The Russian authorities justify this decision based on reciprocity over the expulsion of 27 members of staff from the Russian Embassy in Madrid, notified back in April. However, the expulsions determined then by the Spanish authorities were based on duly justified security grounds, which is not the case here. The work of the staff at the Spanish Embassy to the Russian Federation, whose professionalism this ministerial department would like to highlight, has always fully respected the obligations provided for in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
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