The protest that
had been made to foreign diplomats and the decision to expel them from the Russian Federation was a logical response of the Russian authorities to interference in internal affairs, as said member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Elena Panina
Elena Vladimirovna
.
On Friday, the Swedish Ambassador, Charge d'Affaires a.i. Poland and envoy of the German Embassy were summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Ministry made a protest to them as representatives of those embassies had participated in unauthorized demonstrations and that were unacceptable. Then there was a decision to expel three diplomats represented Germany, Poland and Sweden.
Elena Panina called this decision “a logical response to foreign states’ attempts to interfere in the Russia’s internal affairs”. She recalled that any attempts by the Russian media to cover the protests in the Western states were perceived as foreign interference.
“Imagine what would have happened if Russian diplomats had participated in the “yellow vests” protests in France or in the notorious storming of the US Capitol! The authorities of these states would have immediately announced that Russia had “attacked” them,” Elena Panina told journalists.
Member of the State Duma also urged her Western colleagues to adhere to the principle “do not do to others what you would not want done to you”.
Unauthorized rallies took place in various Russian cities on January 23 and 31and on February 2. The Russian Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office had repeatedly cautioned about responsibility for organization and participation in any unauthorized actions.
