[Ticker] Merkel: EU expulsions show Russia ‘far from rule of law’

Russia’s expulsion of three EU diplomats on Friday showed, “right now”, that Moscow was “quite far from the rule of law”, German chancellor Angela Merkel said. Russia ejected diplomats from Germany, Poland, and Sweden on grounds they had attended opposition protests. But that was “unjustified”, Merkel said, as it was normal practice for diplomats to attend opposition rallies. French president Emmanuel Macron echoed Merkel’s reaction in an online press briefing.