European Union governments have agreed to restrict travel by Russian diplomats within the bloc in response to increasing sabotage attempts, which intelligence services say are often carried out by spies under diplomatic cover. This is reported by the Financial Times, News.bg reports.
Moscow-sponsored agents have been accused of escalating provocations against NATO countries - from arson and cyberattacks to infrastructure sabotage and drone incursions. EU security services have described the moves as a coordinated campaign to destabilize Ukraine’s European allies.
The initiative, backed by the Czech Republic, is part of a new sanctions package that Brussels is preparing in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The package requires unanimous support from member states to pass. Hungary, the last remaining member to oppose it, has withdrawn its veto, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
However, legal adoption could be delayed by a dispute over Austria’s proposal to include a measure that would lift sanctions on assets linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in order to compensate Raiffeisen Bank for damages in Russia. Ambassadors from at least a dozen capitals have said they will not support the package if the Austrian proposal is included. Further talks are expected on October 8.
EU intelligence agencies say Russian diplomats often run operations outside the countries where they are accredited to avoid counterintelligence surveillance. “They are posted in one place but work in another,” a senior EU diplomat said.
The Czech Republic has been pushing for restrictions since May last year after banning a number of Russian diplomats suspected of espionage activities. Hundreds, however, remain accredited in Austria and can cross the border into the Czech Republic. Prague's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky stressed the need for reciprocity: "There is no 'Schengen for Russia', so it is not logical for a Russian diplomat accredited in Spain to come to Prague whenever he wants."
In 2014, the Czech Republic was the victim of one of the worst Russian sabotage attacks on EU territory - explosions at an ammunition depot in Vrbetice, which killed two people. Czech authorities attributed the attack to agents of the Russian military intelligence service GRU.