Spain will expel around 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff, the Spanish foreign minister announced on Tuesday.
“They represent a threat to Spain’s security interests,” Jose Manuel Albares said in a news conference, without going into more details about the threats.
Albares said the decision was also related to Russia’s “terrible actions” in Ukraine, particularly in the cities of Bucha and Mariupol, where mass civilian casualties have come to light.
“We are outraged by the civilian massacres,” he said, adding: “They (the perpetrators) cannot go unpunished.”
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Albares said the Russian diplomats will be given just “a few days” to leave the country.
“The Russian ambassador will not be expelled because we want to keep the door open for dialogue,” Albares said, adding that Spain is expecting that Russia will respond “symmetrically.”
With the announcement, Spain joins Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark and Italy in moving to expel Russian embassy staff.
Russia has yet to comment on the development, but it has denied accusations related to the murder of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
According to a report, After Italy, Sweden, and Denmark, Spain will expel over 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Madrid. On Tuesday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares announced the decision to expel Russian diplomats, citing ‘a threat to the interests and security of the country’. The move comes in response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which has now escalated for 41 days with no peace agreement still in reach.
Jose Manuel Albares, after the weekly cabinet meeting, said, “We have decided to expel Russian diplomats and staff from the Russian embassy in Spain who represent a threat to the interests and security of our country.” He added that the expulsions were in response to “the terrible actions carried out in the past days in Ukraine, especially in Bucha and the ones reported today from Mariupol.”
The Spanish Foreign Minister referred to the Bucha genocide recently when the Ukrainian government discovered the mass graves and civilian killings in Bucha. Jose Manuel added, “The crimes cannot remain unpunished.”
Spain has joined other European Union countries like Germany and France and several Western countries who have earlier in the day announced similar directives. Several other governments have probed investigation into the war crimes, while other nations are trying to impose strict sanctions on Russia.
Bucha genocide
On Sunday, April 3, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said that they have found 410 bodies of slain Ukrainians in Bucha, Irpin and other towns and villages during the first two days since Russia initiated attacks in these regions. The Defence Ministry added that the exact number of victims of Russian armed forces “will be much higher”.
During the first 2 days alone, 410 bodies of killed Ukrainians were found in the liberated districts of Kyiv region – Bucha, Irpin and other towns and villages. The exact number of victims of russian occupiers, unfortunatelly, will be much higher.#RussianWarCrimes#BuchaMassacre
— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 3, 2022
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, on Sunday, April 3, released the images of horrors caused by retreating Russian armed forces in Bucha city. In a tweet, the Ukrainian FM said, “Bucha massacre proves that Russian hatred towards Ukrainians is beyond anything Europe has seen since WWII.”
During the first 2 days alone, 410 bodies of killed Ukrainians were found in the liberated districts of Kyiv region – Bucha, Irpin and other towns and villages. The exact number of victims of russian occupiers, unfortunatelly, will be much higher.#RussianWarCrimes#BuchaMassacre
— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 3, 2022
Several leaders from Europe have condemned the Vladimir Putin-led country’s action and called for an investigation. On Monday, April 4, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent inquiry into the civilian killings in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. Taking to Twitter, the UN chief said that he was “deeply shocked” by the visuals of civilian deaths in Bucha. Guterres also called for “effective accountability” for those involved in the atrocity.
