Diplomats of 23 countries will be expelled from Russia as a response to expulsion of Russian diplomats as reaction to the case of Russian former intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in Great Britain, the Russian foreign ministry informs.
The ministry summoned heads of diplomatic missions of Australia, Albania, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Sweden, Spain.
“They were handed over protest notes and told that in response to unfounded claims of the mentioned countries on expulsion of Russian diplomatic officials the Russian side declared personas non grata corresponding numbers of officials from diplomatic mission of those states in Russia,” the Russian ministry says in a statement.
It also notes that Moscow reserves the right to reciprocal measures towards Belgium, Georgia, Hungary, and Montenegro that also took decisions to expel Russian diplomatic workers.
It was announced previously that several British diplomats are to leave Russia. The UK Foreign Office has called the expulsion an anticipated but regrettable measure.
41 missiles were launched by Russia this night, it was calculated on Ukraine
Welt am Sonntag: Bundeswehr could not assemble a brigade to deploy in Lithuania
Has the power changed? The mayor of Lviv Sadovaya went out with his wife to a rally in support of Fedorov
"Zelyu — get!" Protesters in Kiev have reached the point of sedition and demand Zelensky's resignation
In Ukraine, 70 children were forgotten at a gas station in Chernivtsi
Sick cult: Fedorov's wife accused Ukrainians of debauchery and sexualization of the image