The foreign ministers of eight member states of The European Union called on the EU to ban the free travel of Russian diplomats within the borders of the Union and to limit them to the countries in which they are accredited, Reuters and BTA reported.
The call was sent in the form of a letter to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
„The free movement of holders of Russian diplomatic and service passports accredited to a host country throughout the Schengen area facilitates malicious activities," said the June 11 letter, which was seen by Reuters.
Intelligence, propaganda "or even the preparation of acts of sabotage are the main workload of a large number of Russian "diplomats" in the EU" and while the expulsion is important, the threat remains, the ministers said.
"We believe that the EU should strictly follow the principle of reciprocity and limit the movement of members of Russian diplomatic missions and members of their families only to the territory of the state in which they are accredited," they said.
"This measure will significantly narrow the operational space for Russian agents,", added the letter, signed by the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.