The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a resolution appointing diplomat Itziar Taboada as the new consul general in Saint Petersburg, a decision taken after the Russian Federation authorities did not include the current consul in that city, Félix Valdés, among those expelled from the country.
The resolution was published last Thursday in the Official State Gazette and also includes the appointment of Cristina Valero to a post in the Embassy in Moscow, because the person she will replace has not been expelled.
Neither of the two diplomats could be included in the resolution that at the beginning of April awarded the posts abroad to be filled as of 1 August, as the Ministry did not know at that time whether the posts they were to occupy would appear on the list of expellees that Russia was expected to announce in response to the expulsion of 27 Russian diplomats from the Russian embassy in Madrid.
As the current holders of these posts – who were already scheduled to leave – have not been affected by the expulsion, there is no objection to their replacements being appointed and taking up their posts once the Russian authorities give their agreement. The same is not true of another diplomat, Antonio Guillén, who, like his colleagues, had been qualified by the Diplomatic Career Board for a post at the Consulate in Moscow. Guillén has still not been appointed because the person he was to replace in the Consulate was expelled.
The expulsions agreed by Russia, which affected 15 Spaniards with diplomatic passports and 12 with service passports, have left the consulates in St Petersburg and Moscow with the minimum number of staff needed to carry out their work.
