France has expelled six Russian agents operating under diplomatic cover, the foreign ministry in Paris said. He added that the decision was the result of a covert operation by Russian intelligence in France, uncovered on Sunday by French counterintelligence DGSI.
The DGSI investigation into this case was conducted “for a very long time”, and the identified agents, whose activities turned out to be contrary to the national interests of France, were considered undesirable persons in the country, according to a message published on the website of the French Foreign Ministry. “After a very long investigation, a secret operation of the Russian special services on our territory was revealed,” the report says.
Last week, France decided to expel several dozen Russian diplomats, according to the Foreign Ministry in Paris. “Their actions are contrary to our security interests. This step is part of a European initiative,” the ministry said in a statement.
So far, Poland, France, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria have already decided to expel some Russian diplomats.