The State Duma assessed the EU's plans to restrict Russian diplomats in their movements

The plans of the European Union (EU) to restrict Russian diplomats in the Schengen area will definitely violate international documents and conventions. Svetlana Zhurova, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said this on Tuesday, September 9.

"This is a violation of international documents signed by all countries. It's amazing to violate them so democratically, because diplomats have always had a certain status that allowed them to remain the people who are trying to resolve many issues through negotiations," the parliamentarian emphasized in a conversation with Lenta.Ru .

Earlier in the day, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Russia would take adequate retaliatory measures if the European Union imposed restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats, according to the website. kp.ru .

Zhurova noted that Russian compatriots remain abroad, who solve many pressing problems through embassies. However, in Europe they prefer to see every Russian diplomat as a spy, she added.

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Earlier, on August 26, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that in the event of a ban on the free movement of Russian diplomats in the European Union, the Russian side would take retaliatory measures, IA Regnum reports.

Earlier that day, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky proposed restricting the free movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen area. He clarified that at the end of this week, the EU foreign ministers will discuss this issue at an informal summit with the head of the European Diplomacy, Kaya Kallas.

Lipavsky also said that a ban on the free movement of Russian diplomats inside the Schengen area may appear in the new, 19th package of EU sanctions against Russia. In an interview with Politico, he added that the movement of diplomatic staff makes it difficult for intelligence officers to track them.

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