Some western diplomats will go to opposition rallies in Moscow on Sunday (14 February) despite the threat of new Russian expulsions.
Germany, Poland, and Sweden have said they had a right to observe the protests under a 1961 treaty that governed relations between civilised countries.
"A diplomat's function pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is to observe developments in the host country by lawful means," a German foreign ministry official told EUobserver...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.