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Russia Expels European Diplomats in Tit-for-Tat Move

A general view on the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia April 29, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
A general view on the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia April 29, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
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Russia Expels European Diplomats in Tit-for-Tat Move

A general view on the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia April 29, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
A general view on the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia April 29, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Twenty-seven Spanish diplomats must leave Russia within a week, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Spain said in April it would expel some 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Madrid, joining other European Union countries that have ordered Russian officials to leave.

Russia's decision to expel Italian diplomats is an "hostile act", Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday, warning diplomatic channels with Moscow must not be interrupted.

Russia will expel 24 Italian diplomats in a retaliatory move, news agency RIA cited the foreign ministry as saying.

"This absolutely must not lead to an interruption of diplomatic channels because it is through those channels that, if we succeed, peace will be achieved and that is certainly what we want," Draghi said.

France also condemns Russia's decision to expel diplomats and staff from the French Embassy in Moscow, said the French Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Russia's Foreign Ministry had said earlier on Wednesday that it was expelling 34 French diplomats.

France in April kicked out 35 Russians with diplomatic status as part of a broader wave of expulsions that saw more than 300 Russians sent home from European capitals.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it was expelling two diplomats from the Finnish embassy in Moscow.

In a statement, it also said it protested against what it said was "Finland's confrontational course towards Russia", apparently referring to Finland's bid to join NATO.

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Starmer Says UK to Host Multi-nation Meeting on Hormuz Shipping

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
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Starmer Says UK to Host Multi-nation Meeting on Hormuz Shipping

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)

Britain will this week hold a meeting of about 35 countries to discuss how to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz which has been crippled by the Middle East war, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host the discussions, Starmer told reporters during a Downing Street press conference, without specifying the day of the talks.

The meeting will "assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities", Starmer said.

"Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped," he added.

The discussions will include countries who recently signed a statement saying they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz", Starmer said.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands are among those to have signed it.

Iran has virtually closed the vital strait since the US-Israeli strikes that started the war on February 28, causing global oil and gas prices to soar.

A fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait in peacetime.

"I do have to level with people on this. This (reopening) will not be easy," Starmer said.

The UK leader also backed NATO following renewed criticism of the eight-decade-old alliance by US President Donald Trump.

"NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades, and we are fully committed to NATO," Starmer said.

Trump told Britain's Telegraph newspaper in an article published Wednesday that NATO was a "paper tiger".

Asked whether he would reconsider US membership, he replied: "Oh yes, I would say (it's) beyond reconsideration," the paper reported.

Last month, Trump told the Financial Times that it would be "very bad for the future of NATO" if members fail to help reopen the vital waterway.

On Tuesday, he said that countries which have not joined the war but are struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the US would not help them.

World

France: NATO is Not Designed to Carry Out Operations in Strait of Hormuz

France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
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France: NATO is Not Designed to Carry Out Operations in Strait of Hormuz

France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

NATO is a military alliance that ensures the security of the Euro-atlantic area and is not designed to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz that would breach international law, France's junior army minister said on Wednesday.

"Let me remind you what NATO is. It is a military alliance concerned with the security of the Euro-Atlantic region. It is not designed to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz, which would be a breach of international law," Alice Rufo said at the War & Peace conference in Paris, Reuters reported.

US President Donald Trump said he was strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO after allies failed to back US military action against Iran, according to an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph.

World

King Charles to Address US Congress on April 28

King Charles greets the public outside Clitheroe Station (AP)
King Charles greets the public outside Clitheroe Station (AP)
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King Charles to Address US Congress on April 28

King Charles greets the public outside Clitheroe Station (AP)
King Charles greets the public outside Clitheroe Station (AP)

Britain's King Charles will address the US Congress on April 28 during his visit to Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Charles and his wife Queen Camilla will visit the US in a long-planned trip to mark the 250th anniversary of that country's independence from British rule, before the couple pay a visit to Bermuda, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday.

The high-profile trip comes as the British government hopes to repair relations with Donald Trump, which have been damaged by the Iran war, according to Reuters.

It will be the first state visit by a British monarch since 2007, when Charles' mother Queen Elizabeth made what was the fourth such US trip of her reign.

Trump said the king and queen's visit would begin on April 27 with a banquet dinner at the White House the next day.