18/10/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 18 October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that the activities of the Russian diplomatic mission to NATO would be suspended at the end of the month in response to the withdrawal of the accreditation of eight members of the mission who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers, according to the Alliance (see EUROPE 12807/35). In addition, the staff of the NATO mission in Moscow will lose their accreditation as of 1 November, Lavrov said. He advised that the Alliance could communicate with Russia via its embassy in Brussels if necessary. While NATO has taken note of these announcements, it has not received any official communication on these decisions, according to a NATO spokesperson. (CG)