BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2021) A diplomat's role is to monitor and analyze the situation in the country of staying, without participating in some political action, Russia's Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said, commenting on the expulsion of three European diplomats from Russia and the bloc's reaction.
Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared three Swedish, Polish and German diplomats personae non gratae over their participation in unauthorized rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The EU condemned the decision, and the three countries announced on Monday the expulsion of Russian diplomats in a response move.
"Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the function of any diplomat and any diplomatic agent � in this case, there is nothing wrong with this term � is to monitor and analyze the events in the country of staying, including the domestic political situation. But analyzing and monitoring the situation is something different from participating in some political action," Chizhov told reporters.
The European diplomats were declared personae non gratae exclusively due to participating in the rallies, Chizhov said, stressing that "both the diplomats and their bosses" were well aware of the fact that the rallies were unauthorized.
When asked how would Belgian authorities and media outlets react to Russian diplomats' possible "monitoring" of the recent violent rallies in Brussels, the diplomat stressed he could "hardly imagine such a situation."
"I would certainly not send any of my staffers to an event similar to the one that enfolded near the Brussels-North station. Moreover, I would not even let them participate in it on their own initiative. This is not our function," Chizhov specified.
