Nato ‘expels Russian diplomats’

May 1, 2009 by Infowars Ireland

Nato ordered the expulsion of the two Russian diplomats on Wednesday

Russia has confirmed Nato has expelled two of its diplomats from Brussels, reportedly in retaliation for a spy scandal involving an Estonian official.

In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry described the expulsions as “outrageous” and a “crude provocation”.

Nato diplomats claimed the Russians were undercover intelligence agents.

The official, Herman Simm, was jailed for 12 years in February by an Estonian court for passing Nato defence and diplomatic secrets to Moscow.

The court where the former head of Estonia’s national security system was tried did not reveal which country he spied for, but investigators said Mr Simm passed nearly 3,000 documents to Russia.

They said he received 1.3m kroons (£74,000; $110,000) for the data. The Kremlin denied any involvement.

Nato made no comment at the time, but the case, Estonia’s biggest spy scandal since the Cold War, was seen as an embarrassment for the former Soviet state, which joined the alliance in 2004.

‘Crude provocation’

On Thursday, Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed that Nato had expelled two of its diplomats, but said the move was unjustified.

“A crude provocation has been made in relation to two employees of Russia’s permanent mission to Nato on an absolutely trumped up pretext without any clear explanation,” it said.

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