Denmark said Friday that it had told Russia to reduce the number of staff at its Copenhagen embassy following Russian requests for visas for “intelligence officers”.
Denmark’s ministry of foreign affairs said the Russian mission would need to reduce its staff to match the level of the Danish embassy in Moscow, and that it had informed Russia’s ambassador Vladimir Barbin.
The ministry said the move followed lengthy negotiations between the countries regarding visas for embassy employees.
“The negotiations have not led to results due to repeated Russian attempts to include visa requests for Russian intelligence officers as part of these negotiations,” the ministry said.
In practical terms, the embassy will be allowed to have five diplomats and 20 administrative and technical employees.
“The decision to introduce parity in the size of the two embassies means that the Russian embassy in Copenhagen must reduce its current staffing,” the ministry said, adding the reduction needed to be completed by September 29.
In April 2022, Denmark expelled 15 Russian diplomats it accused of being intelligence officers in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
