Servicemen of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) patrol on Red Square during a snowfall in Moscow on Jan 28, 2021. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP)

Russia expelled diplomats from Poland, Germany and Sweden for their “recorded participation” in illegal activities, sparking fresh confrontation hours after the first high-level talks with the European Union in years.

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The Foreign Ministry summoned envoys from the three EU nations to declare the unnamed diplomats persona non grata for their “unacceptable” attendance at rallies in St Petersburg and Moscow on Jan 23

The Foreign Ministry summoned envoys from the three EU nations to declare the unnamed diplomats persona non grata for their “unacceptable” attendance at rallies in St Petersburg and Moscow on Jan 23, according to a statement on its website. The rallies were held to protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. 

The ambassador of the Sweden, charge d'affaires of Poland and envoy of the Germany embassy were considered persona non grata in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961, according to the statement.

The ministry expressed the hope that in the future the diplomatic missions of the three countries and their personnel would "strictly follow the norms of international law." 

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The decision was announced after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow for the bloc’s first high-level talks in Russia since 2017.

The expulsion of the diplomats “is in no way justified and further damages relations with Europe,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in an emailed statement. The German envoy was performing his duties to gather information in line with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and “if the Russian Federation does not reconsider this step, it will not go unanswered,” Maas said.