The Foreign Ministry has not received official information from the Belgian Foreign Ministry about the expulsion from the country of two Russian diplomats, whom NATO has deprived of its accreditation. reports this Interfax with reference to a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He noted that the note was received by fax, but the department does not consider this method of sending official.

NATO revoked the accreditation of the Russians, accusing them of activities incompatible with their diplomatic status. Russia's representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said that two employees of the permanent mission - senior adviser Viktor Kochukov and attache Vasily Chizhov - remain in Brussels. Rogozin's words are reported by Prime-TASS .

Earlier, the Belgian Foreign Ministry said that since NATO had deprived two Russians of accreditation, they no longer carried out a diplomatic mission in Brussels. Therefore, they have no reason to stay in the country and must leave as soon as possible.

According to some media reports, the expulsion of diplomats was NATO's reaction to the exposure of a Russian spy in Estonia. Herman Simm, who admitted to collaborating with the KGB and the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, had access to all information on the North Atlantic Alliance that came to Estonia.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the deprivation of accreditation and the expulsion of diplomats a gross provocation. According to unofficial data, the department is preparing a response to this move by NATO; It is possible that the head of the NATO Information Bureau, Isabelle Francois, who holds a Canadian diplomatic passport, will be expelled from Russia.

It also became known that the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his NATO colleagues was cancelled. It was scheduled for May and was to take place within the framework of the Russia-NATO Council. The Russian minister called the reason for canceling the meeting “the deprivation of accreditation” of Russian diplomats in a boorish manner.

The Russian Foreign Ministry denied receiving an official note on the expulsion of diplomats from Belgium