MOSCOW

The number of Russian diplomats expelled from NATO countries has surpassed 1,000, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. 

Commenting on remarks by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo in response to a question by Anadolu at a press briefing in Sochi, Zakharova said he was "modest" in his assessments that "hundreds" of Russian diplomats were expelled in recent period.

"Why is he being so modest ... in recent years, maybe thousands in total. This does not mean in a single quantity, they expel, we send new ones, they send them back, or simply do not give a visa. I think it's over a thousand already," she said.

Zakharova pointed out that sometimes the diplomats are expelled in dozens, and taking in account that NATO has over 30 members, the numbers grow big.

"Indeed, over the past few years, our diplomats were like a red rag (to a bull). Apparently, they work well," she said.

Moscow has faced multiple expulsions of its diplomatic personnel all over Europe since 2018 when the UK accused it of being behind the poisoning of former double agent Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia, and called on partners to show solidarity through expulsion of the Russian diplomats.