North Macedonia has ordered the expulsion of six more Russian diplomats in the second such move in less than a month, the foreign ministry said Friday.
The diplomats “were executing activities that are against the Vienna Convention,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to the international treaty that includes agreements related to diplomatic protocols.
The ministry did not disclose any details but said Russian ambassador Sergey Bazdnikin had been informed that the diplomats needed to “leave the country within five days.”
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The Russian embassy said the allegations were “completely unfounded” and warned of “serious consequences.”
“The Russian side will take measures, not necessarily symmetrical, but meaningful as an answer to this step,” the embassy said on Twitter.
The tiny Balkan country has expelled Russian diplomats on four earlier occasions in recent years.
The latest was at the end of March when five Russian envoys were ordered to leave.
In March 2020, the former Yugoslav republic became the latest member of NATO and is an aspiring European Union member.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, North Macedonia followed the EU’s lead in sanctioning Moscow, with officials in Skopje labeling Russia a “hostile state.”
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