Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday that the European Union (EU) will be responsible for the consequences of its order, which expelled 19 Russian diplomats from Belgium on April 5.

Following international condemnation of killings in the village of Bucha, near Kyiv, where dozens of bodies were discovered after Russian troops retreated, the EU and its allies expelled them, many for supposed spying.

“This step is completely unacceptable and obviously unfriendly in our opinion. The EU institutions, which have been deliberately destroying the architecture of Russia-EU collaboration for several years, now show a clear lack of interest in maintaining normal diplomatic channels with our nation “In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry stated.

“The EU is entirely responsible for the negative consequences of this harmful activity. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible “It was stated.

Russia also described the expulsion of 19 diplomats as “fanciful” and based on “false pretexts.”

Meanwhile, Russia has denied any participation in the murders in Bucharest, even claiming that the photographs are phony or that the deaths happened after they withdrew.

On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine with the goal of ‘demilitarizing’ and ‘denazifying’ the country. After face-to-face discussions in March, however, the beginnings of a prospective peace agreement appeared when Russia decided to reduce its military presence in Kyiv and other towns.

During the talks, the Ukrainian delegation proposed a structure in which Ukraine would declare itself neutral, abandoning its NATO membership bid, as Moscow has long wanted, in exchange for security guarantees from a group of other countries. Both parties will meet again in the near future to find a way to end the conflict.