A Russian diplomat, who was withdrawn from Brussels amid a purge of spies by Belgian authorities, has been nominated to lead the largest security organization in Europe’s mission in Belgrade, according to a joint investigation by Radio Free Europe and several European media outlets.
Moscow has nominated Dmitry Iordanidi, a former deputy head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina with extensive experience in the Balkans, to lead the organization’s mission in Serbia.
His nomination comes amid growing accusations from the United States and European governments in recent years about Russia’s “harmful” activities in the region covered by the regional security organization with 57 member states, headquartered in Vienna.
Iordanidi, 55, is one of 20 Russian diplomats who were quietly expelled from Brussels in 2023 following accusations from the Belgian State Security Service (VSSE) that they were spies operating under cover, according to a list compiled by Belgian intelligence and independently verified by three Western intelligence sources, according to the joint investigation with the EUobserver news site based in Brussels, Belgian newspaper De Morgen, Belgian weekly Humo, and French newspaper Le Monde.
A source from the intelligence institutions described this expulsion of spies as a “case to empty our drawer” following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Meanwhile, while the Belgian government does not publish lists of accredited diplomats in the country, and the Russian diplomatic mission in Brussels does not disclose the names of its staff, RFE independently verified the presence of several of the Russian diplomats expelled from Belgium in 2023.
The Russian diplomats, who have not been publicly identified until now, were listed as being linked to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) or its military intelligence directorate, known as the GRU.
Iordanidi, identified in the Belgian intelligence list as being connected with the SVR, is the only diplomat among the 20 expelled who was not declared persona non grata, according to an intelligence source. The source said that Russia withdrew Iordanidi after Belgium communicated that he would be declared persona non grata unless Moscow withdrew him.
Now, Moscow is attempting to return Iordanidi to the OSCE, the multilateral organization based in Vienna, which, until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, had played a central role in monitoring Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and efforts to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv.
Iordanidi was listed as one of the eight candidates for the head of the OSCE mission in Serbia after the application deadline on December 1, 2024, reports Radio Free Europe.
