BERLIN — Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said the recent wave of Kremlin-backed hybrid attacks across Europe calls for tighter restrictions on Russian diplomats and citizens traveling within the bloc. Sikorski’s comments came after the German government on Tuesday attributed an incursion by explosive-laden drones to Russia and announced a raft of retaliatory diplomatic measures. The move marked a hardening of Berlin’s approach to Moscow.
Sikorski called for restricting Russian diplomats’ freedom of movement to the countries where they are accredited, limiting the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens, requiring biometric passes for Russians entering the EU, and capping the number of Russian diplomats stationed within the bloc. We estimate there are over 2,000, and we estimate that at least 40 percent of them are performing tasks that are inconsistent with their diplomatic status. They work for agencies that also carry out terrorist activities in our countries,” he said.
Only this week, there have been two attacks on power facilities in different parts of the country and one on a defense company — all of which are currently being investigated and have not been attributed by authorities. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul did not respond to a question on whether Russia was behind the arson attack on the defense company in Munich. After all, the security of Germany and the security of our allies take priority,” he said.
The incident in Leipzig demonstrated this, and we are also always in a position to provide a response. This will continue to be the case in the future.”
Extract — continue reading at the source.
