage charges

MOSCOW – Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had summoned a representative of the British embassy in Moscow after the Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that two people connected to Britain’s embassy had been ordered to leave the country for performing intelligence work, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

It cited the FSB as saying that the second secretary of the British embassy in Moscow and the spouse of another British diplomat had deliberately declared false information about themselves when entering Russia and that the FSB had uncovered what it called “signs of intelligence and sabotage work” by both, which threatened Russia’s national security.

“The Federal Security Service’s counterintelligence operations exposed the unreported intelligence presence of the United Kingdom under the cover of the country’s embassy in Moscow,” the FSB statement read.

The two individuals had been given two weeks to leave Russia, TASS reported.

There was no immediate comment from Britain.