Moscow: Russia, Thursday expelled a British diplomat suspected of spying after FSB counter-intelligence established his links with UK secret services.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that Gareth Samuel Davies, a secretary at the British Embassy in Moscow, is working for the UK secret services.
UK’s Charge d’Affaires in Moscow, Danae Dholakia, was summoned to launch a formal protest and demand the suspected spy’s departure from Russia within two weeks.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, “Moscow will not tolerate activities of undeclared agents of British special services on Russian territory.”
The Russian government has a zero-tolerance policy on matters of national security, it said.
Dholakia was summoned to Smolenskaya Square (MFA) to inform her that Russia’s competent authorities had obtained information indicating that one of the embassy’s diplomatic employees was affiliated with British intelligence services.
“In view of this, and in accordance with Article 9 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the accreditation of this individual is being revoked,” the ministry said. “He is required to leave the Russian Federation within a two-week period.”
In view of past cases of expulsions and counter-expulsions, the MFA warned that Russia will retaliate symmetrically if the UK takes measures to escalate the situation following the exposure of the British intelligence officer working undercover in Russia.
“A warning has been issued that if London escalates the situation, the Russian side will retaliate,” Russian MFA said in the press note posted on its site.
Russia expelled two British diplomats based in Moscow in 2025. State-run TASS had quoted a statement by FSB to report that in March last year, Russia had stripped two UK diplomats of accreditation based on signs of intelligence activity.
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