Poland, Sweden and Germany have expelled three Russian diplomats in response to unjustified actions by Moscow, which expelled several European diplomats last week for their participation in a rally in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
This is announced by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Sweden and Germany on Twitter.
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"In response to the groundless expulsion of Poland's diplomat by Russia's Foreign Ministry, Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided today in accordance with the principle of reciprocity and in coordination with Germany and Sweden to consider a Russian diplomat working at the Russian Consulate General in Poznań as a persona non grata," Poland's Foreign Ministry tweeted.
In turn, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ann Linde said she had informed the Russian ambassador that one employee of the Russian embassy should leave Sweden.
"We have informed the Russian Ambassador that a person from the Russian embassy is asked to leave Sweden. This is a clear response to the unacceptable decision to expel a Swedish diplomat who was only preforming his duties," Linde tweeted.
The German Federal Foreign Office also reported that one employee of the Russian Embassy in Berlin had been declared persona non grata, referring to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Germany recalled that the decision taken by the Russian Federation on February 5 to expel several EU diplomats, including a German diplomat who worked at the German Embassy in Moscow, "was in no way justified."
