Gerry Brownlee calls on Government to expel Russian ambassador after Parliament snub and misinformation

National foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee wants Russia's ambassador to be expelled. Photo / Mark Mitchell

National's foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee has repeated his call for the Government to expel the Russian ambassador, Georgii Zuev, citing his embassy's spreading of misinformation and reluctance to appear before Parliament.

Brownlee has been calling on the Government to expel Zuev since February. Act and recently the Greens have supported that call.

The ambassador had recently avoided speaking to a Parliamentary select committee which had heard submissions from the ambassadors from the European Union and Ukraine on the Russian invasion.

"In recent weeks I have called for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador.

"It is now reported that the Select Committee has called for the ambassador to appear before it, to answer for his government's invasion of Ukraine and the human rights violations that have resulted from it," Brownlee said.

"I reiterate today that it is time to expel the Russian ambassador and his officials from New Zealand," he said.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta wrote to the committee saying she had received legal advice that the ambassador could not be forced to appear before the committee to give evidence as a witness.

"That legal advice showed that the ambassador was covered by the Vienna Convention and there was a level of diplomatic immunity that was afforded to him," Mahua said.

Russia's Wellington embassy has recently been criticised for using its Facebook page to spread misinformation about the invasion.

In the last day, the embassy's Facebook page has alleged Ukraine committed war crimes in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has been raging since 2014.

Also in the last day, the embassy's Facebook page has said Ukraine used "fakes" to allege war crimes against Russia. The page said that instead of sending forensic experts to Bucha, a site of alleged war crimes, "they landed hoards of journalists and European politicians there".

Many Western governments, including New Zealand, have said they believe there is evidence of war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.

Brownlee said it was "utterly absurd" the Russian government could blacklist New Zealand MPs and public servants, but New Zealand would not respond by expelling the ambassador.

"It is utterly absurd that the Russian government can blacklist all New Zealand MPs and many heads of departments, yet we allow their ambassador to New Zealand, President Putin's mouthpiece, to sit in Wellington and spread disinformation about what the Russian military is doing in Ukraine," Brownlee said.

The Government has so far been reluctant to expel the ambassador, citing the fact that this would almost certainly mean New Zealand's ambassador in Moscow would also be expelled.

This would mean they could not provide consular assistance to New Zealanders in Russia.

"No New Zealander can watch their television or read the news, being confronted by the misery and suffering being inflicted on Ukrainians, without supporting the view that Russia must be isolated from the international community," Brownlee said.

"If our small country can make a start by expelling the Russian ambassador, that will be to our credit."