Belgium has decided to expel 21 Russian diplomats from the country on suspicion of espionage and a resulting threat to internal security, the Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday..

According to a report published by a Belgian news agency to which "Reuters" had access and quoted by the newspaper Económico, the 21 citizens of Russian nationality worked at the Russian Embassy in Brussels and the consulate in Antwerp.

Apparently, according to a Belgian ministry spokesman, these officials were accredited as diplomats, but were working on espionage operations.

Last week in Poland, the Agency for Internal Security (ABW) announced that it had identified 45 people - Russian intelligence officials and individuals with connections to them - who had enjoyed diplomatic status in the country, leading to their expulsion from the country.

On the Russian side, the Kremlin announced on Monday the decision to expel three diplomats from Slovakia in retaliation for the parallel decision taken about two weeks ago by Bratislava.