Russian MFA spox ridicules EU advice on avoiding Russian diplomats

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has dismissed as insufficient the European External Action Service’s (EEAS) decision to prohibit EU diplomats from attending events where representatives of Russian diplomatic missions are present.

According to Caliber.Az, Zakharova made the comments in a post on her Telegram channel.

“In my view, these are all half-measures. A truly mature decision would be for the EU to leave the United Nations for as long as Russia remains there,” she wrote.

She also ridiculed the EU’s latest sanctions approach, saying the bloc’s 20th package of anti-Russian measures could hardly have been adopted without declaring that “the European Commission is leaving the planet as long as Russians remain on it. We’ll provide the rocket.”

Earlier reports said the EEAS had circulated “guidelines on communicating with Russian diplomats” to the permanent missions of UN member states in Geneva. According to sources, the recommendations were initially sent to the European Union’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva and were later forwarded to other diplomatic missions.

The document contains advice on how diplomats should interact with Russian counterparts. In particular, it recommends avoiding participation in events involving Russian diplomats. If attendance is unavoidable, diplomats are advised to try not to appear on camera alongside Russian representatives.

Sources noted that this is already the second such guidance document issued by the EEAS. Russian diplomats have reportedly already felt the effects of these recommendations: other diplomats have stopped shaking hands with them, and in one instance, Russian representatives were asked to leave an event organised by another diplomatic mission.

In late October, the European Union approved its 19th sanctions package, which included restrictions on the travel of Russian diplomats. At the time, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the measures were intended to limit Russian diplomats’ movements in order to counter alleged destabilisation efforts.

Moscow considers Western sanctions to be illegal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has previously said that the Russian economy “functions under a huge number of restrictions,” adding that the country has therefore developed a certain “immunity” to such measures.

By Tamilla Hasanova