Stoltenberg: NATO expelled Russian personnel over espionage allegations

Several Russian personnel have been removed from NATO headquarters amidst allegations of espionage in recent years, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Germany's Bild tabloid. 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to the media during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 03 April 2024.

Photo: EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

In the interview, released on Friday, Stoltenberg said: "We have seen that Russian intelligence services have operated across European countries for many years. We’re also seeing attempts to step up their activities but of course, NATO allies are monitoring, following this very closely."

He said that in October 2021, NATO "expelled, for instance, Russian personnel from NATO headquarters because we realized that they were carrying out activities that were not actually diplomatic work, but intelligence work."

The Alliance later clarified that Stoltenberg's remarks regarding the expulsions of Russians from NATO headquarters pertain to incidents from previous years, contrary to Bild's initial report of recent months.

(ał)

Source: Reuters