OREANDA-NEWS The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a comment to RIA Novosti, justified the expulsion of five Russian diplomats by countering "Russia's intelligence gathering in Sweden."

On Tuesday, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that the kingdom was expelling five Russian diplomats, explaining this decision by saying that "their activities are not compatible with diplomatic status." The Russian Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti that Moscow "will give an appropriate response."

"The Swedish State Security Service reported that Russia is constantly collecting intelligence in Sweden. This is a security threat that the Government takes very seriously. The Swedish State Security Service, together with other agencies, is working to identify, stop the collection of intelligence by Russia in Sweden and counteract it," the kingdom's foreign ministry told the agency.

At the same time, the ministry clarified that they could not provide any details about the officials who would be expelled from the country.